Board Eliminates Staffing at Satellite Fire Houses

• deploying four firefighters and a lieutenant at Headquarters and not staffing Stations No. 2 and 3 on Edgemere and Clinton roads respectively; and
• revising the night tour to 12 hours - instead of 14,  and the day tour to 12 hours - instead of 10

"The board takes these actions with the assurances of the ICMA and the chiefs that the fire service response will continue to be exceptional and meet all the expectations of the community," mayor Brudie read from a prepared statement village counsel Gary Fishberg helped draft.

"Effective as soon as operationally possible" the following will go into effect:

1.    The Headquarters Company schedules shall be two 12-hour tours, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

2.    The daytime staffing shall be 5 firefighters and 1 lieutenant

3.    The nighttime staffing shall be 4 firefighters and 1 lieutenant - all deployed at Headquarters and

4.    Consistent with fire department standard operation procedures and orders as promulgated from time to time, during evening hours (8 p.m. to 8 a.m.) the two engines at Headquarters shall be available to Headquarters Company and the engines at the satellite houses will be available to volunteer firefighters as necessary

After these revised standard operating procedures and orders and revised staffing configurations have been in place for 30 days, the chiefs will report back to the board of trustees so that the board of trustees may consider the required departmental manpower level, according to the statement.

The rationale for recommendation #6, according to the report, is based on the "very low nighttime call volume and the ability to transverse the village quicker at night."

Headquarters Company Lt. Peter Clancy, president of Local 1588, which represents Garden City’s professional firefighters, has consistently said unmanning firehouses and reducing staff is extremely dangerous.

"Staffing reductions and station closings will jeopardize public safety," he said. "Our highest priority, first and foremost, is to serve and protect the residents and property of the village, ensuring their safety to the best of our ability. Second is the safety of your firefighters, not just the career members but all firefighters, volunteers included."

Professional firefighter and village resident T.J. Michon was disappointed with the vote, noting that half of the fires in the village in 2012 occurred between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.

"I'm a little bit amazed but not surprised that we spent an hour at this meeting discussing the acceptance of a report on St. Paul's with the author invited to discuss it yet the ICMA report was not discussed in public and the author was never invited when back in August in a meeting it was asked if it was going to be discussed in public and it was promised that it was going to be," he said. "Yet here we are five days before Christmas four months later and the earliest notice was on the agenda on Tuesday."

Michon argued that no matter how you look at it, it's going to take two to three minutes longer with no traffic to get from Headquarters to where he lives on Fairmont Boulevard.

"I don't understand how anybody could look at this report and accept these numbers and not do an investigation on how it's been reported over the years that it's a two to three minute response and it all of a sudden becomes an eight to nine minute response," he said. "There is information in the fire department, there is access to information that shows differently and that needs to be discussed and implemented."

Trustee Nick Episcopia defended the board's actions, stating nothing was done "cavalierly."

"Our obligation, first and foremost, is safety," he said.

Deputy Mayor John Watras added, "We would never compromise safety."

Do you agree with Recommendation #6 and its implementation? Let us know in the comments section below.