STATter 911

Good thing they did not roll up on the front ramp with a baby not breathing or to say there was a house on fire 1 block away.. You know with the brain dying after 5 min with out oxygen an a fire doubling in size ever minute.

Hey if thats the case why not close station 844 permanently? They can justify closing if for a day.. why not the other 364? THat will save some money.. If anything it will get a Career LT who is a paramedic off the paramedic engine. HE should be on a medic unit to begin with not just riding the high life after getting the medic status and a nice pay bump
 

They lost that man last year who coded close to station with no ALS, when will they learn. Volunteers come out to play when they want. Today and tomorrow will be worse. More lawsuits...
 

I would like to see all the people on here try running a department the size of PG for just one day. Just to let them see it's not as easy as everyone thinks. Then maybe they'll start using there heads before posting such BS on here and TWD. Most of you couldn't run the station your assigned at much less a full department.
 

Today's lesson:
Don't visit, drive through or attempt to shop in PG if you can help it, The help you may need may not be there in time.
My condolences for the residents who cannot get help when needed.
 

This sounds like the 1960s all over again.
 

TO: All EOC Majors

FROM: Victor Stagnaro, Lieutenant Colonel ORIGINAL SIGNED
Emergency Operations Command

RE: Redeployed Staffing/3 to 5 coverage (Revised)

As expected, we will need to remain flexible regarding the staffing plan that went into effect on July 1, 2009.

1. As a result of a request made by The Bowie Volunteer Fire Department stations 839 and 843 in Bowie will have Career crews go to day work with two (2) shift personnel remaining between the hours of 1500-0700 on weekdays and holidays. The offset for that is that Bowie VFD will be removed from the Overtime Reduction Calendar. This will take effect on Monday, July 6, 2009.
2. Brandywine has agreed to have the Paramedic Unit go out of service to be replaced with a Paramedic Ambulance. Their staffing compliment will go from a total of six (6) personnel to four (4). The Paramedic Ambulance will not be dedicated. The offset for that is that the Brandywine VFD will participate in the VSU on weekends only, and the PA must remain in service when they are participating in the VSU. This will take effect as soon as the switch over can occur.
3. Beginning on Monday, June 6, 2009, Stations 801, 835, 836, and 848 will re-establish their 3 pm – 5 pm overtime coverage.

Regarding the staffing coming out of Bowie, I want to keep the crews in place at the Bowie stations and detail the officer and a firefighter out at 1500 hours and on weekends until a staffing plan is implemented. I believe it will create the least amount of impact on the personnel, and it will keep them in place if something else changes in Bowie.

The staffing from Brandywine can be moved as soon as we can place the Paramedic Ambulance in service.
 

Has a study ever been done for PG as to the cost and number of stations and apparatus it would need if it were career? Could the Montgomery county model work in PG?
If you eliminated the volunteer companies, you would need less stations and less aparatus. The initial cost would go up but the service would drastically improve. Obviously we cant have a firehouse within 5 minutes of every person in the county, no county does, but 5 minutes to 90% with full crews would be better than what is there now. If the volunteer rigs could gaurantee showing up with 4 persons 24/7 they could have it, but we know they cant do that anymore, times change.
 

Dave, PG is the most apathetic county in the nation. The County Government is corrupt. The citizens can only see the future several feet in front of them. This is not an issue unless it happens to them. That is why the Fire Department administration can get away with this.
I feel terrible for the Volunteers who actually do care, and the career staff that thought they were doing the right thing by accepting employment with this half-assed county.
Laugh all you want. But L1619 and every Volunteer incorporation that dots that county should #1 put your ego to pasture. #2 band together and work this crap out RIGHT-NOW. Yeah, thats your ego telling you, 'no-way we won't talk to them'. Accept the fact that you are the labor force and the administration is going to get you killed if you don't work together.
 

Exactly what difference does it make as to who pulls up on the front ramp and for what emergency? My point is, at any given time a company can be out of quarters at another call and the very same thing can happen, we don't leave personnel back on house watch, why aren't all the loud mouths complaining about that. Mr. Statter, check the status of staffed PGFD fire stations on any given day and examine how many of them spend time out of the stations and for how long for nothing. Take station 13's day crew for example, just listen to the radio, they are always "out of position" because they hang out at station 30 anywhere from 2 to 3 hours a day. Now the $100,000.00 year Battalion Chiefs know this, but they don't manage their personnel to remain in their assigned areas unless on a call.

