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Post by 911guy on Nov 5, 2003 11:03:14 GMT -5
OK, let me get some more discussion started. I LOVE the discussion about the box alarm issue and I want to see more thoughts on it.
In the meantime, consider this:
WHAT IF the Bradford County Fire Chief's Association and Bradford County established a Bradford County Fire Authority? Establish thorough by-laws and SOP's, determine who the membership would be, have every municipality sign it, and make it THE clearinghouse AND authority for fire issues. It could establish standards for everything from safety to minimum standards for personnel and apparatus to communications and box alarm configurations, etc., etc. It could also perhaps bring more trainings to the county for everyone?
Waddya think?
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Post by 2Truck on Nov 5, 2003 11:53:52 GMT -5
In my opinion the only way that this would happen is if the county commissioners stepped in and took over the fire service. Due to the number of departments that are in the county is highly unlikely that everyone is going to go along with something like this. There are too many "old timers" that don't want to see "their" fire department lose their name and become something better. Just look at the proposed merger that was looked at between the 3 central departements. Someday, probobly sooner rather then later, this will become a reality due to the lack of volunteers that there are. When that happens goodbye low taxes!
As far as creating standard SOP's and minumum training standards for the county, they are a long time over due. Too many times I've seen people on the fire ground that are completley clueless when they are given an assignment. By not having SOP's we're just hurting ourselves and opening ourselves up to a huge lawsuit if something goes wrong (although if you do have SOP's, and you don't follow them look out, but that's a whole nother subject).
911guy you have some great ideas but for now we have to get over all of the egos that are clouding the path of progress in the county fire service.
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Post by Skip18810 on Nov 5, 2003 13:58:53 GMT -5
I think that by the time the authority was up and running, we'd have forgotten why we created it. We would be better served by simpler solution.
First, is there a department/departments out there who are willing to try paging only the primary department on the first page, and the full box alarm assignment on the second page? We really ought to find out what new problems that could create.
Lets experiment before we make policy.
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Post by 911wacker on Nov 6, 2003 16:22:14 GMT -5
I think that skip is right, however we have an Association in place now. Why doesn't someone take the initiative to increase participation from the departments who don't show up anyway, isn't that why we have 80% of the problems anyway. Really if ALL DEPARTMENTS were represented at every meeting (only 6 per year) and the information discussed at these meetings was distributed to ALL emergency personel in the county I'm willing to bet that MOST of the issues that have been discussed could be REDUCED OR ELIMINATED ALL TOGETHER!!!!!!
I bet that if the 911 center and the Cheifs Association started sending letters to the departments who never show up and told them that starting on Jan. 1st the way they are dispatched, radio channels, who will be answered, etc, etc, is changing and they have a say in it ONLY if they are represented at the meetings that they will be present from now on and some progress may be made.
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Post by canton1 on Nov 7, 2003 1:05:48 GMT -5
Wacker---CHIEF is spelled like that not CHEIF. Now I know why you got booted from NY State. I have talked with the all mighty Jeff about this and I think that it is a great idea but, we can't even agree on what gets Boxed let alone listen to someone else about how we are going to do accountability or Truck critiria. If we can't talk about having "PR's,M's, Squads" and so to come to a resolve how will that work. Hell some wont even tell the Comm center when they get new apparatus. I would love to have entire county to be doing stuff the same way, even if that means that we have to change.
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