AM I A HORSE OR A COW?

In what seems like a lifetime ago when I was serving in the Air Force as a firefighter stationed in Germany, I read a very interesting letter to the editor of the Stars and Stripes, a newspaper published overseas for the military audience. The letter was written by an Army Warrant Officer. For those of you unfamiliar with military ranks, a Warrant Officer is a person somewhere in between an enlisted person and an officer. Sort of between a rock and a hard place.

The Warrant Officer posed this question; Am I a horse or a cow? The article as I recall was a bit tongue in cheek, but it was definitely an individual struggling with his identity as a member of the U.S. Army. Warrant Officers were not readily accepted at the “O”Club, and they were not allowed to join the NCO Club. There were treated like Bastards at the family reunion.

That reminds me of the situation that we have with our fire department. Back in the early 90’s in the civilian world, somebody came up with the idea of training firefighters to become Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’S). After all, they reasoned, they are an available manpower resource, and all they do is sit around the fire station most of the time waiting for the fire alarm to go off, we might as well make them more productive. That has evolved into the situation today where our firefighters are wearing two hats. But does it really make sense?

Make no mistake about it, we really need EMT services. Hardly a day goes by that our EMT’s do not respond to medical emergencies, and they do a great job. Their skill level is a reflection of high activity and ongoing medical training. Here in Little Compton the medical emergencies outweigh fire calls by 98%. It is remarkable if we have more than two or three major structure fires a year, while EMT calls are in the multiple of hundreds.

That gets us back to the question; Are they horses or cows? Are they firefighters or EMT”S? We do not have an Emergency Medical Department, we have a Fire Department. The only thing that firefighters and EMT”S have in common is they must respond quickly when called. Otherwise there is absolutly no similarity in the two jobs. You can’t milk your horse, and you don’t plow with your cow. Obviously they are two different breeds of animals.




The trend in major cities, Boston, New York etc., and even many rural communities is to have two separate jobs, either under the banner of the Fire Department, or a totally autonomous Emergency Medical Response Department.

Here in Little Compton we have one department with nine paid employees. There are always at least two people on duty to respond to both fire and medical calls. If the personnel are answering a medical call, that leaves the fire station empty. The opposite is true if there is a fire call. Typically our EMT calls result in an ambulance trip to Fall River which will take our personnel out of town for an hour or more. Unless off duty people are called in to cover the station (paid 4 hours overtime), or a call for back-up from a neighboring town is made, there is a large gap in medical and fire protection coverage. Rapid response is the heart and soul both fire and medical emergency calls.

In round numbers we are paying a million dollars a year for fire and medical emergency services when there are many times when neither is available. So what are the possible solutions to the problem?

Obviously we have a manpower problem, so the quick solution would be to double the workforce providing four (4) people on duty 24/7. Clearly that would result in a major increase in the cost of personnel, at least an additional $240,000 a year in salary and benefits plus uniforms, equipment and protective clothing. Probably close to half a million additional dollars.

Or, we could create a separate EMT operation reclassifying the existing work force, and create a totally “Call” Fire Department made up of paid part-time firefighters under the leadership of the paid Fire Chief. In fact it appears that we are already taking the right step in that direction, with the recent hiring of 6 part time firefighters who are now undergoing training. The Town Charter allows the Town Council to hire as many part time firefighters as needed.

78% of our cities and towns across this nation are protected by Volunteer Fire Departments. The vast majority of the towns in the State of Rhode Island are protected by volunteer fire departments. Nearby Bristol and Warren, both much more densely populated than LC, have very robust volunteer fire departments. In fact we have a VFD right here in town. Unfortunately it has fallen on bad times. That is a whole nuther subject.

The history of the Little Compton paid fire department has been plagued with management/labor relation problems resulting in copious grievance hearings, expensive binding arbitration hearings, and even a “vote of no confidence” in a previous Fire Chief. Union contract negotiations take countless hours of negotiation and bargaining. Overtime budgets are bursting, with some people earning nearly double their regular pay. The retirement and medical benefit packages are unsustainable. Our record in retaining Fire Chiefs is miserable.

To make matters worse, the fire suppression record of our Fire Department is not all that great. Most major structure fires have resulted in total losses to buildings and their contents. Could that be because our firefighters are really EMT’s at heart? Does it reflect on lack of activity and training?

As earlier indicated, there is only one similarity between the two disciplines. Aptitude for medical technicians and firefighters are worlds apart. Medical science and fire science are totally dissimilar. Yes, a firefighter needs to be trained in “First Aid” for fire victims. But for real medical emergencies, heart attack, stroke, major injuries which represent that vast majority of our needs, we need people highly skilled in emergency medical care. Don’t expect the horse to give us milk.

The firefighters Union Contract is up for renewal this June. Maybe it is time for change. Real change!

Sarge