STATter911 takes on The Fire Critic for blaming the news media (Also, listen to Firefighter Netcast)
More coverage from Firegeezer
A related story from Grand Forks, ND
“No firefighter wants to standby and watch a neighbor’s house burn, but we are sometimes put in this predicament through the subscription response program.” The words of Hornbeak Chief Bob Reavis. Hornbeak is one of eight municipal departments providing fire protection to Obion County. Chief Reavis has one of the five departments that doesn’t require subscriptions to respond into the county. But he says county policy of failing to properly address this issue is pushing his department and the others into joining South Fulton in requiring these subscriptions.
Reavis says a comprehensive plan was presented two years ago by the chiefs to eliminate subscription response and replace it with tax or fee based funding that would provide “rural fire protection to all residents”. The chief says the county sent it back wanting to instead expand the subscription program.
The entire press conference, including questions from Todd Cranick whose parents’ home burned a week ago, is above. Below is the answer from Obion County Mayor Benny McGuire. Despite a lot of threats and a great deal of pressure, McGuire still wants to expand the same subscription service that created this controversy to the entire county, something Bob Reavis and the other chiefs are against.
Reavis does want county residents to stand up and be heard, “The people have to understand that houses are going to burn. It’s not what we want.”
Excerpts from WPSD-TV’s article:
“The same thing has happened in the county before,” said Obion County Mayor Benny McGuire. “It never got this much attention.”
He doesn’t understand why his county’s policy is under fire.
Under the current system, there is no county-wide fire protection.
The mayor said that policy might soon change if county leaders vote yes on a new plan, which gives everyone an opportunity to buy subscription service from the nearest fire department.
“It’s not what I want, not what my fire department wants, not what my town wants,” Chief Bob Reavis said.
Reavis’ plea certainly resonated with some in the audience, perhaps most especially Todd Cranick, whose parents burnt out home is at the center of the controversy.
“The country is fed up with this crap and it’s about time everybody pulled together and gets things changed,” Cranick said.
Also on STATter911 …
- South Fulton, Tennessee’s Fire Department makes news after watching another house burn. ‘Pay for spray’ subscription policy in Obion County brings more heat for firefighters. – December 6, 2011
- Making a bad situation worse. Obion County, TN wants firefighters to be on the hook if county makes mistake in the ‘pay for spray’ subscription list. – April 19, 2012
- Obion City, TN firefighter speaks out against county ‘pay for spray’. Says name confusion has people making death threats against his department. – December 8, 2011
- Local chief gives update on Obion County, TN ‘pay for spray’ policy. Union City’s Kelly Edmison says tax is cheaper than subscription, – December 9, 2011
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A Well spoken chief. He obviously put thought into his statement. He stated his apologies to the family for what had happened. He explained the fee, its use, that his dept. did NOT use it and such.
He gave a history and as was stated by the mayor, other instances of this have happened before with no news media bursts.
One question I DO have.
If the EMS service is paid or volunteer. Not that it really matters i spose, the real question being, again not sure on dispatch protocols BUT,
what if the engine is due on a medical call and the household has not paid the fire subscription does the engine still respond? What if the ambulance gets there and needs manpower? The answers to those questions would be interesting to know.
Remember the IAFF, or any union for that matter is a “pay-to-play” organization.
I thought he presented his case very well. How can you run even a small fire department on $8000/year? Several reporters asked about a duty to act, but if they don’t get the proper funding, there won’t be anyone to act. I really feel for these guys.
I think the local government has to decide whether they want fire protection or not. I come from a place that is very well funded (Delaware) and I cannot imagine a budget that small.
Obion County Rescue Squad:
The Obion County Rescue Squad was organized in 1964 under its original name The Volunteer Emergency Radio Unit Inc. The founding six members Chuck Davis, Harold Barnes, Montel Lyell, Artell Harding, Bill Norman and Houston Corbitt had been meeting as a CB radio club at Mr. Barnes’s garage but they wanted to make a difference in their community.
They began with a 1949 Dodge panel van and a 12’ john boat and a desire to help. With a lot of hard work and the support of The United Way of Obion County the squad has evolved with a name change, a permanent base in 1976, an increase in membership and several changes of equipment. We expanded our services in 2006 to include emergency medical services at the first responder level.
Today our membership is near fifty dedicated volunteers. We have one dedicated crash truck, a combined crash/fire truck, a dedicated brush fire truck, a utility SUV, as well as two boats and a four wheeler.
http://www.obioncountyrescue.com/
http://www.tnars.org/newsletters/vol1_num1.pdf
In yesterday’s press conference, Chief Reavis mentioned that vehicle collisions and car fires are handled by the Rescue Squad with back-up from the municipal fire companies.
