Fire Chief Harold C. Burns
Deputy Chief Clifford T. Burns
Assistant Chief David A. Collins
Administrative Capt. Gary N. Bloomquist
Capt. Daniel P. Potter
Lt. Glen J. Murray
While I expect that with promotions, comes raises - does anyone know if this was part of the citizen approved West Shore budget? I must plead ignorance in terms of knowledge of the budget and whether or not said promotions are deserved; unfortunately, information is less available for the fire departments than even for the city.
On the other hand, the article spoke of Harold C. Burns vision and plans for the department, including a committee to update the district's web site to "better serve the public". I'd settle for better informing the public, but maybe I'm just mincing words.
Parts of the article was fairly abstract but sounded good, such as the statement attributed to Fire Chief Burns: "The team will specifically incorporate enhanced technology, training and communications to make the department cost-effective and extremely efficient."
But there were two statements that made me think: 'huh????':
- "Clifford T. Burns, a former assistant chief, will concentrate initial efforts on assisting economic development projects along Sawmill Road toward a timely completion."
Why is the West Shore fire department involved in economic development projects on Saw Mill Road??? [UPDATE: It has been relayed to me what Clifford Burns will be involved in is overseeing building inspections to make certain development projects are up to fire code - this makes INFINITELY more sense to me now - thanks for the clarification from Slappy]. - "Collins, a certified fire instructor in Connecticut, is charged with upgrading the department’s volunteer training program."
Volunteer training program? Aren't we paying for permanent fire department positions?? [UPDATE: Reader WSFDFF wrote to me to explain:
All 3 districts have a volunteer department that suplement the career firefighters. This is nothing new and in fact quite common. That is the reason we fall under the classification of a "combination department"!
From your moniker, I assume that you are with the West Haven Fire Department, and I thank you for your explanation. I'd like to learn more about how our fire department is set up - is there a place online where I can get that information?]
The article is summed up with Fire Chief Burns talking about creating cost-effective and progressive service, as well as stating
"During my tenure as chief, I intend to be open, accessible and willing to listen to the concerns of firefighters and the residents"I guess we'll see how it goes - it sounds good - but as one of those who are paying for the party on Sunday, I guess I feel like the jury is still out.
[UPDATE: Reader WSFDFF also set me straight here -- the taxpayers aren't paying for Sunday's event -- instead, the firefighters pay for it out of pocket. Thank you for the clarification - it would be nice if that information was put forth by the newspaper! Maybe someone ought to write a letter to the editor to explain...]
Feedburner
21 comments:
Oh, and 1 more thing. They don't seem to address the issue that got residents all stirred up at the fire tax meeting. How badly thier pension program needs to be overhauled....... How about making that more efficient???
Hi Slappy -
I try to use the published articles as starting points - places to get discussions going. I don't know all the facts - that's why I challenge others to bring facts to the plate here. I think I was very clear in this article that I don't have a firm grip on what is going on in the fire department, and that I wanted clarification.
In correspondance with the Register, there has been an abundance of news in West Haven - that's why the articles are out front. Generally, the same sorts of articles are also on WTNH, and sometimes on NBC30 or WFSB as well.
The Voice is an opinion paper, and should be treated as such; it's not straight news, although the writers are certainly insiders with the current administration, and sometimes can present facts not found elsewhere.
Where can I find out what the 2006/07 agreed budget is? This would be immensely helpful to me in learning more about the fire departments.
My question is more that of surprise - I didn't know that we HAD a volunteer force... and if we do, do we really need as many paid members of the fire department? I'm just confused by the whole of it.
Thanks for clarification on the Sawmill Road participation - the way the article was worded was incredibly confusing on that matter.
Thanks, Slappy, WHFDFF - I've updated the main article to include some of your statements. As I've mentioned, it's not clear how the fire department runs.
whfdff - I'd love to recommend to the web site committee that budget information as well as the portions of the charter that explain the setup of the fire department go on your web site. There *is* a lot of misinformation being stated - but that's because there is a lack of information that has been given to the public. It would be really useful to have those sorts of documents online.
Speaking of which, where are the West Haven Fire Department website(s)? I'd like to be able to put them in the lists of links on the blog - people here for the most part actually WANT to learn, and to get it right.
This is a wonderful exaqmple of why this blog exists. To clarify the facts, and respond to residents concerns!!! Good Show all!!
http://www.westshorefiredepartment.com/
That is the Fire Dept's website
whfdff - Thank you for your assistance - and I entirely agree.
