kpelley

WOW, 4 passed i'm really impressed now. I wish you all better luck next time.

The list I have shows one Stamford volunteer and the list was made up of only people with CPAT. But it really doesn't matter.

ONLY ONE STAMFORD VOLUNTEER PASSED, THATS WHY THE TEST IS BEING SCRAPPED.

_{The issue with the application has nothing to do with the Charter. It's about the lies and very relevant information left out on purpose. As with the last TOR FEMA grant, a lot of the same misinformation was given. Let us not forget the almighty management agreement TOR loves to hold up, all new hires must come off the current City hiring list.}

This grant is for the 4th FF at engine 8 and engine 9.

Cogs, so you'll accept any plan where the volunteers don't have to answer to a career officer.

A 2 man engine crew can tag a hydrant and do a forward lay in. A 2 man crew responding in a tanker to a fire in an area without hydrants.... priceless. Even one guy responding on an engine that carries 1000+ gallons of water, very useful in an area without hydrants. 1000 gallons is another 8ish minutes of water on the fire. Useless? No.

It's ironic that you say, "there is no volunteer response" (besides Belltown) and rush to bash TOR and Long Ridge. Glenbrook had a reported structure fire IN THEIR DISTRICT yesterday and Truck 31 did not respond. All the training in the world will do you no good if your trained members don't respond to calls. If you want to bash a department for not responding to calls, Glenbrook is your poster child.

Personally, I don't want my taxes to pay for a dozen or so guys to play fireman once a week without serving any real purpose or function. But that's just me. You're entitled to your opinion.

Only works if that crew "hits" the hydrant. Can anyone drive the tanker ? Just my opinion

Ok kpelly here goes, and please realize that I am speaking for myself only.

Initially, 4 on at least one Engine for fire calls, same for the truck, 2-3 on the engine or rescue for medicals, plus POV responses for both types..this is what I've seen which as I said is not every call. And since SFRD IS responding as well than yes the taxpayer is recieving full coverage and they are getting what they pay for in THIS district and under the current response protocols.

And as I also stated I am absolutely confident of the safety of my family, friends, neighbors and other residents of this district, with or without an SFRD response, based on my fire service experience/education over the years and my knowledge of the caliber of personnel of that department.

As for my future with the BFD, that is for them to decide. And regardless of my status with them, barring any drastic complications such as bankruptcy or a mass exodus of members, my belief holds firm as a taxpayer and resident.

Cogs

Cogs, thanks for the honest answer.

I can't speak on the statistics regarding the number of personnel on EVERY call, but I can say that every call I've witnessed in the past month has been fully covered for the nature of the call by the department to which REDDOG refers. The public (including my family and myself) are well served and SAFE being covered by them, of that I have absolutely NO DOUBT.

On another note,

As I have become closer to the situation now that I live here, I can see that my calls for unity (you know, those long winded dissertations) among the VFDs of Stamford is not as simple as I had hoped it would be. I won't go so far as to say it's impossible, but there is quite a bit of work to be done to see it through. Whether or not others are willing or see the need (except for a few here) is another matter, and remains to be seen. If one fact has become apparent though it is that for any meaningful steps to be taken each VFD will have to bring something to the table which will benefit all....As a resident and taxpayer I sincerely hope all the VFFs of Stamford who read this work to accomplish just that much. Baby step first and from there the sky's the limit.

Cogs

Cogs, answer the question, how many people do you consider fully covered? Is it the same number the taxpayer gets from SFRD ? Is Belltown going to let you back in ?

Local 786 won its case against the city and springdale. I will try to download decision.

On June 19, 2008, the Stamford Firefighters, Local 786, IAFF, AFL-CIO (the Union) filed a complaint with the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations (the Labor Board) alleging that the City of Stamford (the City) violated § 7-470 of the Municipal Employee Relations Act (MERA or the Act) by installing an electronic surveillance system in the fire station located on Hope Street in Stamford.

http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/csblr/4345dec%20(2).doc

"Nine Long Ridge firefighters had arrived by 9:12 p.m., Bennett said. He provided the names of the firefighters"

One quick question on this quote???? How many of these "nine" firefighters were interior certified??? I love it when a department say's " we had XX amount of firefighters on the scene" and in reality, X are fire police and X are junior or probationary ff's who are not interior certified. I love it when numbers are pumped up to make it sound like really good responses from the department.

Chief Bennett, was he there, I think not. It was a paid driver that called for the help not a volunteer.

This Long Ridge thing is just another horrible example of how badly things are going in Stamford. When will it end?

If 5 percent of what I am reading is accurate, where is the public outcry? Especially considering a home and property in the Long Ridge section of the city is worth millions and with no pricetag on lives in danger...

Joe, you know better the public could care less what goes on with the fire service.