Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Share your stories

Firefighters...  Share your stories on the new deployment plan.  Let us know how it has impacted public safety, firefighter safety and LAFD morale.

All comments are moderated and anonymous.  Add as few or as many details as you are comfortable sharing.

77 comments:

  1. Given the well documented nation-wide accident rates for all PD and FD emergency vehicles, why are BLS calls subsequently upgraded to "Emergency" whenever their commute times are extended due to distance ?

    I'd hate to try to explain that one in a deposition or court...

    T2

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  2. When is the Union going to "out" how top heavy we are? Do we really "need" 2 BC's AND a "command" company for a detached garage fire? What is the current "gold to silver" ratio and how does it compare nationwide? Daily, other companies go to other districts to cover, causing a domino effect and delays. The "Gold" has perfected the mission of misinformation, outwardly altering stat's to "prove" that all these gold badges are somehow necessary, all the while cutting the actual "workers". Is our next Strike Team really going to be "5 BC's and an Engine"? From the engine house perspective, the Chiefs have lost all credibility in manipulating the "numbers" to reach their own goals of self preservation, at the cost of the field and public safety. The Union can choose any 5 or 10 TF stations that lost an Engine and/or look at the call load for the surrounding stations that lost an RA. As we all KNOW, you can't handle an increase of calls with less field resources and expect the same level of resource. It's time for the Union put together REAL numbers and educate the City Council on what's really happening, not what the Chief Officers "want" them to believe.

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    1. GREAT POINT...THERE IS SOO MUCH INFORMATION THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE CLEAR ABOUT THE REALITY OF HOW THE UPPER BRASS HAS LOST THE REAL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS TRUELY ALL ABOUT. "HARD WORK"...THE WORKERS ARE WHERE THE RUBBER MEATS THE ROAD AND ITS WHERE THE PUBLIC WE SO PROUDLY SERVE, GETS TO KNOW US. THE GOLD BADGES SHOULD BE THERE TO SUPPORT US AND HELP US. NOT TO BE SOME EGOTISTICAL AUTHORITY FIGURE WHO GETS PAID VAST AMOUNTS OF MONIES DO DO...WELL EXACTLY WHAT? THEIR STAFF ASSISTANT DOES IT ALL ACTUALLY...ANOTHER "WORKER". IN FACT, TAKE THAT AWAY FROM THEM AND 98 PERCENT OF THE BATTALION CHIEFS CANT DO ABOUT 98 PERCENT OF WHAT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DOING.

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  3. Congratulations to members of IAFF Local 112 and welcome to the blogosphere. I am pleased to see UFLAC members using this arena as a place to share their personal observations, concerns and opinions on an off-duty basis.

    As you move forward, please remember: the most important diversity of all is diversity of opinion; and that sustainable solutions to any personal concern always benefit greatly from teamwork and communication.

    Again, best wishes for your blog!

    Fraternally Yours in Safety and Service,

    Brian Humphrey
    Firefighter/Specialist
    Public Service Officer
    Los Angeles Fire Department

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  4. Note: This blog is being operated by community members concerned with the resources allocated to the fire department and the impact the diminished resources has on response times, public safety and firefighter safety.

    It is not operated by a union.

    Thanks to all in the LAFD who keep us safe.

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  5. I hear the Chief is looking to close 7 more Trucks soon. WTF is going on and how can our leadership ( i use that term loosley ) allow this.

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  6. We have always been told were the Best Fire Dept. in the world....LOL Were not even the best in Southern California!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  7. Let me see 80% plus EMS calls and Policy is transport everyone, and we closed transporting resources. Thats why it took me 25 min to get on scene to transport a BLS pt in 24s district the exact same district that closed an 800 I'm sure glad the citizens who pay their property taxes for many years are subsidizing the rest of the city.

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  8. The way I see it the union is a little to blame too. They dont do enough to inform the citizens of LA, they take the easy way out with buying postage and just mailing. You gotta get out and talk to the people, much mor effective than a postcard.

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  9. Lets have the EMS captain's do the AMA's. And keep the RA's open for a transport.