Note that two of the rescue squad vehicles can handle fires.
AMBULANCE TRANSPORT is provided by Acadian Ambulance since buying out Stat Care last May.
http://www.kfdm.com/articles/acadian-37709-care-stat.html
Here ‘s a link to the County-wide Fire Department plan (to end subscription service) the Chief and others made mention to:
http://troy.troytn.com/Obion%20County%20Fire%20Department%20Presentation%20Presented%20to%20the%20County%20Commission.pdf
It’s interesting, though I wonder how the hell thy can afford to run it on the proposed $550,000.
As for this news conference, isn’t it a lot like a lifeguard telling a drowning victim – after the fact – that they’ve drowned?
This whole thing stinks of politics.
Absolutely refreshing to see a fire chief be both knowledgeable and talk in a way that the average person knows what they are talking about. So many times, when chiefs get in front of the camera, they look like they known nothing or they start using 64-dollar words.
This guy obviously cares about the situation and wants to find a solution. He also did a great job of providing information without casting too many stones.
@J.E. Travis – What does the IAFF have to do with this particular issue?
Grand Forks is in North Dakota
Yes it is. I told you I’m not very bright.
Statter
These fire fighters should be ashamed of themselves. Look at the REAL men that work in the NYFD or SFFD. These men would wouldn’t care about the $75 extortion fee, they would do their job and help a fellow human. Shameful. Small town backwards logic. Karma will come and bite you on the ass for this.
I would as a Chief Officer like to commend Chief Reavis on his excellent handling of a called press interview. He came across as gracious, knowledgeable, passionate, he had obviously put in a lot of time and preparation, was very accommodating, gave the facts, stuck to his script, didn’t allow anyone to get him off his game and articulated his answers well. So refreshing, for not only a career chief but one who works in the rural environment as well, and they send us to the big media relations courses. It’s not my position to offer commentary on what they do or don’t do in Obion County although it does place their firefighter’s in a no win situation. As a Captain a couple of times we attended calls right at the city limits and the policy was amended to allow us to drop the booster tank (500 gallons)if we could see the fire, while awaiting the appropriate rural responding department. Always felt useless but without hydrants it limits your capabilities, we just didn’t turn around and go home. If their were life safety concerns, the on board water was utilized to cover a rescue. The members then left only after the responsible department was on scene.
Who is right and who is wrong, these are not areas for the responding firefighters to have been dealt. Our beloved vocation isn’t a blame game and I am sure to a man/woman the responding crews would have in a heartbeat gave all if someone was in the house. The fact this started outside and there was some time period before the occupancy became involved leads to the silliness factor of rules versus common sense. But as one who was dealt harshly for over extending myself in such a case I have learned to not breech what is fact.
I wish the county government the wisdom of solomon and due diligence and guidance do come through and this will be a distant bad memory for all involved. Stay Safe, we all should come home.
My 2 cents from California on this is:
The County and Fire Chief are in part “Behind The Power Curve”.
If they were up to adquate “speed” they would know that they could have probably seeked “Cost Recovery” from the home owners Fire Insurance Coverage.
If the County is trying to generate or collect more “subscription fees”, they should just start collecting a Standard Fire Protection Levy so that ALL property owners pay into the fund thus eliminating the different levels of fire protection.
It 2010 and the old ways of doing things are not going to work. Look at what Chief Harry Carter has written recently regarding fire department consolidations.
The continued evolution of fire protection services in the 21st Century.
We are well aware his property tax money was not spent on the fire department. We are more concerned if South Fulton fire department received any federal or state grants or assistance that Mr. Cranick did pay into.
Chief Reavis you did a great job of explaining a most difficult situation and you placed the decision back where it belongs and that is the citizens/taxpayers of the county. If my memory serves me correctly, the same situation occurred in the late 1960’s in Desoto, Mo. It is up to their citizens of the county to tell the county commissioners if they want rural fire protection or not and then how much will it cost each landowner.
the county has an undeniable responsibility to the people it governs.assessment of cost can always be brought up in court after the event.
If it is such an issue for people to pay subscriptions maybe then they need to look into state laws to be changed to be able to bill the insurance companies for fire related services. They should look into the laws of Arkansas for example to see how our state deals with the issue. Great Job Chief Reavis you were very well spoken and very informative. Good luck to all involved with this debate in the county. Hope you will get some difinative answers soon.