So my point is that the brown outs with empty stations is no different a scenario then any other day of the week, it is business as usual, except for the reason behind them being empty. Investigate deeper, I could give you a million areas to look at, both career and volunteer. The staffing shortages in PG are no different then they are in any other or at least most other areas of our Country right now.

PGFD has the highest paid personnel in the area, you don't see them making any conccessions at all to help out, every other County in the COG area has. I'm wondering if 1619 will file charges, with the IAFF, against the members of Boston Fire Department for volunteering in violation of the IAFF rules and regulations.

Bottom line, most "NOT ALL" PGFD personnel are only in it for a paycheck, they could care less about the citizens of this County. If you rated them in perfection of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest, overall they would score a -2 or -3. You want to report, report how it takes Station 55 up to 4 minutes to respond on a box alarm and 6 minutes to get an ambulance out the door.
 

Isn't 55 called the Bunker Hill VOLUNTEER Fire Department.
 

Hey I have a great idea.
Why don't all those elected officials in that round dome building which we call the capital volenteer there services for month take all that money saved from there salaries and use it for a good cause,protecting life in Prince George County.
Instead of play russian roulette with their lives.
 

To the one who placed boston fire and L1619 in the same sentence:

You have no clue on either organization. You want to know why boston is staffing firehouses on their days off? Because those men work in the neighborhood in which they live! Their citizens care about them! They have safer manning levels!

You cannot say the same for Pg county. You can bark all day about the firefighters not caring about the community..blah blah blah. How many citizens will lay their life down for a stranger? You dont know these firefighters that do it for a "paycheck". You dont talk to them, so you wouldnt know what they would do for a fellow person.. You only ASSume.

I only see two types of firefighters: Ones who go in, and ones who do not. I dont see paycheck or free service. You shouldnt be in volunteer management with that attitude...
 

Why yes, it is. Bunker Hill Volunteer Fire Station. But as I said, I can point out problems on both sides, that is just one of them. The volunteers there contribute next to nothing except complaints, the rest have been run away by the career personnel assigned there and it is them who don't get out in a timely manner. The ambulance is replaced on calls on an average of a dozen times a week because of a very late response and that station houses a Battalion Chief. Where is the accountability?

The system, as a whole is extremely broken, it is almost beyond repair and certainly not repairable with a lack of money.

Until EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE gets it through their heads that the Volunteers need the Career people and the County needs the Volunteers, a very simple fact that the Career people need to accept or they should find employment elsewhere.
 

Nice Job, your doing Mr. Johnson. Just don't close that National Harbor (YOUR BILLION DOLLAR,HOLE IN THE COUNTY. Please Tax-Payers...wake up !!!
 

To whoever is stating that company 855 takes 4 minutes to hit the street on a box alarm and 6 minutes for an EMS run, you have lost your mind. As for the box alarm issue, most of the time it is the 2 career personnel who have to wait to see if the one or two volunteers are going to ride or not. Because, if you don't give them enough time you will surely hear about it. Although 95% of the time they never get out of bed. As far as the EMS unit, 6 minutes ? I don't think that has happened. The volunteers don't ride the ambulance so, there is accountability.
 

I didn't think there were any volunteers left at 855. I thought the county made them all move out once they got married and were living at the firehouse. Thats what Jerry told me
 

I just wanted to let my brothers and sisters up there in PG to know that you all are in my thoughts and prayers as you go through this staffing crisis, espically to my main man Lt. Jim Key, who I spent much time with in college on the Virginia Tech Rescue Squad back in the day. Also, while attending a friends wedding many years ago with my dad, we had the oppurtunity to visit and spend the night at the Berwyn Heights station and we were treated like family. I think alot of that house and all the career personnel and volunteers up in PG. Guys, remember hard and difficult times demand creative solutions. Forget about being "paid" or "volunteer", and find some common ground. This is coming from a guy who is a card carryin' IAFF member of a large metro fire department in NC and a active volunteer in Virginia. Statter, as always you are doing a great job of bringing this to the public. Hopefully you coverage will shed light on these issues and encourage change for the better and keep someone from gettin hurt or killed. We also want to see more Engle stories down here as we get a kick out of them. BOTTOM LINE, STAY SAFE UP THERE!!!