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  10. I ASSUME THAT BECAUSE THIS BLOG IS BRAND NEW, THEIR WILL BE MANY OF OUR OWN MEMBERS EXPRESSING SOME BUILT UP FRUSTRATIONS. RIGHTFULLY SO. AND MOST CITIZENS WILL MOST LIKELY JUST READ THESE AS OPPOSED TO COMMENT ON THEM. SO WHAT I AM GOING TO DO IS ATTEMPT TO RELATE TO OUR CITIZENS AND EDUCATE THEM AS TO HOW OUR FINE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY A LAW SUIT HAPPY ...NOT PUBLIC, BUT DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEES. AS WELL AS SOO MANY OTHER DYNAMICS THAT ARE JUST SIMPLY PUT..."WEAK". AND EXPLAIN HOW THIS DIRECTLY AFFECTS THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT THEM AS CITIZENS, RECIEVE FROM US. THIS IS WHAT THEY SHOULD REALLY BE CONCERNED ABOUT. ITS TIME TO LET THE TRUTH OUT. WE OWE THEM THAT

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  11. I was at CE at FS64 last year DR Eckstein our Carrol nurse instructor and Chief Mario Rudea where present. Chief Rudea addressed the class.. He told us keep the Engine or Truck Co on seen longer and use them to help with the patient..That would help reduce firefighter injuries..He is the first Chief I've heard say that, I think this is a positive move...

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    1. A fire resource should only be kept on scene if they are needed to assist with NEEDED patient care. I have never been on a company that complained of assisting our coworkers on an RA if our assistance was needed. Too frequently though, RA's keep a fire resource on scene while they start an IV that will not be used in the field and perform other ALS functions like 12 leads that we can not help with, all while Engine/Light Force crews stand around out of service. I have seen a large increase the last few years of Engine/Light Force crews standing around, simply because all BLS functions are complete and their is nothing for them to do, but the RA will not release us. Perhaps going back to actually treating the patient rather than treating boxes on a form would help.

      I believe it is not that fire companies do not want to help an RA crew, only that when we are done with what we can do, we should be going available to help others rather than stand around the back of an RA.

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    2. Agreed, RA's ARE keeping the fire company MUCH longer than what used to happen. Drivers are also being requested 10 fold more than in the past. You can thank PSD for that. When your on an RA and are put through the PSD mill a few times, you too would keep the fire company as long as it takes until your very comfortable that NOTHING is going to go wrong, from problems with patient care to complaints from the patient or family. With PSD (The Department) attacking the RA's (800's too), there is NO way I am going to release a fire company and put my neck on the chopping block, knowing the "Axe" is ready to swing, so I can release a fire resource potentially premature only to be second guessed by the department, leaving only me and my partner to "enjoy" being grilled by PSD like a "suspect". Nope, I want the whole crew there. We are "held to a higher standard.. but given less credibility". How many PSD investigations are there on-going where there is an RA AND a Fire Company with the patient the entire time? Few, and those rarely go anywhere. A huge majority of the time, the complaints are limited to just the RA crew. This isn't what "we" want, it is just survival mode for the RA crews. I try and educate the crews of the fire company WHY I need to hold them or need a driver, either during or after the call. In my experience, after giving my reasons for keeping the fire company OR requesting a driver, I have NEVER had a complaint from a fire company. Sometimes the "help" we need is just that of being a witness.

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    3. My department had this issue many years ago. What we did was train all of the firemen to be EMT's so that they could work as a team with the paramedics to treat the patient. We found that as EMT's the firemen were able to help expedite patient care, thus making the RA available for more EMS calls (90%-95% of our call volume). More importantly, instead of standing around feeling useless, our firemen were trained in EMT level skills such as setting up IV's, applying 12 lead EKG patches, performing patient assessments, etc. The firemen now had a role in the majority of their calls! Of course, we were able to negotiate a pay bonus for the EMT skill - something that may not be possible in your cities financial situation. Perhaps empowering your firemen with the EMT scope of practice, rather than relying on basic first-aid skills could improve morale and better serve the community. Just an observation.

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    4. All LAFD fire fighters have been RMT D's for over 27 years.

      I suggest staffing all FF / EMT rescues (800's) with civilian EMT's and putting those FF's rhat were on the 800's back on closed Engines.

