Loughlin: Public Safety Committee Will Closely Monitor Staffing Levels
Westfield's vice-chair of the public safety committee addresses concerns regarding firefighter staffing levels.
Westfield's most recent Town Council meeting on Tuesday, May 22 saw residents and firefighters speak out to implore Mayor Andy Skibitsky and council members to consider increasing what they believe are dangerously low staffing levels on the Westfield Fire Department.
Concerns reached a fever pitch after a three-alarm fire destroyed a home on Barchester Way. When the fire began, one of the WFD's units was responding to a call for mutual aid from Springfield, leaving only one unit with three members available to respond.
In light of recent developments, Patch reached out town officials to find out what is being done to allay the concerns of residents.
Councilman Keith Loughlin, vice-chair of Westfield's Public Safety Committee spoke with Patch, stating that "the council's top priority is making sure that residents feel safe."
The councilman said the committee meets regularly with Westfield Fire Department Chief Dan Kelly "regarding all fire issues including staffing and I have the utmost confidence in our chief."
Loughlin went on to say that at a recent public safety meeting, he asked Kelly to inform the committee "immediately if staffing levels ever dropped below a point he was comfortable with."
"I also asked this of our police chief (David Wayman)," Loughlin said. "Our public safety committee will continue to closely monitor staffing levels of both our police and fire departments with our town professionals."
Loughlin pointed out that unlike many neighboring towns who have volunteer fire departments, Westfield has a paid fire department with two fire houses.
"We participate in firefighting shared services with neighboring towns and provide and receive mutual aid from our neighbors," he said. "We are making every effort to maintain a paid department in this extremely difficult economic environment. Many of the other employees of our town, including our mayor and town council, serve as volunteers at no cost to the Westfield taxpayer. However, a new paid firefighter costs our taxpayers over a $100,000 per employee including benefits, training and equipment. The enormous expense of maintaining a paid fire department is a state-wide issue not unique to Westfield.
"We recently imposed a sewer fee on all residents in Westfield to preserve our paid fire department. In addition, we are looking for creative ways to increase our ranks without increasing the burden on Westfield taxpayers. We have applied for a federal grant (the SAFER Grant: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) in order to fund the salaries and benefits of (up to) four new firefighters for two years at no cost to the Westfield taxpayer. We anticipate learning of the awarding of the SAFER Grant sometime in September."
Loughlin said he is "confident and optimistic" that the grants will be approved. He noted that if they don't come through, the public safety committee would meet again to reassess staffing needs at that time and develop a strategy for increasing manpower.
During the May 22nd meeting, Mayor Andy Skibitsky asked Lt. Tim Brennan, a Westfield resident and firefighter, who said he no longer feels safe in his hometown, if the union (Firefighter’s Mutual Benevolent Association) would be willing to open up the contract for possible renegotiation, which could lead to an increase of firefighters per shift. Brennan said he could not speak for the group. But when councilman James Foerst asked him if he personally would be willing to discuss it, Brennan said "to a point."
Loughlin said to his knowledge the FMBA has not reached out to Skibitsky or the council as of Monday, June 4, but he said "the offer still stands and we are willing and interested in seeking out solutions for increasing staffing levels."
Neither Kelly nor Westfield FMBA No. 30 President Mike Sawicki returned calls for comment.
Following the impassioned words of Ellen DiIorio who lost her Cumberland Street home, her pets and all her belongings in a September, 2011 fire, Westfield resident John Blake spoke before the council and suggested that if residents were asked to pay $10, $50 or $100 per house, the council "would probably get the applause of the majority of the taxpayers."
Loughlin said there are no plans at this time to institute another user fee, noting again that the decision to impose the recent sewer fee was not arrived at "hastily" and was made to preserve the paid fire department.
When asked if the mayor or council had any plans to move to an all-volunteer department, Loughlin said, "Westfield has historically had a paid fire department. Each town makes its own determination whether to have a paid or volunteer department. In fact, Westfield does have a volunteer fire company currently comprised of 10 firefighters who serve alongside our paid firefighters. There have been discussions of transitioning to an all-volunteer department. We will continue to work to maintain our paid fire department and continue to meet regularly with our chief to monitor staffing levels."
Skibitsky and councilwoman JoAnn Neylan, chair of the public safety committee, did not return emails or calls for comment.
The Town Council will meet at 8 p.m. tonight in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building.
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Westfield Fire Department
405 North Avenue W, Westfield, NJ -
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Westfield Municipal Building
425 E Broad St, Westfield, NJ
NR9
7:53 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
From above: “In light of recent developments, Patch reached out town officials to find out what is being done to allay the concerns of residents.”
By providing a forum for discussion and even stepping up to the plate themselves (as in this instance about fire safety in Westfield), Patch has played a VERY valuable role in our community. Thank you Elizabeth Alterman and everyone else at Patch for the work you do every day.
NR9
7:53 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Councilman Keith Loughlin [said] “a new paid firefighter costs our taxpayers over a $100,000 per employee [per year] including benefits, training and equipment.”
We now have an OFFICIAL dollar amount from the council on this topic. There are 10,000 households in Westfield. If we divide $100,000 by 10,000 households, we may now OFFICIALLY conclude that if each household pays just $10 more PER YEAR, we can hire ONE new firefighter. That’s it. A mere $10 more… NOT per day, NOT per month, but per YEAR. If we divide that by 365 days in a year, we’re talking about 3-cents per household per day for ONE firefighter. At that rate, we can hire TEN firefighters for about 30-cents per household per day. That’s about the cost of a pack of gum per day. Why is the money even an issue? I have to think that at least 99.9% of the households in Westfield could, FOR THE PURPOSE OF FIRE SAFETY, spare the few more CENTS per day for as many as TEN new firefighters.
