STATter 911: "The members of this organization are totally fed up". A look back at Fairfax County in 1978.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

"The members of this organization are totally fed up". A look back at Fairfax County in 1978.

Chief George Alexander from FairfaxCounty.gov

Watch the two stories from May 9 and August 10, 1978

Read the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department timeline

A lot of fire and EMS organizations have long been jealous of the resources made available to the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department. But news stories from almost 30 years ago paint a very different picture. Read the words of one union official on August 10, 1978, as he and others complained about staffing, discrimination and harrassment: "We can no longer suffer the damages that are being done by our top level administrators. The members of this organization are totally fed up. They will stand for it no longer".

At the same time, Chief George Alexander said, "I think we've got the best fire and rescue service around".

The Fairfax County Professional Fire Fighters Association went very public with their claims. The union spokesman making the charges was Glenn Benarick, who retired a few years ago as a deputy chief (something must have changed in the interim).

Benarick also spoke up in May of that year, after 5 people died in a fire at the Brooks Motor Lodge on Richmond Highway, south of Station 11. One of the complaints then was there were not enough people to man (the term of the day) the rescue squad. Deputy Chief Eugene Gray said staffing was not an issue.

About a week later, it was reported there had been a delay in dispatching the alarm to the Brooks Motor Lodge. A police officer was apparently sent first to check out the call. The time lost was reported to be more than 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Some firefighters still claim there was a lack of accountability for that mistake and other major department problems.

Chief Alexander headed the department from 1971 until a consultants report was released in 1982. According to a department history, the report led to a reorganization. When Warren Isman took over in 1983, the Board of Supervisors had already established the framework, which included the following:

21 Battalion Fire Chiefs (7 per Shift);

3 Assistant Fire Chiefs for Operations;

4 Deputy Fire Chiefs (Support Services, Administration, Operations, and Prevention);

The old title of "Director" was discontinued and replaced with the title "Fire Chief" as the head of the department;

New Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) were begun and ultimately finished in 1985;

A new Volunteer Fire Commission would serve in an advisory capacity only with staff liaison;

A 24-hour shift working schedule for station personnel;

A minimum staffing requirement for units.

# posted by Dave Statter @ 7:37 PM

Comments:

Thank You,

I don't know what else to say...this is priceless. I wish others had more of an interst in how we got here.

# posted by

Anonymous : November 17, 2007 10:54 PM

How we got where? We just got bigger. We still have the incompetence and the continued rotation of the "bald tires" in senior management.

# posted by

Anonymous : May 30, 2008 9:48 AM