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    5. The Citizens of Los Angeles have shown us on a daily basis that they want to be transported to the Hospital in an Ambulance. They call us about 1000 times a day with a wide variety of medical complaints for that purpose. We need more Transporting resources in the system. Anyone who doesn't understand this has no place in the Fire Service because we have Fire Prevented ourselves in an EMS system that can respond to fires if need be.

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    6. Thats my point, we can hire 3 to 4 civilian EMT's for the price of one FF. Lets say 3, that means we would have 3 800 rescues for our one FF 800 rescue now.
      I know lots of FF's wont like this because that will cut into their overtime.
      These civilian EMT ambulances would be a way for future FF/Paramedics to get their foot in the door.
      Another thing, stop with all the chiefs, never seen one chief yet put out a fire.

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    7. Civilian EMT's would just hurt our department. do you really think they would hire civilians and open more engines. Lets look at reality, they want to cut costs not take on more. If they hire civilians then we will become a much smaller department. be careful what you wish for.

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    8. The complications of having a mixed workforce preclude having civilian EMT's. Between complaints, station life and accountability, this isn't practical. Look at what AMR puts in the field. Do you want that EMT living in your fire station? Keep it sworn. The taxpayers WANT a high level of service, and now were going to give them ARM? How many 800's can we staff if we start cutting some CHIEFS? 3 or 4? I have yet to see a Chief transport, put a fire out or do overhaul. The public would never notice if we cut out half the Chief Officers, instead we cut out 800's and Engines at a fraction of what Chiefs make, thereby slowing responses and endangering the public and those of us who serve them.

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  12. Firefighters: It IS time to let the truth out. Please let us know how the deployment plan has impacted response times, public safety and your safety. We will be releasing some independent response stats soon.

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    1. While looking at response data, look at all the data, NOT just the first company on scene. For example, compare pre-deployment and post-deployment plan response data not just for the first arriving fire company, but also the first arriving Light Force and the last company assigned. I think you will find first Light Force on scene and last company on scene response times will be higher than before the re-deployments. I believe that by limiting the discussion to only the first company arriving on scene, the Chief is hiding the greater negative impact of the redeployment.

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    2. Stats being compiled compare full deployment to deployment plan. Categories studied are:
      First ALS On Scene
      First ALS Transport On Scene
      First Batt. Chief On Scene
      First BLS Transport On Scene
      First Engine On Scene
      First Light Force On Scene
      First Squad On Scene
      First Truck On Scene
      First Transport On Scene
      First Resource Enroute
      First Resource On Scene

      Initial calculations show impacts on response time in all categories and on consistency of response time.

      All stats are based on raw incident data secured through a public records request.

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  13. Its sad to me to watch this once excellent outfit going down the drain. We seem to care only about stats now, so we can go to the council with numbers that will get us an improved budget. I understand the need to do this, but it should not be our focus. Serving the people of this city both professionally and efficiently should be our task. We have lost our focus! Our dept. could make many cost effective cuts to help the budget but they are unwilling to do so. Why, because it will sting at the administrative level. Top heavy is the understatement of the century! Our admin is so week that in over twenty years they still havent been able to work with DHS to get EMT online or decentralized, pathetic! I have checked and other agencies have moved into the twenty first century but it requires effort. I have a list of things to comment on, but this blog is more about response times so I will ask your forgiveness for rambling on about other issues. Its just that the reason we have the problems we do is because of a disconnected leadership group. Now, as far as response times go, we are traveling farther more frequently. Our engine is a command company and we have responded red lights and siren half way across the city, with two BC's assigned (one with an SA) to an oven fire. This is happening frequently! We are putting the public at greater risk with our actions now than ever before. Districts are left empty and our call load is ridiculous. Companies are closed daily for a host of crazy reasons. Its time for the TOP to spend some time WORKING on REAL solutions to our problems. Your job is to SUPPORT THE FIELD! You exist for us, not the other way around!

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    1. disconnected leadership group? I beg to differ Sir!
      The LAFD's chief officers have done a stellar job of proving just how connected they are over the last few years. Connected to themselves and connected to profiting from the budget crisis. Not so connected to the citizens of Los Angeles or the firefighters who serve them......I will give you that.