Sally McBride
8:53 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
how many times are you going to use that argument? You have everyone paying $10 (actually $100 since you want 10) here, $20 there, another $15 here. Next thing you know people are paying $1k-$5K more a year.
NR9
9:33 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
@Sally McBride. Your math doesn’t make any sense. Westfield would have to hire 500 (not between 1 and 10) firefighters at $100,000 per firefighter for a total cost of $50 million which, when divided by the town’s 10,000 households, would translate to an additional $5,000 per year per household in taxes. Where are you getting $5,000 per household from?!? There are probably not even 500 firefighters in all of Union County. Please check your math again. Or, are you just being negative because that’s what you like to do? What do you think about our fire department’s staffing levels? Do you think they are adequate? Please provide an intelligent and thoughtful response as to the adequacy of staffing levels in our fire department and none of your usual character attacks. Character attacks suggest that you have nothing of substance to add to the discussion.
NR9
7:53 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Loughlin went on to say that “We have applied for a federal grant… in order to fund the salaries and benefits of (up to) four new firefighters for two years at no cost to the Westfield taxpayer.”
So this is our plan? Writing a letter to Washington DC and then HOPING that they will read it (at some point) and then drop a check in the mail to us? And, we’re doing this to avoid each of our households from having to pay about 3-cents x 4 firefighters = 12-cents per day? That’s our plan for protecting peoples’ lives and homes?
Councilman Loughlin, unlike the mayor and some others, at least now ADMITS that we NEED additional firefighters and that we are short-staffed. (Finally) admitting the problem is a step in the right direction.
NR9
7:53 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
There have been several big fires over the past year or two in which first responder firefighters have arrived on the scene and been unable to even begin their work until additional firefighters/trucks have arrived, often from neighboring towns further away. Homeowners have pleaded with firefighters to begin battling those fires but were told they were not allowed to start until the proper number of firefighters have arrived. Will the first-responding firefighters now have to say to homeowners… “We cannot begin since our mayor and town council still have not yet received a reply to the letter they sent to Washington asking for money… but they keep checking the mail and we hope the letter, ideally with a check from President Obama, will arrive soon. In the meantime, let’s hope the Plainfield Fire Dept. gets here soon.”
Sally McBride
8:55 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Just figure out how many we REALLY need, and fund that amount. In "good times" do NOT hire more, in "bad times" do NOT lay any off. Figure how many captains and bat leaders we need, and keep that amount. If someone is there for 30 years and cannot get promoted because there is not a spot for them, then do not promote them. Just have what we need.
NR9
8:42 pm on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
@Sally McBride. I find myself agreeing with you on this one. There does appear to be a lot of debate as to how many are needed. Since Mr. Loughlin on the council seems to think four more are needed and the council tends to lean towards having less, rather than more, I have to think that the absolute minimum that is needed, in "good times" as well as in "bad times" is at least four more than whatever we have now... Going back to my earlier comment/calculation, that would translate to 4 firefighters x 3-cents per firefighter per household per day= 12-cents more in taxes per household per day. I would think this to be easily manageable to nearly all Westfield residents.
A.John Blake
10:15 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Please note that Mr. Loughlin never said that we were safe with six firemen per shift. He never said that Chief Kelly has certified or approved of the levels to which the department has been lowered.Mr. Loughlin has made no comment about the effects of administrative orders concerning overtime which resulted in the absence of any officers on duty at the time of the Barchester fire.
It would be interesting to ask Mr. Loughlin if he would invite the public to an open public hearing at which the chief can be asked specific questions from the public.
A.John Blake
Jeff B
12:40 pm on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
It is plain that Westfield does not have enough fire protection service - look at the poor results! However, that is NOT the same as not having enough paid firefighters. I believe there are key unanswered questions, like the following:
- Why are three firefighters on the scene not enough to do anything but watch a house burn down. Is this some union work rule or a true safety issue?
- Are the mutual aid rules to other towns well designed?
- The statement that if the firefighter's contract was reopened the problem possibly could be solved is very troubling. Why hasn't it happened?
- If we already have 10 volunteer firefighters, could we have more? (See preceding remark.)
- There was a recent letter in the Leader about police strategically positioning themselves to "run license plates" for outstanding warrants. Does this suggest an issue of the number of firefighters needed versus policemen?
A.John Blake
5:41 pm on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
To Jeff B,
When no rescue is required, there is an OSHA rule called "Two in - Two out". No fireman is allowed to enter a burning structure by himself. There must be two who go in. To act as backup to the two men inside, there must be two men outside who do nothing but stay in visual and radio contact with the two men inside and remain ready to enter to save them in an emergency.
You also must have another man who stays with the engine to maintain the pumps. Another man is assigned to the water supply. There is supposed to be an officer in charge who makes sure everything is being done properly and safely.
You count the numbers. This does not include men to vent the windows or roof. This does not include a second truck or a ladder truck..
The Mutual Aid Laws were written with the belief that each town would be able to handle the ordinary fire call and would only rely on Mutual Aid for catastrophic fires like Ferrara's. Westfield, like other towns is mis-using a good law.
Concerning volunteers, we should be thankful for the men we have. Think about the number of residents who work in town and would be able to leave their day jobs to put out a fire. The available numbers are minimal.
The needs of the police and fire departments are very different.
A.John Blake
Ed
4:46 pm on Friday, June 8, 2012
The WFD has plenty of equipment and staff to handle fires The Town Council has recently bought in that adding that more fire fighters is the answer Let's have an independent professional assessment done on the WFD rather hearing more excuses
LLROWESTFIELD
7:41 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
You guys have to remember that it does not cost $1,000.00 right out of the gate. It takes a few years for them to reach that pay scale, I think starting pay is around $32,000.