The West Haven fire department might consider purchasing a domain name of their own - it's an inexpensive purchase, and helps search engines find them.
whoops - the URL that you gave me didn't work, unfortunately.
aha - I just found them on the City of West Haven site:
http://www.westshorefiredepartment.com/
http://www.westhavenfiredept.com/ (which is not working)
http://cms.firehouse.com/dept/WestHaven3CT
(which is just a yellowpages style entry).
Slappy -
I'd urge you to email the author of the article at the email address on the article at the New Haven Register website. She'd probably be more than happy to clarify that.
Thanks also to Colonial Park Taxpayer for that URL - I found it before moderating the comments, so my comments may seem a bit daft.
CT Westie -
I don't want to to jump in the middle of the discussion, but I did want to interject something.
I believe that a large part of the problem with attendance at these meetings is a large lack of understanding. Many (if not most) residents do not truely understand that the Fire District is separate from the city, and that the City doesn't oversee the fire department. They feel that they have elected politicians to take care of those issues for them, and to look out for their best interests.
I think the city is only just awakening to the fact that there needs to be more involvement and understanding... that involvement in the Fire District Annual Assembly is akin to voting.
I also think that a large portion of the populace simply feels defeated - like they have no real say, so why bother. This feeling certainly isn't helped by skyrocketing taxes and allegations of severe fiscal mis-management at the city hall (which isn't the same as the fire district, but adds to the general feeling of defeat).
AAR, back to your conversation, but I figured I'd pass that on.
Mythoughts - While I agree that less complaining and more problem solving needs to take place, in part, it sounds like you are the "pot calling the kettle black".
Regarding Sawmill Road - a good portion of the delay was actually with the state, and had little to do with either administration. Walmart, the Roadhouse, and the hotel would not break ground until the highway infrastructure was in place - opening before that happened would have caused more troubles than it would have solved.
RE: "many people with hidden agendas telling people lies about the fire service telling them they pay for the whole town when they pay for there district"
What hidden agenda?? What would they gain?
I've addressed my thoughts on this in the comments section of the earlier post that you commented on; while each district only pays for itself, if there was only one district, then there will be some portions that are redundant that will be no longer needed. In theory at least, costs should go down with consolidation.
This isn't to say that services need to be disabled or even people need to be layed off - I'm talking about things like buying supplies, redundant equipment, etc.
I am not about complaining - I'm about trying to figure out how to get it done. So if there is a reason to keep the three separate fire districts, by all means, write to me and explain what we'd lose by consolidation. Let's discuss the facts behind it -- and if that isn't the solution, let's find it.
See? I agree. Enough whining. Let's find solutions.
The center district website at http://www.westhavenfiredept.com/ is back online - I'll add it to the navigation now.
I welcome your opinions and comments! Let's get on with suggestions and ideas!
RE: Commission meetings are public meetings, folks. Go to them. Participate. Debate. Ask questions.
AMEN!
ladder35 -
You're attacking the wrong person. Ask wsfdff - I'm not the enemy. Didn't you see that I updated the article to include the correction?
Hey, no hard feelings, ladder35. With knowledge comes understanding -- and that's what the journey is here.
This town is clearly hurting and I think many are striking out in anger, instead of looking for the truth. I hope that we can find a way to help all of us heal, instead of making everyone feel like they are the ones being picked on.
I know that tough decisions are going to have to be made in the upcoming years. We're in a very bad spot right now, and unfortunately all of us who didn't cause the problem are going to have to be part of the solution. That doesn't necessarily mean consolidation, but it's something that I suspect will have to be revisited, so that more people who have woken up in this sleepy little town can become educated about it, if nothing else.
The taxpayer's pocketbooks are stretched as tight as a drum - I think everyone is just trying to figure out where the next 5 cents are going to come from, and what we truly do and don't need. I think we've been pretty fortunate in this town to have many outstanding services. Hopefuly, we can find ways of revitalizing the economy in this area, and revitalizing our town without having to cut too many of them.
Ok folks (on BOTH sides of consolidation) - let's bring this back to civil. This is precisely what I *don't* want this blog to be about.
Let's stop worrying about who said what when and start trying to find solutions.
Maybe it's good that I'm going out of town - everyone is going to have to cool down.
P.S. In retrospect, I'm going to delete both of those last two comments. They shouldn't have been put online - they're only continuing the hurt, not helping to find a solution.
Post a Comment