      The command company responses are a perfect example of the chief officers complete dedication to IGM. What once took two members (bc and sa) now takes 6 or 7 (2 bc's, 4 man engine, sometimes sa). We all know good and well that it doesn't take that many people to run 99% of our fires, but they want to be able to show a huge call load increase. They will then attempt to parlay that into getting their SA's or EIT's (which ever title they have this week) back. Never mind the increased work load on already busy engine companies. Never mind the safety issues associated with these long and unnecessary responses. If it gets them their drivers back, it's all good.

      We are not without blame in this mess either. Where is our voice (UFLAC) in all of this? You'll continue to get the same thing from McOsker, Lima, Drake, et al, as you have for the last three years......CRICKETS!

      Please be careful out there and continue to give the citizens the best service you can. They have never been anything but good to us and they deserve better than what they are getting now.

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  14. The engine co. should handle basic ref814 and release the RA.
    OCDS should at least ask if the Eng co. could release the RA.
    Some Signals/OCDS Dispatchers do ask.

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  15. The swap of 4's and 21's has impacted all the companies around that horrible district, the realignment has caused all surrounding districts to be next up at the jails, we are constantly running to the jails for non emergency ALS calls and leaving our districts empty. Our upper brass has given 21's a vacation while every other company pulls its own weight and then some, check every district around 4's since the new deployment plan started, you will find increased call loads and times. Ultimately the citizens are the ones that are left with no ALS resources to help them in their time of need.

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    1. Why can't the county jails just transport their own prisoners instead of impacting the local agency. Did you know they DO NOT PAY for the transportation on top of that.

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    2. Why cant the DWP check their own hydrants. They are NOT GETTING CUT. These FD cuts at the worker level are getting old

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    3. I agree, we we on a sheared hydrant the other night, and we all got soaked trying to find the shut off all the while a couple DWP guys sat nice and warm in their truck sipping coffee while watching us.

      With all the goozillions the DWP has they dont have crews to shut off their own hydrants? We really need to be doing this for them? We missed a full arrest run in our district while we were shutting off the DWP's hydrant. Did that matter? Who knows? Do the chiefs care? I would guess NOT!

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    4. My understanding is that LAFD gets paid $25 per hydrant we test.
      Sheared hydrants pouring thousands of gallons of water per minute into adjacent structures and property, not to mention often the victim-containing vehicles involved can pretty safely be covered by our mission statement "to preserve life and property,". How bout we do it, then charge DWP.

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    5. I was apart of this move and have first hand experience with how terrible 4's is. We now run probably double the runs we used to down at 21s while 21s now runs probably 1/3 of what they were running at 4s. The problem is, is they have 4 resources to share the runs of a moderate district and we only have 3 resources to share the runs in a very busy district. Not to mention our 20 ft ext. ladder cannot reach the roof of about 99% of the buildings in 4s district....

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  16. The CHIEF recently asked why the number of Firefighter IOD (Injury on Duty) claims have gone up since the MCP and new Deployment plan went into effect? Really? Really? Really chief? Let me break it down for you. When you take a growing city, with an increasing call load, and YOU shut down companies and YOU take over a 100 fireman positions out of service, then that call load gets shifted to ever one else. When you start taking on more than you can handle, you break....or in our case, fireman get hurt. Fireman are getting hurt more now than at any other time on this department.... look at the stats chief, they do not lie. Its really that simple. Its all on YOU.

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    1. Your statements are right on! The fact that the CHIEF had to even ask this proves the disconnect between the field and "Gold". Less field works + Higher call load = More IOD. Didn't we learn this in second grade?

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  17. They know the rigs break down with constant use, why do they have trouble accepting the fact that the members break down as well?
    Has anyone ever considered why the tax payers in Los Angeles are still paying the same tax rate for their fire service even though their coverage has been reduced due to the deployment plan? It has to do with the ISO rating of the LAFD. Are we still a class one department? If not why should they pay the same.

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  18. This Fire Department is not at all what it once was. The workload has increased tremendously becasue of the cuts. The City's population has increased over the years and we the LAFD are working with less. Response times in emergencies are longer. Patient care is delayed. We are going to be understaff the day the big incident arrives and we know it. The GOLD BADGES overtime is incredible, look it up under LA City Controllers home page. Most Gold was making close to 200,000 by September of 2011 while the rest of us were losing homes. MORALE IS NOT TOO HIGH!!!!