Spencer E. Nolen, Sr.
 

Anyone ever see the Benny Hill Show?
 

Make no mistake about it the fire dept. admin. is only carrying out the orders from CAB. Why do you think they brought a has been back in as fire chief?
there is only one group that can stop the lack of manning its not the volunteer f.a. or the union
It is the citizens of the county holding the pol. feet to the fire
 

to all the stupid volunteers that are paid firefighters in another county or DC. Stay away from PG. you wouldnt like it if they were doing this at your fire department. and for the live-ins. GROW UP MOVE OUT and quit being a looser that bums off the county dime. I guess now that the county isnt buying you toilet paper and paper towels, yall will being adding to the STINK that you already leave around the firehouse. everybody knows that a successful fire department is one that is all CAREER and not one that relies on VOLUNTEERS. because we know that you dont do if for "the citizens".
 

In response to tha previous comment
about Career Personnel who Volunteer in PG County. That is without a doubt not an intelligent statement. The fact that Highly Trained Professionals who make a conscious decision to Volunteer in their Local/possibly hometown VFD probably where they bagan their Career is an excellent choice to serve their community. The only individuals who donot like nor care
for this idea is the IAFF Union. The Union makes a statement Full Career Depts are better. In some respects yes in terms of Staffing, Quick Response as opposed to a Pager Alert Response in the Rural country areas. Paid Fire Depts. Have their share of issues internally as well. The Union only sees what they perceive as a Volunteer taking the place of a Career Person. This is simply not true in reality. The Local Jurisdiction not specifically PG County has Economice issues of today. If the Combination System is in place, then those deeply rooted Union Loyalists must keep mindful that it is a combination System. It was this way when they got their job. They work for the County, the County doesnot work for them. If the union has any real concerns they would accept this fact and ensure that the Volunteers they run with are meeting the County Required Training aspects. One of those Volunteers you so speak negatively about, just may pull you out of a Burning Structure. This same issue applies to those Volunteers who so freely criticize the Career Personnel. One one those Career Personnel just may pull you out of a Burning Structure. This is an absolutely True Statement of fact. Several months back a Tem of Volunteers pulled a Career Firefighter out of a Burning Structure in Largo. The Team of Firefighters on the recent gas Explosion, were both Career and Voluntewer. Do you think anyone had any thoughts of only making the Rescue of the Dreaded May Day may Day Call of those who were either Career or Volunteer. Everyone got out Alive and safely for the most part. Ok Union Loyalist stop all of the Senseless
ignorant words of sterotype and Bias against others who maynot be on the Team of Career People. Yes the Union does provide good Benefits, however it doesnot provide for words and statements of disgusting vile thoughts.
 

Another idiot heard from! Not helping the dire situation that PG is in.
 

I wish we wouldn't make this a career/volunteer issue. The county started as all volunteer but as times changed it was realized that we need the career staffing.

To put all volunteers in the same group is unfair. There are a few old school volunteers left with pride and ownership in the fire department in which they belong. I know quite a few "ticks" that are here to serve the community in which they live. I for one am not here to take food out of the mouths of the paid staffs' children. I think the whole situation is sad and unfortunate. If we step up and run our house we're taking your jobs, if we don't show up and the the station fails then all we hear is "see, ya can't count on the ticks." How about instead of taking it out on the dedicated volunteers you take it out on the county. Instead of building new fire stations to replace perfectly operational stations they scrap the plans and keep the men working.

We're all in this together, we're firefighters. The public expects us to adapt to any situation. In these tough times we shall all stand together as brothers and sisters in the fire service and overcome. Not stay divided as career and volunteer on a mission to fail. The citizens that we took an oath to serve deserve more than that.

Thank you for your time,
Ernie Daniels, Jr.
Firefighter/EMT-B
The Vol. Fire Dept.
of Brandywine Md, Inc.

BVFD/PGFD Keepin' it safe... against all odds.
 

