Letter to NFPA -- Fall River Fire Talk Boards

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Date Posted: 09:07:34 11/28/02 Thu
Author: FALLON
Subject: Letter to NFPA

November 28, 2002
James Shannon, President and CEO, NFPA
P.O. Box 9101
Quincy, MA 02269, 9101

RE: NFPA Official �David Hague� presents view of compliance
Dear Mr. Shannon:

As a resident of the City of Fall River and a concerned citizen in regards to public safety, I am quite concerned with the recent cutbacks in fire protection. I have served as a Fire Protections Specialist in the United States Air Force, the Department of the Navy, and additionally as a City of Fall River Fire Fighter. Working for the Department of Defense for many years there was never a time when crews would respond with less than 4 fire fighters on an Engine Company. It was not until I landed in Fall River that I discovered the grim situation here. Not only does Fall River run three members on every unit in the city, but additionally they sometimes run Ladders with 2 fire fighters responding to structure fires and other incidents. In addition the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System reports Fall River has the fourth highest rate of fires in the Commonwealth compared to 351 other towns and cities.

Fall River like many other municipalities throughout the nation has recently cut staffing and reduced the total number of fire companies available to respond to emergencies. This reduction has caused a restructuring of the initial response which now requires fire units from neighborhoods further away to make up the gap that was created due to the cutbacks. This fire unit must now travel farther which increases response times for a full fire fighting force and in addition, it leaves the neighborhoods and residents that are sending units from farther away with reduced fire protection.

In their goal to achieve a safer work environment the fire fighters of Fall River referenced N.F.P.A. 1710 and numerous N.I.O.S.H., Insurance and Industry reports dealing with staffing and safety. Literally thousands of pages of reports that conclude minimum staffing should be 4 fire fighters per engine and ladder company, and as you know, more for high hazard areas which Fall River has many of due to the density of its neighborhoods with large 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 family and higher tenement homes. We also have high rise apartment complexes, old mills, steeply inclined hills in many areas, 2 hospitals, industry mixed throughout the city and many more challenges that must be addressed in a fire protection view point. These are the challenges, and the fire fighters of this city bravely accept them! What the fire fighters expected is the that they would have to convince City Hall, the City Council and the taxpayers as well as the Media that the reduction in engine companies was bad for this community. They presented their position on many levels utilizing many reports including the recent Houston Fire Fighter N.I.O.S.H. report which referenced the unfortunate loss of Captain Jay Jehnke and determined staffing was a factor. What the fire fighters NEVER EXPECTED was for an official from the N.F.P.A. to attend a City Council meeting and endorse the recent fire fighter cutbacks by claiming that the administration and the Chief were correct in their position that they were in compliance with NFPA 1710. Mr. David Hague approached the Council publicly, introduced himself utilizing all of his credentials and notified the Council that he was a senior Fire Protection Specialist with your organization and proclaimed that our department was in compliance with 1710.

I ask you, is it customary for the National Fire Protection Association�s officials to proclaim compliance by communities which they reside within? If so, do they normally perform an overall study of the department by interviewing line officers and fire fighters, or do they simply take the Chief�s word? Do they acquire information such as run times, number of apparatus responding to incidents, job functions of the personnel when they arrive on scene, etc? Do they review Standard Operating Procedures to ensure compliance with the standard? Do they review overall terrain and declare which areas are high hazard to ensure the proper staffing before they approach City Councils and endorse a Fire Chief�s program? If not, I would have to assume that David Hague�s opinion was UNPROFESSIONAL and not within the standard of integrity that I would expect from an organization that stresses safety in all of its publications. How can a �professionally educated� individual make a claim of endorsement without reviewing all of the issues at hand and discussing both sides equally? I as well as many others believe that Mr. Hague has committed a great disservice to the fire fighters of this city, the fire fighters of the South Coast region of Massachusetts, the fire fighters of the IAFF, the fire fighters of the PFFM, and the NFPA. I can see the headlines now in publications and on websites such as Fire House Magazine , Fire Engineering, the IAFF News Publication, and Firehouse.com: �NFPA Official opposes fire fighters efforts to increase staffing�. Is that what we are experiencing? A public announcement by members of your organization to oppose our need for increased staffing?

In closing I hope you agree that your colleague�s actions and statements were out of line and at best unprofessional. At worst, they were an endorsement of an unfortunate situation here in Fall River for some sort of personal gain. I hope the first rather than the last is the more accurate of the two.
Sincerely,

Keith M. Fallon

Citizen of Fall River, MA
593 Locust Street
Fall River, MA 02720
508-674-0235

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