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  19. Firefighters: Please help us in seeking more funding for the fire department. We need to know specific incidents where the deployment plan cutbacks have caused delay, harm to the public or harm to a firefighter. If you get us the information, we will fight for more resources!

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  20. GLENN ALLEN RIP NEED I SAY MORE ABOUT OUR BROWN OUTS AND LACK OF RESOURCES???????????????????????????????????

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  21. Im curious, we all know how we found this blog. You sent us an email. How do you expect the citizens of LA are going to find this blog?

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  22. Just wait the next move the chief will be asking to remove the 4th FF off the Engine and run 3 man engine company's just like the county.

    Are we losing any spots in disaster preparedness?

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  23. Answer: This blog is not run by the union. It is run by the community. We are gathering information on how the deployment plan has impacted us and you so that we can apply pressure to fix it.

    Few of the "public" know that there is a deployment plan.

    Fewer know what the true impacts have been.

    Only you (firefighters) know what the incident-by-incident impacts are. We need to know what you know.

    Expect a release of deployment plan statistics soon... In the meantime, please keep letting us know what the impacts have been and thanks for keeping us safe.

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  24. This is the #1 issue right now for us at the LAFD. UFLAC should have a couple directors putting stats together, that's their job and they have the time to do it (because we pay them to!) Example: Everytime LF35/ RA35 and is on an incident and their is another run in their district drawing resources from say 82's or 27's that should be documented somewhere, probably dispatch records from OCD. Is it that hard to figure out? Anywhere there has been a resource closed, the surrounding stations have had to handle the additional workload (equals greater response times).
    A large portion of us have found the "warm port in the storm" and things aren't too bad. They know its tough out there, but why raise a fuss if its not impacting me. While there are those struggling but are trying to do their best. Help a brother out! UFLAC needs to hear from all of us.

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  25. Look up how often resources are dragged into the North-East valley. RA60 emergency to 74's on an allergic reaction? RA55 to 24's on an AMI? Giving specific, detailed information is nice and helpful but I agree, the Union needs to dig into the available stat's, find out what the REAL delays are, NOT what the Gold Badges want reflected. The Chiefs have fudged the numbers time and again for self preservation and to further their goal of appeasing the Mayor at the expense of the citizens. It is time for the Union to assign this task of going through the number, historic data, and then present the truth, loudly, to the public.

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  26. Repeating a previous comment: We have secured and analyzed all raw incident data since 2007. This includes full deployment, MCP and the new deployment plan. The facts speak for themselves and will be released soon.

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    1. Please BlogAdmin let us all know when the incident data for the last 5 years will be released. It should be presented to the Council and a strong UFLAC presence be present. Lets not hold on to these facts for another 5 years. It should be on a handout posted in every fire station and given to every next of kin.

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  27. Within days, not months. Too much is at stake. LAFD needs to have its funding restored NOW. We are just going through the last steps on validating the findings. It's important to get this right.

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  28. Agreed. No need to rush the data and release garbage. Examples of useful data would include: Calls per resource, time to first company on scene, time to first RA on scene, "Man hours worked" per resource. The last one is also manipulated by the Chiefs. The "hours worked" are not "credited" or counted the same for RA's as for Fire resources. Reason being, at busy assignment a lot more RA's would exceed federal guidelines. You might want to find out exactly "how" that raw data is calculated and why it isn't calculated the same for ALL resources.

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  29. Stats being compiled:
    First ALS On Scene
    First ALS Transport On Scene
    First Batt. Chief On Scene
    First BLS Transport On Scene
    First Engine On Scene
    First Light Force On Scene
    First Squad On Scene
    First Truck On Scene
    First Transport On Scene
    First Resource Enroute
    First Resource On Scene

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  30. No updates in 5 days? Really? I hope my fellow members are not letting me down. This is an excellent forum and many members are looking forward to the report outcome and a chance to "hear" other members thoughts and idea's, along with concerns.

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  31. Once again, our ALS rescue goes on a non-emergency BLS response. Two minutes later, LF goes on a critical patient and had to wait 21 minutes for a rescue. ten minutes after that call, same scenario. Only this time, we waited for 32 minutes for an ALS rescue. Yes, we did get on the radio and ask for closer rescue of any type. The members onscene have to bear the responsibility of keeping the family members calm due to this plan. A computer came up with this plan, and we, the field members have to suffer. My advise..take care of home and your families. The top reasons why FF's get killed is training and staffing. Hint!