Why does this always turn into a Career vs. Volunteer battle. Each side is to blame for some of the budgeting issues that have brought this crisis to the forefront. No need to go into details...we all know of instances against both sides that would be considered misuse/abuse of funding. Why not blame the Politicians? They're the ones who have set the budget. For that matter, you might as well continue on up the chain and blame the citizens as well. After all, they are the ones who elected those politicians. Additionally, some of them were the ones who purchased homes that they couldn't afford thereby bringing down the tax revenues. The blame game can go on and on and on. But yet all some of you see if what is directly in front of your nose and that is each other. So WHY keep hammering it out with one another? What purpose does it serve other than to inflate your own arrogance and ego. We must all learn to deal with this situation and get through it to the best of ALL of our abilities, whether it be full time career or part time voluteer.
 

I would like to offer a response to a previous comment,it was positive which is a good thing about would various County Structure Models work in PGFD. Ok the Baltimore County System is a workable system for that jurisdiction. In PG County how many
VFD Stations Like Stations 833 and 837 are there in POG County? For the most part the vast majority of Stations need and realize the importance of having Career Staffing. The Montgomery County Model was also mentioned. Let me first start off by saying the Montgomery County is a good viable solution to consider for PGFD. I say this because MCFRS when the law changed several years back creating a full County Fire and EMS Service. The new Law created a Fire Chief with Total Authority in Operations and Administrative issues. MCFRS utilizes the NFFF 16 Firefighter Safety Issues from every aspect of the Fire and EMS Service. ie; Very critical Health and Wellness. Safety upon each Emergency Scene etc. The ICS is set up based upon those safety Issues. I know everyone has heard of these Safety Issues. If youhave only perhaps glanced at them take a good look. One of the first things Chief Tom Carr did, was to increase Apparatus Staffing from 3 to 4. One of the 4 must be a Paramedic. He had funds allocated to accommodate the initial transistion to the new system. He also wrote and received a number of those SAFER Grants for Recruiting, Hiring etc. There were back to back Recruit Classes to reach 4-Staffing. The Safety Initiatives spells out the need and purpose for Apparatus safety features. MCFRS has received a majority of 39 New High performance Pumpers. Every one is identical. The tools and equipment
are mounted in the same compartment on each Pumper. Each Station received or will be receiving a new Pumper. If anyone happens to run on the border of PG and MCFRS Counties myou will notice every Pumper is exactly the same. If you care to check out Chief Thomas Carr and look at what he is doing in Charleston SC. There was some initial criticism of him, because it was thought by some he wasn't moving quickly enough. He has only been there something like 8 months. So far he has created 24 new positions. Charleston has Hired 100 new Firefighters since 2007 when that terrible fire occurred. Chief Carr states when the current recruit class is finished this will allow for Charleston to have 4- Staffing on their Apparatus. I am quite sure he's using the NFFF 16 Initiatives. When he first got there he received the National Rating and Charleston was 3.9. In 1998 they received a Class 1 Rating
He had the number 1 removed from the Apparatus and the emblems. He' bUilding Charleston to become a Class 1 rating again. PGFD can do this when the the Powers to be have the funding and the SAFER Grant Funding to coincide with their needs. What I have mentioned here is merely a suggestion in response to a previous comment asking about what Model for Fire and EMS Delivery Service would and can work in PGFD.
 

It's a shame that this county has turned into the armpit it has. For the 855 comments it's not the Bunkerhill Volunteer Station if you go by it's says Bunkerhill Station on the front of it. I agree it dosn't take them too long to get out on calls anymore now that they got rid of the worthless Career Officers they had and actually got some Career Officers that can do the job and that there people can trust not to get them killed. Yes we do have a few bad apples there spunging off the free room and board but there are few of us there trying to turn things around, it's a work in progress. Since the budget crises started we have been doing our part there to provide staffing when we can.
 

I dont understand alot of the crying and bickering between the two sides. The fighting and name calling gives the council what they want... To show how ignorant and incompetant you are.

The county council voted last year to furlough all county employees, cut money from the budget, and eliminate jobs. While we as county residents feel the the pain with our services, the council voted to give themselves raises.

As a county resident I write to Council Woman Bland all the time. With no response. Instead of bickering fight with the pen and fill the inboxes of these people about these issues. Especially if you live in this safe comunity.?!