Quick takes
Two weeks without pay in Prince George’s County: That’s Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson’s plan he’s taking to the county council today. It will effect all full-time employees including firefighters. As we had reported previously, part of the plan in the fire department is to try and get volunteers to take up the slack. Click here to read Jack Johnson’s letter to employees.
The Washington Post takes a look at the plan. Here are a couple of relevant quotes:
“If a citizen calls 911 for police or fire, they will respond as expeditiously as they have in the past,” said Vernon Herron, the county’s public safety director.
“There is no way you can send people home on furloughs and say it’s not going to have an impact,” said Doug “Bart” Bartholomew, president of the professional firefighters union. He called the proposal “a calculated risk with people’s lives.”
No change in status of PGFD official involved in FBI raid: When we checked on Monday there was no indication of any change in job status for Lt. Col. Karl Granzow of the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. We are starting to get quite a few comments about the story. Click here to join in.
In today’s Washington Post article they picked up on a few of the tidbits we had Sunday and added a few new ones themselves.
Rescue me: The next time you are at a fire where a civilian is in danger, you may want to take your own pulse. An Indiana University study did just that. Here are excerpts from the chicagotribune.com
At one fire, in which firefighters worked to rescue a mother and three children trapped in a burning house, five firefighters had heart rates at or above their predicted maximum for more than 30 minutes, project leader Jim Brown said.
“If I hadn’t seen the data myself, I would have a hard time — as a physiologist — believing it was true,” Brown said.
A feast while a man dies: An unusual EMS story, to say the least, from the UK. Click here.
Union says two guys are getting paid too much: You may recall the cheating scandal in Orlando. Two chiefs are now lieutenants because of it. Now the union says the pair makes too much money and it sends the wrong message. Read more.
Loudoun County, VA report: If you haven’t had a chance to look at it, the Loudoun County, VA report into the Mayday and injuries at a house fire May 25 is available online. Click here to read the report.