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  32. We need more PM RA's and less assessment engines and trucks. Making 10 more assessment rigs with this deployment plan was just a pr move. We would have been better off adding 5 more PM RA's than 10 assessment rigs. An assessment rig cant transport and does not make any money for the city.

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  33. DOCUMENT! When in court, the gold is no where to be found. Be honest with the family. RA's are going on "A" level calls since no BLS is available. I worked a full arrest on the Truck, all ALS AND made base, declared prior to arrival of the RA. Do NOT clear before complete documentation is done. If a structure goes down in your district or any other call, avoid being sucked in and complete your task and cover your "assets"! This is the New World Order. We didn't create it, we didn't agree with it and the Chief is going to have this as his legacy. The unfortunate truth is the public is going to suffer, and die, based on this flawed "model". You have NO choice but to complete your tasks, one call at a time. If you have to wait, then wait. If a driver is needed, then one is needed. Making it "work" and sticking your neck out isn't worth it. "They" will blame you, cut your head off and offer no support. Been there, done that. Take care of your crew, yourself and do what you can for the public. We all KNOW that until the public suffers and stand up, or more firefighter die, nothing will change. Look at the history of the department. This is a predictable event.

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  34. A major emergency structure fire in 39s district inc #926. many surrounding districts were left uncovered for more than an hour. Not enough companies too provide adequate move ups? OCD slow to fill vacant spots at the risk of creating bigger holes ? or its just a chance the department is willing to take at the expense of our communities? lets take the gamble....???? How about a new motto... We dont gamble with the lives and property of or valued communities. Gamble .. go to vegas.

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  35. Some data on the fire that killed Glenn Allen:

    Stn 41 is listed as first-in. It was reported at the time that Stn 41 was "browned-out" on that day. This is the lineup as reported in LAFD stats:

    LF27(11:06), RA41(11:12), BC18(12:08), E97(15:06), RA97(15:37), LFA78(19:32), EM5(19:42), BC11(45:18), DC2(48:29), LF20(53:04), RA27(57:47), E3(61:17), EM18(64:05), BC9(65:25), E89(66:44)

    Comments?

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    1. E41 was not browned out. It was E27 and Batt 5

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  36. To all members: Contact UFLAC with any deployment issues! There have been quite a few incidents recently that definately would qualify. President McCosker is appearing before Council and going on record pleading for recovery of resources (see UFLAC.org website video 1/13 & 1/31). Lets give him more examples to further bolster his pleas.

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  37. I assume the () means time til on scene? So Sta 41 was an RA Only station at that time? Was any of the other companies browned out? What did the green report say? How about a time of alarm, first on scene time, time of emergency traffic. The builder was just arrested and it is just the one year mark for Glenn. Might be a good time to release OUR own report. Don't expect the department to provide any real facts that may, or may not, have contributed to his death.

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  38. The Department put out a Special Notice titled Dispatch Algorithm Modifications on February 14, that seeks "To increase the availability of light forces." Because, "With the recent reassignment of resources in a number of areas of the City, the availability of light forces can be significantly impacted." Their solution, not add more Light Forces, but shift Automatic Alarms, Smoke Detectors, Water Flow and Bells Ringing calls, from Light Forces to Engine Companies. So let me get this straight, you shift call load from the slowest resource in the station to the busiest, and call it problem solved. Where do we get these guys?

    The same Special Notice states, "Ninety Eight Per-Cent (98%) of these incidents are determined to be false alarms." The administration has been encouraged many times to charge for these false alarms like LAPD does, but the Department refuses to do so. The same Dispatch Algorithm Modifications Special Notice states, "The Department responds to approximately 50 automatic alarm incidents each 24 hour shift." I don't know what LAPD charges for automatic alarms, but even if we only charged $100 fer false alarm, the Department would net $1.78 Million per year from the alarm companies. Alarm companies make money by using a tax payer paid for service, the LAFD, to deliver their product with no compensation to the agency they are using, WHY? How many resources could be reopened if the LAFD was getting just compensation from alarm companies, charging for using our service, while removing companies from service to the community for false alarms?

