By switching to a volunteer fire department, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea officials hoped to save millions of tax dollars while keeping service on par with what the Broward Sheriff's Office provided over the past four years.
But some residents and commissioners are concerned the move, which took effect Oct. 1, could jeopardize safety because the VFD's contract allows nine minutes to respond to a blaze. In its final year, the sheriff reported average response times of 3 minutes, 56 seconds for 18 fire calls.
"Nine minutes is totally unacceptable," said John Toohey, a retired assistant chief of the New York Fire Department and vice president of the 15-story Ocean Colony condominium. For example, he said, if someone had a few cocktails and fell asleep holding a lit cigarette, "if the fire department arrives nine minutes later from then, forget that person."
Fire Chief Robert Perkins said he isn't worried. He said in its first two weeks, the VFD responded "within between four and seven minutes" to 14 minor fire calls and 30 practice runs with new EMS vendor American Medical Response.
"These guys have worked very hard. At least give them an opportunity to show you," said Vice Mayor Jerome McIntee, who is also a VFD member.
Fire protection is a combustible issue for this two-mile-long barrier island town's 6,300 residents, a number that grows to 11,350 in winter. The 2000 U.S. Census said 23.9 percent of the population had disability status, a statistic captured before the town's 2001 annexation of a northern mile of A1A.
"I know what a wonderful job BSO did and the training they had as firefighters and paramedics," homeowner Virginia Holder said. "I live in a house, and would be a whole lot more concerned if I lived in a [condo] tower."
The National Fire Protection Association sets different response times for professionals and volunteers: Six minutes is the career force standard; for volunteers it's nine minutes. Fire departments report their own response times to their communities.
The town averages five fires that require use of water to be extinguished per year. McIntee said the town's 68 buildings that are higher than two stories are not a concern. "The buildings are 99 percent fire-resistant," he said.
But Toohey said, "Apartment contents are flammable. Fire could spread along a public hallway, from a basement Dumpster through trash chutes, along wiring paths or through exploded windows. That's how you could have a high-rise fire."
The town expects to save $1.3 million a year by hiring the VFD through 2013. In the final year of the sheriff's fire and EMS contract, the town paid $3.3 million, $2.3 million of it for fire alone.
But since March, the town has spent $2 million for fire service. That money covered fire and beach patrol vehicles, the EMS vendor's agreement, and VFD contracts that cost at least $850,000 annually.
"There are obviously startup costs," said Commissioner Stuart Dodd.
To ensure public safety, Mayor Roseann Minnet and Commissioners Birute Clottey and Dodd have discussed setting up a citizens' committeeto review the VFD's training and performance.
"If an oversight committee prevents one incident, then it will achieve its purpose," Dodd said.
Perkins said it's unnecessary, and Commissioners McIntee and James Silverstone, also a firefighter, have resisted.
"I feel that there is a movement on this dais by a couple of people to attack the volunteer fire department," said McIntee, who added he would support oversight, if it's also applied to police and ambulance performance.
The VFD reported to the state fire marshal that of its 76 firefighters, 57 have firefighter II certification, or 360 hours of training. The rest, including the chief, deputy chief and three captains, have firefighter I status with 160 hours' instruction, or are trainees. Most have not yet passed medical exams, something Perkins said will happen within the year. Some live in town and many are new fire academy graduates who train with the VFD while awaiting permanent jobs elsewhere.
Clottey said she received "numerous complaints" from residents about the Sheriff's Office's firefighting abilities and the VFD deserved the contract. "Unless you are from here, you don't understand what the volunteers mean to the community," she said.
source: sun sentinal
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