An Open Letter To Vice President Joe Biden

Vice President Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Mr. Vice President,

Here in your hometown of Wilmington, firefighters and citizens are marking the closing of RESCUE-ONE, quite possibly the most important fire-rescue unit in the state. The reason? Mayor James Baker's decision to layoff highly trained public servants for not agreeing to his unusual demand to ignore the articles of their contract, which were negotiated and signed just weeks ago.

The citizens of Wilmington and the State are losing the ONLY full-time technical rescue team in the First State. With Rescue-One's closure the city of Wilmington returns to tactics that were used in the 1960's. The family trapped in a wrecked auto along I-95 will be required to wait for a volunteer squad to come to their rescue. Such delayed rescues will deprive them from gaining quick access to definitive health care at nearby Trauma centers.

Workers trapped on a scaffold on the upper floors of a Wilmington High-Rise will be required to wait it out hundreds of feet above the street, as dispatchers check with surrounding cities to determine if fire-rescue administrators are willing to lend assistance. Children caught in a swiftwater Brandywine River will perish as their would be rescuers stand not grabbing hold of a rescue line, but rather holding paperwork in the unemployment line.

Many see Rescue-One's closing as being punitive in nature, as the city administration has turned a deaf ear to dozens of options offered by citizens and firefighters alike.

Mr. Baker’s layoffs make a bad problem worse. The firings will do absolutely nothing to help fix the overriding problem -- overtime. So Chief Willie Patrick will still need to initiate his proposed rolling bypass concept, which closes inadequately staffed stations for the day. There will be days when this city of 75,000 plus will be protected by as few as 24 firefighters -- down from 38.

Mr. Vice President, you have said on several occasions that the burden of current state, county and city financial woes should not be borne on the backs of its public servants. President Obama announced last week substantial increases in the SAFER program, which you helped develop as co-chair of the Congressional Fire Services Institute. Surely, Wilmington's finance officer could develop a proposal requesting assistance from the SAFER fund.

I know that your schedule is extremely tight, but many of us in Wilmington are hoping that a phone call to the Mayor may help him re-think this decision.

I respectfully submit this letter as a firefighter advocate, and as the rookie firefighter who responded, along with Larry Mertgenthaler and Don Lentes, to the horrible accident that affected you and your family in December of 1972.

Regards,

Lou Angeli
2203 N. Harrison Street
Wilmington, DE 19802
302-275-4535

Wilmington Layoffs Will Endanger Citizens

Layoff Trend Hits Home!

WILMINGTON, DE (May 6, 2009) -- The national public safety hit list hit home this past week, when Wilmington, DE Mayor James Baker announced layoffs of firefighting and police personnel. How Baker tagged the fire department is somewhat fishy but a story worth sharing.

Just a few weeks ago, Local 1590, the Wilmington Fire Fighters Association and the city agreed on a new contract, after the fire department had been working without one for over 2 years. The members received slim raises, but there was comfort knowing that the city fire department would finally be working at authorized staffing for the first time in nearly 20 years.

In the meantime, Chief Willie Patrick, CFO and his administrative staff had labored diligently to cut nearly $800,000 from the department's 2010 budget at the Mayor’s request. They presented the plan to Wilmington City Council last week, who had questions and asked for clarifications, but suggested no changes.

Rolling Bypasses

The biggest money saver for the city would have been Patrick’s concept of “rolling bypasses”, which would close a single company for the day, if it were understaffed due to vacation or illness. Overtime personnel normally fill those positions, but since the mission was to drastically reduce overtime pay, bypass was fair resolution. It was a win-win-win situation for everyone – the citizens, city government and the firefighters, since staffing would remain the same and there would be no company closings.

Then, last week, Mayor Baker announced the layoffs, claiming that Local 1590 would not agree to freeze their newly authorized wage increase. His announcement came as a shock to the firefighting community, since he made no reference whatsoever to raise freezes just days before while the city and union were hammering out a settlement.

Incredibly, no one came to the firefighters’ defense, and the local newspaper, the News-Journal, did nothing to report on the impact of such layoffs to city residents. Well, since the News Journal didn’t feel the need to report the bad news, here it is.

Probable Scenario

I’m told that at least, 20 Wilmington firefighters will be fired– and the city's job hackers will be going back through the past three recruit classes to find enough firefighters to axe. Some of these brave men and women have invested 10 years on-the-job, and will soon lose their health benefits and payments into the pension system.

With 20 members gone, somewhere in Wilmington, a company will certainly be closed down. In the most logical scenario, the closure will likely be Rescue-1, which responds to every alarm in the city providing fire scene rescue, auto extrication, water rescue, high-angle rescue, technical rescue and hazmat mitigation. Rescue-1's closure will have immediate ramifications on emergency response and deny city residents the same level of protection that the smallest neighboring volunteer companies provide on a daily basis.

Historically speaking, when Wilmington shuts down a firehouse or closes a company, it never re-opens again. In the last generation alone, the city has lost four companies and two stations to cutbacks, none of which have ever come back online.