    Medical alert false alarms should get the same charges as false fire alarms. I have been a Department member for 20+ years and have responded to less than 12 legitimate medical alert alarms where the person needed medical care. In the vast majority of these incidents, no one is even home.

    The Department should be charging for false alarms and reopening resources, but instead their solution is to reduce the availability of Engine Companies, Why????

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  39. To add to that comment: About 3% of all calls are identified by the LAFD as being Utility related (DWP/Gas...).

    The utilities charge the City for just about everything - including waer/power for city parks. Why wouldn't the LAFD charge 3% of its budget to DWP? LAFD has to maintain readiness and allocate resources for these incidents.

    The next question: Why didn't the City Council demand reimbursement as part of its recent DWP rate increase? They were told about the incident counts...

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  40. a handicapped man burned alive inside his home at 1700 hrs, another man died due to his injuries at a structure fire out in the valley, LAFD did a waterdrop on a single family residence fire created more damage than the fire itself, entire community left without fire protection service for hours every day. The LAFD cut back on resources and tripled the call load for districts already limited. The Northeast, east, and valley took the biggest hit with the cutbacks. South part of los angeles predominantly african american communities gained resources. Squeeky wheel gets the oil or is the LAFD management taking care of their own?

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    1. 1700 today (2/20/12)? Was the water drop today?

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  41. This blog is important but if we document these incidents in their PSD system, we get a tracking number which the LAFD cannot say that they were not aware of the hazard they have created for the public. An official report with a tracking number can be used in a court of law, we all swore to protect and serve our communities. Let's do it and bring this out to the public , in the dept's own words IF YOU DID NOT WRITE IT, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN

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  42. PSD refused to act on a discrimination incident towards an african american firefighter. The administration attempted to shut down the member using their chiefs as investigators. Once out of the dept it went into the federal court system, here we go again bad publicity for the LAFD thanks to the administration

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  43. When referring to "PSD" do you mean the "Unprofessional Double Standards Division"? Yeah, been there, done that. That's like going to the Doctor, asking him the same question 3 times and considering it 3 different opinions. If you haven't had the displeasure of PSD, let me inform you. There are field Captains and civilians. They WANT to find fault with you and they have watched WAY too much TV. Recent examples THIS YEAR include members given days off unjustified. They believe the public over us. Their slogan? "Hold them to a higher standard and give them less credibility"! Call it job justification. If you want to make a PSD complaint, go through the Union and let them file the complaint. Unless, of course, you enjoy being grilled, threatened, interrogated and treated like a suspect. This department isn't about "Serving with Courage, Integrety and Pride". This department is all about Self Management and spin. As far as the fire fatalities, it's a predictable event. When, Where and How Many are the variables. Less field resources to handle an ever increasing call load. A 2nd grader can do that math. Since the "data" was bad with the first deployment program, they bought a "NEW" software program. Again, "Garbage in, Garbage out"! i.e. They didn't take into account how often an 800 is shut down when inputting the numbers for call load. If an 800 is shut down 10 days a month for staffing, then they only get "credit" for 2/3 of the real call load. A retired Chief confirmed that. The numbers are only as credible as the people inputting them.

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  44. On Feb 25 A-shift..LF85(Harbor Usar company) and LF95 (Airport Hazmat company), Where involved in Joe Buscaino's swearing in, on 6th,st in my beautiful town of San Pedro. They where used to fly our Flag. It was very nice. But I don't get the Big picture..LAFD closed LF38 last year, so there is no truck between 64's and 85's..So now there is a bigger hole..If a usar incident happens now LF85 has to go back to qtrs and get the Usar rig..Now LF95 From LAX, I Would think the largest Airport On the West coast, Possible Target, Highrise area and familiarity with LAX and SPECIAL ACCESS BADGES necessary to quickly get to the emergency on the Airport,I would thing this company would only be moved in an emergency situation. Its seems foolish, too move, two of the most specialize companies, our Department has. for a political event. We are demonstrating (Wrongly)through our actions that we don't need our Truck Co's...

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    1. Or instead, combine those units and put them into the old LF38's quarters and make like an east coast company and call them rescue. (Or because this is LA, a S.O.A.R. Unit meaning Special Operations and Rescue). This would act like a heavy truck company with both or either HAZMAT and USAR resources. They would attend your major rescues as well as all working Structure fires and even better, put one in each division. Most of these (Squads) are used in big city departments with specialised incidents.

