The Westfield Fire Department has seen the reduction of it's ranks through attrition without replenishment. The safety of Westfield's "Bravest" has become a concern of the rank and file and some Westfield residents are questioning their own safety in the event of a house fire where the response of a full platoon is paramount but will be lacking.The Fact of The Matter has learned that this year alone, at least four firefighters will be retiring. Without the hiring of additional firefighters to replace those that have recently retired, those retiring in the upcoming months will further deplete an already overburdened FD on the scene of a structure fire.
The Town of Westfield instituted a hiring freeze to save money. One would have to ask what pricetag have Town Officials put on the life of a firefighter or that of a Westfield resident. Stay tuned.............
what happened to all the money the town saved by the PD giving up Longevity for new hires years ago....that should have added up to millions......
ReplyDeleteIs it a fact that the WFD will not be replacing those retiring firefighters?
ReplyDeleteHow many men are on each platoon currently?
I don't think a hiring freeze would apply to public safety...
At this time it does not appear that the Town will be replacing the retiring firefighters. There was a risk of layoffs this year, prior to the retirements.
ReplyDeleteThe number of men on each platoon is down from what it has been as a result of positions not being filled due to retirements. Instead of laying off firefighters, the town is not replacing positions vacated as a result of retirements.
The hiring freeze has been applied to public safety. The police department is down manpower despite an audit last year that suggested manpower be increased. When TFoTM obtains the audit we will post it here.
GIVE ME A BREAK...... There are no fires or things that these guys do!!! If there is a real emergency all they have to do is contact boarding towns for additional help just like other towns do to us..... CUT THE SPENDING..... We dont need anymore over paid firemen, "working for 24 hours and then off for 4 days" Yes did you hear that..... i said working - what a joke! Yes the firemen in this town come in for 24 hours do nothing and then they have off for 4 days.... thats working??? WAKE UP WESTFIELDERS..... It will just mean 4 less men standing around for their 24 hour shift doing nothing waiting to go work for 4 days at their side job actually doing work. Most of which take jobs away from REAL business's and owners of business's who pay all the necessary insurance's and try to make a living for there family's...... These guys just like the DPW have had it WAY to easy for WAY to long! I would love to see these guys go out and get a REAL job or start a REAL business and pay for insurance and try to make a living for there family and see how easy it is! I think they should stand out front of the fire house some more and wave to passerbys more just like the MAYOR we have who stands around doing NOTHING and waving in his photo opts every chance he gets! ENOUGH is ENOUGH. The firemen need to be just like every other town in the area..... volunter..... LETS WORK TOWARDS REFORM IN THIS TOWN. Cranford and Scotch Plains doesnt have house's and buildings burning down that i am reading or hearing about or unsafe issues - HOW COME??.... why do the Westfield firemen need to be paid??? WHY.... Because WE ARE SPECIAL.... Remember.... We are WESTFIELDERS and we are better then those people and those towns!....WHAT A JOKE.... i keep paying like the rest of you though, it is so said!
ReplyDeleteProtecting the lives and property of our citizens is of Paramount importance. We need a capable and appropriately staffed fire department to do so. What's disturbing is that no-one has indicated
ReplyDelete1)how many firefighters we currently have.
2)how many firefighters we currently need.
Again, according to standard operating procedure how many firefighters are we suppose to have per platoon and how many do we actually have? And if these numbers are different who is responsible?
When your house burns down you will wish we had the firemen you and the rest of the town needs. The cost to keep this town safe is reasonable. It is a good deal. If you want to live in a community without an adequate fire service then move. A paid department is here to stay in Westfield!!
ReplyDeleteThe fire service has changed greatly over the years. Men just sitting around the firehouse waiting for the bell to respond to a fire is a thing of the past. The fire service has changed into a full emergency service department; responding to calls such as fires, medical calls, motor vehicle accidents, carbon monoxide calls, hazardous materials incidents, bomb scares, flooded basements, animal rescues etc...While not responding to emergency calls, firefighters maintain fire equipment, rigs, tools, and the firehouses. Firefighters perform fire inspections & prevention duties, and fire safety classes for school children. Also while firefighters are not on emergency calls, they are attending classes for licenses and medical certifications that are required by the state for their day to day duties.
ReplyDeleteWhether you Like firefighters or not....if you call them....they will always come
The National Fire Protection Association states that 16 firefighter be on scene of a residential fire within 10 minutes. WFD has four 8 man shifts. They will work with a minimum of 6. Sometimes the staffing will drop to 4 or 5 if a firefighter/EMT is transporting to an area hospital with the Westfield Rescue Squad.
Well it does sound reasonable to have at least six on duty at any one time. We surely do not want to become like Springfield with THREE firemen on each shift. You make a good point. The town should find a way to get firefighters out of the EMS business as much as possible. It is poor economics to have them doing EMS. EMTs get perhaps $15 per hour and relatively slim benefits and pensions. Firefighters get way, way more. When they assist the Rescue Squad and leave for the hospital, replacements are often paged from home to respond for cover. Three or four hours of overtime mandatory despite the fact that the ff/EMT will usually be back "in service" before the paged firefighter shows up at the firehouse. Big overtime waste of money.
ReplyDeleteWFD should get paid per fire they put out cause on any given day u can walk into the south side fire house and join them in playing video games. That reminds me why do we need two fire houses. With a light bar, siren and me blowing all traffic lights I can get anywhere in town in six minutes.
ReplyDeleteThe Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recommends 2.4 police officers for every 1000 residents. Westfield's 2009 population was approximately 29,374. Doing the math would mean that Westfield should be staffed with 70.5 sworn police officers. The current staffing levels are nowhere near the 59 that used to be employed as police officers. The current number of police officers is around 52 and with the planned retirements announced recently that number will dip below 50.....why?
ReplyDeleteFor starters Dave needs a secretary.
ReplyDeleteThe Deputy Chief does not need a secretary.
ReplyDelete