Expect 30 firefighters per shift

Unfortunately, Mr. Baker’s layoffs will do absolutely nothing to help fix the overtime problem, so Chief Patrick will still need to initiate the rolling bypass concept. There will be days when this city of 75,000 plus will be protected by as few as 3 engines and 2 ladders, or some combination thereof.

In order to fight a working fire, the WFD will be calling on neighboring volunteer companies more and more often to provide Rapid Intervention Teams, cover-up companies, even suppression units during large scale blazes. The volunteers are barely handling their own load, especially during the daytime hours, and are now be told to back-up their career colleagues with NO compensation whatsoever. The city receives pro-bono firefighting services by relying on an age old mutual aid agreement.

However, for those of you who recall layoffs and closings in Camden, NJ about 10 years ago, South Jersey volunteers and the City of Philadelphia FD were being called into Camden several times each week to handle an endless wave of arsons. But after a year, the volunteers got wise to Camden's ways and stopped responding, as did the City of Philadelphia -- and one could only watch as Camden burned, burned and burned some more.

Just a few weeks ago, Vice President Joe Biden emphasized that city, county and state fiscal woes “would not be borne on the backs of public safety personnel.” Evidently Joe’s friend, Mayor James Baker, and so many other public officials, didn’t tune into CNN for that speech.

"I find it difficult to comprehend that an elected official would endanger his constituents and end the careers of so many dedicated firefighter/EMT's based on retaliation." said Michelle Jones, a resident of the 40 Acres section of the city.

"The mayor is pointing the finger of blame at the firefighter's union,' she added, 'when in reality, it is his (Baker's) decision alone that will soon place the citizens of Wilmington at risk."

Update: On May 7, 2009, President Barack Obama fulfilled a campaign commitment by proposing a huge funding increase for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants, which has been the IAFF's signature program. The extra funding is being made available to career departments in order to keep firefighters in firehouse, not the unemployment line. A portion of these funds could be directed to the Wilmington Fire Department, if someone would simply apply for the assistance.

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Mayor Strikes a Deep Blow to Philly's Firefighters

Mayor Michael Nutter

by: Lou Angeli

PHILADELPHIA, PA (December 18, 2008) -- Back in early November, Philly Mayor Michael Nutter announced plans to cut 7 companies from the Philadelphia Fire Department roster. The closings were part of a larger budget cut package that will eventually cost 800 city employees their jobs. Nutter’s reason? He says that the city faces "an economic storm" that could result in a $1 billion shortfall.

The proposed cuts to the Philadelphia Fire Department would be the most drastic in the agency’s 300-year history. Companies, which are being eliminated include:

Engine-1, Engine-6, Engine-8, Engine-14, Engine-39, Ladder-1, Ladder-11

Nutter has defended the company closings as being crucial to the city’s fiscal health, but critics want proof that proposed cuts won't increase risks. They cite increased response times and workload, as neighboring companies pick up the slack.

The cuts will reduce the department’s operating strength by 147, which essentially cancels the department’s new rookie class. A sad state of affairs as many of those young men and women have waited as long a 4 years for the class – and their careers – to begin. No active firefighters will lose their jobs as the city plans to reassign them to other stations in the city.

Engine-8, a popular spot for tourists and firebuffs, is already missing from this picture.

Whenever any fire station is closed, one can expect the community to be up at arms. But Philadelphians have been especially vocal in regard to this issue, launching impromptu street protests and supporting firefighters during their scheduled demonstrations.

Additionally, many of the closings make no tactical sense. For example, in the Roxborough section of the city, the loss of Engine 39 means that the first-due company in much of the area will be its station partner, Ladder 30, a tractor drawn aerial. Should a working fire occur, the ladder crew will be forced to wait for one of three surrounding Engine Companies to arrive before the fire attack to begin. Imagine the chaos as 5 firefighters pace back and forth in front of the burning building, waiting for water to arrive.

During presentation of his budget cut package, Mayor Nutter indicated that Emergency Medical Services would not be affected. If you read between the lines you’ll find that the comment is misleading. Each of the 7 companies, which are scheduled to be closed, are dispatched as a first responders on life-threatening emergencies. At least one member of each company is certified to the EMT-B level and nearly all members have been trained in the use of AED’s. It’s not unusual for an Engine or Ladder crew to have stabilized a critically ill or injured patient before the arrival of firemedic units.

The last of a dozen or so town meetings with Mayor Nutter was held last night but it doesn’t appear that he’ll be changing his mind soon. In the meantime, IAFF Local 22, the Philadelphia Fire Fighters’ Union, yesterday sued the city in both Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Common Pleas Court. Both complaints cite that firefighter safety and health will be compromised if the city proceeds with the closings.

“We have taken this step because we have no other choice,” said IAFF Local 22 President Brian McBride, a 33 year veteran of the Fire Department. “Lives are at stake', McBride added, 'Unless we do something to slow this thing down, I am convinced that people will die.”

There is no specific date set for the closings, but the Mayor has indicated they will take place just after the New Year. Many expect the shutdowns to take place without any warning, with on-coming crews being sent home to await reassignment.

For additional information, or to support Philly’s firefighters, visit this special website SavePFD.com.

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Resources:

-Philadelphia Inquirer

-IAFF Local 22

-WPVI-TV