      Also on the flip side, ask you're union to make ffs only be certified to EMT-B, nothing is more hurtful to both a FD or emergency than having Paramedics on the scene who are dual trained. Those jobs are too important and specific to be dual trained and shows the lack of funding the city has for the protection of its citizens.

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  45. Part 1 of 3:
    http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/LAFD-Deployment-Plan-Under-Fire-140979723.html

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  46. Very sad that the impact of reduced staffing has claimed yet another victim. LAFD members take pride in their job and ultimately shoulder the burden of people being unnecessarily injured because of their actions. Give our firefighters and paramedics the tools WE need. The LAFD is handcuffed right now and there are people that can change that, but the price so far has not been great enough. When will it be? Get well Mr. Jack Mocaear and my condolences to the Mocaear family.

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  47. Good report, too bad its on at 11pm when most are asleep

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  48. I'm not sure if this is a result of deployment plan issue or our dispatch policy, but why do we get dispatched to traffic accidents, especially on the freeways, without an RA??? There is NO DOUBT that injured citizens are suffering for longer than necessary because of the time it takes us fire companies to fight our way through the traffic, assess patients, call for rescues, then sit waiting for them to do the same. This, to me, is unacceptable service to the citizens.
    Dispatch issue or MCP???

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    1. Our current dispatch algorithms are as out of touch with the field as our Chief Officers are. We have a policy requiring us to offer an ambulance ride to everyone, whether they need an ambulance or not, but Engines and Light Forces frequently get dispatched on EMS runs alone. What kind of intelligent officer requires us to offer ambulance transport to everyone, but refuses to dispatch the ambulances with fire companies to carry out their own policy???? It is not just on the freeway, it happens all day in all parts of the City. This is a dispatch issue, but the closures the Chief successfully fought for compound the problem when these Fire Companies are needlessly taken out of service all over the City waiting for ambulances he refuses to send on the initial dispatch.

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  49. L.A.F.D. is still dispatching to snake calls, can you believe that. Red light and siren to a snake in the yard. County stopped doing that years ago.

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    1. Snakes calls are just one of many calls we should not be going out on. Let's add odor in the area, cat in the tree, cell phone dropped in storm drain, locked keys in car, bees, neighbors phone not working, lawn sprinklers running too long and of course the locked out of house to name a few. Nearly all we were dispatched to emergency. Most MFC knew there was nothing we could do when we arrived but dispatched us anyway, burning expensive fuel just to tell the caller there was nothing we could do, other than refer them to who they should have called in the first place. We don't have the resources or the funding to run calls where we cannot help the caller. Come on MFC, sometimes you just need to say no, LAPD does and they are much better funded than the LAFD is.

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  50. I watched the interview with Chief Cummings. Might be interesting to know how many calls were dispatched this year and how many calls were generated on a daily basis so far for 2012. Where are the hard stat's for response times?

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  51. Which stats are you looking for? Only have stats for 2007-2011...

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  52. Average daily calls per day for 2012 should be available. Yearly call volume changes from 2007-2011, yearly DECREASES of available resources, average response times, per year, for each year. I don't have the numbers to put into a spreadsheet but I believe that each year the number of calls increase, the number of resources has been decreasing. Same with response times. Each year, the call volume goes up, each year the number of resources goes down, each year, the wait time for an RA increases. We can't trust the numbers the Chiefs put out. That has already been PROVEN. In the interview with Chief Cummings, he mentioned a call volume of "1,000" calls per day. Really? Then why THIS YEAR have I had to respond to call numbers in the 1300-1500 nearing midnight? How hard can it be for the Chief to determine the number of calls year-to-date and divide that by the number of days so far this year? I have yet to speak to ANY member who says THEIR call load has gone down. Even the BC call load has increased... by adding TWO per dispatch. Any wonder why there is NO credibility in the field for Gold badges? I envision a spreadsheet of a year-by-year comparison of the aforementioned. Let the REAL numbers reflect the truth. maybe the Union should also be interviewed by the same reporter from NBC4.

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  53. LA Times article posted 3/10/2012 discussing response times was interesting. Check it out if you haven't read it yet. This issue needs to be addressed. It needs more media coverage and public awareness.

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