Rye City manager: Fire department staffed for failure

[bad box 371]

Republican Councilman Richard Mecca, who has been a volunteer firefighter in Rye since 1987 and who works as a building inspector in White Plains said, "people, especially in Rye, pay money to ensure that codes are followed to protect the value of their homes, and the codes have become more stringent over the last 30 to 40 years in terms of fire protection." He went on to say, “So buildings tend to be more fire resistant, thirty years ago, if oil in a pan caught fire and the fire department didn’t get there right away, the room was likely to catch fire. The same type of incident today is likely to be nothing more than a smoky incident.”

It's sad to see that a guy who is paid to do code enforcement and who apparently has been a volunteer firefighter since 1987, would actually make a misleading (flat out wrong) statement such as this. Does he really know little or nothing about fire spread, life safety for human beings who may be inside a home when a fire occurs as well as firefighter safety when arriving at such an incident severely understaffed? Or is he simply against hiring the number of firefighters necessary to keep the public and the firefighters safe?

http://www.ryecityreview.com/city-manager-fire-department-staffed-for-failure/

[KRF178 49]

It's sad the levels that some will stoop to just to protect their ego and ensure that their sacred volunteer contingent is protected...all at the cost of the safety of personnel and the citizens he's sworn to protect. Sad really.

[PCFD ENG58 1,085]

Never a firefighter, he is in the Police Patrol company, you know coffee and traffic cones !

Edited November 28, 2014 by PCFD ENG58

[38ff 250]

Great reporting here..

To be an interior firefighter requires more training than in years past. Interior firefighters are volunteers who have the training, knowledge and physical ability to enter a burning building with firefighting gear and are certified in the bailout system, which is equipment used to lower a firefighter from a collapsing building.

[Dinosaur 844]

About time someone pulled the curtain back to expose the charade. How many other departments in the county can't meet the NFPA or OSHA standards for minimum staffing yet think they're OK?

They're still not going to be sending enough if they hire four whole guys. Wow.

Just kicking the can down the road. Sooner our later our luck is going to run out and there's going to be a 100% preventable tragedy. We will all call the unwitting victims "hero" and don our spiffy parade uniforms to salute their hearse but we won't fight against the problem that's making them vulnerable now. It's a travesty.

[Bnechis 3,961]

Republican Councilman Richard Mecca, who has been a volunteer firefighter in Rye since 1987 and who works as a building inspector in White Plains said, "people, especially in Rye, pay money to ensure that codes are followed to protect the value of their homes, and the codes have become more stringent over the last 30 to 40 years in terms of fire protection." He went on to say, “So buildings tend to be more fire resistant, thirty years ago, if oil in a pan caught fire and the fire department didn’t get there right away, the room was likely to catch fire. The same type of incident today is likely to be nothing more than a smoky incident.”

It's sad to see that a guy who is paid to do code enforcement and who apparently has been a volunteer firefighter since 1987, would actually make a misleading (flat out wrong) statement such as this. Does he really know little or nothing about fire spread, life safety for human beings who may be inside a home when a fire occurs as well as firefighter safety when arriving at such an incident severely understaffed? Or is he simply against hiring the number of firefighters necessary to keep the public and the firefighters safe?

1) While building codes are more stringent, 80% of the buildings in lower Westchester were built before these codes came into being.

2) Only those with sprinklers are more fire resistant. light weight construction is clearly not equal to traditional construction.

3) I wonder if he actually said this on the oil? My experience with quotes in the media is they rarely are what the person actually said. and sometimes they are completely made up.

[Chkpoint 131]

I believe you can watch the budget meeting on the city of Rye website. The PD went first then FD. http://www.ryeny.gov/swagnew.cfm

[frost025 94]

It seems that it's the same story in other combo depts.one half either lost interest,or just don't have the time,and the other is left holding all the cards and run short handed and the politicians don't want to compensate for the lack of manpower. They play Russian roulette with the staff and the residents.

[roofsopen19 34]

If the code in which will require ALL (even 1-2 story) residential structures to be sprinklered passes in 2015, there will be no need for a Rye Fire Department at the rate houses are being demolished and thrown back up in that city.

Im being sarcastic....Yes an Alarm troubleshooter department will still be needed. I didn't mean to hurt anyones feelings.

Dare I say it? County Consolidation!

Edited December 1, 2014 by roofsopen19

[gamewell45 258]

It seems that it's the same story in other combo depts.one half either lost interest,or just don't have the time,and the other is left holding all the cards and run short handed and the politicians don't want to compensate for the lack of manpower. They play Russian roulette with the staff and the residents.

I think it all comes down to this: in most cases, once elected the primary goal of the elected official is to get re-elected once his/her term expires. Many of them have made pledges to keep the costs down in the tax bill and unfortunately that generally has a negative impact on services provided by the city/town/village. If a politician who understands proper staffing with regards to the fire/police/EMS and/or other services, they are accused of sleeping with the unions by opponents; it's a no-win scenario in most cases and it usually takes a disaster to make people understand the importance of proper staffing. Like you said, they are playing Russian roulette with the staff and residents; at some point the gun will fire.

[PCFD ENG58 1,085]

The mayor in our case [ Port Chester ] is a 45 year member of the ladder company and knows about half of the rigs never get out the door. Sometimes better than others and sometimes not

[LineCapt 134]

Update: http://www.ryecityreview.com/city-council-nixes-2015-firefighter-hires/

The Rye City Council approved changes to the tentative 2015 budget; most notably going against the recommendation of its city manager and deciding NOT to hire additional firefighters next year.

“We are cognizant that this is a discussion that we are going to have to have in the coming year,” Sack said. “We thank the city manager for prompting us to have this discussion by including it in the budget, but these are not issues that appeared overnight. Existing conditions have been as they have for some time…and there is nothing that needs to be changed that can’t wait another year.”

[Dinosaur 844]

Update: http://www.ryecityreview.com/city-council-nixes-2015-firefighter-hires/

The Rye City Council approved changes to the tentative 2015 budget; most notably going against the recommendation of its city manager and deciding NOT to hire additional firefighters next year.

“We are cognizant that this is a discussion that we are going to have to have in the coming year,” Sack said. “We thank the city manager for prompting us to have this discussion by including it in the budget, but these are not issues that appeared overnight. Existing conditions have been as they have for some time…and there is nothing that needs to be changed that can’t wait another year.”

I hope those words don't come back to bite him in the ass. If there's a fire or injury (or worse) I suspect he'll be hearing about it.

[FireMedic049 597]

it's a no-win scenario in most cases and it usually takes a disaster to make people understand the importance of proper staffing.

And then they have very short memories and things stay the same or more cuts come along.