I think these comments arose because of a proposed study of the Fire Division. There have been a couple of other comments about restructuring the chain of command. Previously there were several other comments about Fire Chief Tidwell, which I did not post as I could not verify them. Chief Tidwell himself posted on March 8 on Facebook that he had been under investigation but was cleared:
For 7 months I bore a heavy burden, until yesterday. I was under investigation for allegations of misuse of authority, misappropriating funds and ethics violations.
The prosecutor's office was involved and Internal Affairs.
"The investigation is concluded and there will be no disciplinary action."
Tidwell gave thanks for the outcome.
Regarding other forms of fire safety, there are fire districts that use volunteer companies. They are governed by boards of commissioners and their budgets are funded by taxpayers. When I lived in Millington, I learned about the klaxons that sounded alarms for volunteers to respond to fires. Instead of being at a firehouse, they would come from home or work. Certainly they did not face the challenges of high-rise senior complexes or multi-family apartment buildings such as we have in Plainfield.
Fire and police have different hierarchies. I remember when it was mandated that a police chief had to get a certain percentage higher salary than captains, while no such rule applied to fire chiefs until they also won the right to a differential. Police, as far as I know, are part of a hierarchy of law enforcement that spans several levels of government, while fire responders appear to be more localized.
Plainfield police are undergoing an accreditation process to assure adherence to best practices. Surely it is in the public interest to take a look at the Fire Division, even though both entities have ongoing training for personnel. Management can often gain from an outside assessment as well. Police and Fire expenses are currently 60 percent of the city budget, so any cost-cutting improvements should be welcomed.
--Bernice
south plainfield has a volunteer fire department
ReplyDeleteSouth plainfield is half the population and also has a different make-up of buildings, properties and density than Plainfield. Not really an apples to apples comparison.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely no volunteer fire department in Plainfield.
ReplyDeletePlainfield has one of the finest fire departments. Plainfield's fire department started out as a volunteer department, but switched to paid firefighters in the late 1880's. There were so many large fires along the Central Jersey of NJ railroad line that the City had to enact an ordinance for a fire safety zone in downtown Plainfield. This zone is shown on old maps of Plainfield and required all masonry/brick buildings in the downtown area. (See map in Drake House Museum.) No wooden structures. Today there are only two wooden structures left: the Friend's Meeting house and the McCutchen house in the PNC parking lot.
Growing up in Plainfield, the Plainfield firefighters always came to the schools and taught fire safety. They had a lasting impact on all family members. My sister put out a neighbor's fire with a garden hose because of the training she received in school. My father was called upon by the fire department in the days before DEP because he was a chemical engineer, and he knew what to do when chemical trucks got stuck under the railroad bridges.
It has been long understood that Plainfield had a low fire insurance rate because of our paid firefighters. It has also been long understood that they save the most structures, and those structures could be rebuilt.
Here is a link to US Fire Statistics:
https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/
Interesting note: More men die or are injured in fires than women.
Plainfield paid firefighters, thank you for your service and thank you for letting me sleep better at night.
Nancy P., All good information. Thank you. By the way, volunteer fire departments have to spend a lot of their time fundraising to pay for insurance and equipment.
DeleteHere is one article which details some of the requirements of volunteer fire departments:
http://www.njherald.com/article/20160221/ARTICLE/302219968#
Hardly a week passes which fails to produce some bizarre event; Mr. Ervin's reemployment as a Consultant to the PMUA, then the proposed sale of the Bierstadt paintings, and this week a volunteer fire department. LaLa Land is in our backyard and its free. Bill Kruse
ReplyDeleteBill - you seem to be combining recent posts on the blog as being from the same place - the suggestion of a volunteer fire department came from READERS of the blog not from anyone in the city government. Lets not give a false impression to people.
DeleteIf the City goes to a volunteer fire department
ReplyDeleteThen the Mayor could fund his Plainfield Promise. I belive Soth Plainfield is larger then Plainfield and has a lot more industry and rails systems as well as chemical plants. I am not saying anything about our firefighters I just look at tax savings
I believe those chemical and industrial plants are required to have fire suppression systems and trained staff for an on-site response while firefighters are on the way, so the whole burden is not on the volunteers.
DeleteA friend in Westfield had two kitchen fires. The first one that was put out by volunteer fire fighters destroyed much of her house with water damage. In contrast, the Plainfield firefighters used tarps and strategies to protect her property and put out the fire with a minimum of collateral damage. They also have a reputation for saving pets as well as people.
ReplyDeleteAre there shared services agreements with neighboring communities that are anchored by our Fire Department?
Yes go back to the study of the merger of Police and Fire in the 1970-80's by Charles Allen to really see what an uproar can be when you mess with the PAID Fire Department in the town.
ReplyDeleteThere are no perfect people in this world. We all make mistakes. I have had the privilege of serving the City of Plainfield and the County of Union in law enforcement and fire servi9ces. Before becoming critical of the performance of those who risk their lives on a daily basis, we should all take a close look at what these individuals do for us. Director Carl Riley and Chief Tidwell are professional leaders who should be respected for their efforts. Instead of blaming the police administration for certain criminal activities, we should go look into the mirror and ask the person we see,"what can I do to help lower the crime rate", and "what do I know that I should honestly reveal that would make a difference". The Fire Division does a magnificent job.
ReplyDeleteOne way to help our first responders is to stop criticizing them, and if you think you can have a positive impact on their performance, join them!
No on said anything against the Fire personal. Just look into creating a Volunteer Fire Department. Extreme tax savings Harold or are you Against Tax Savings. That money saved could go to Plainfielld Promise and they city as a whole
DeleteI would think that the City cannot legally use tax payers funds to pay for college education. It would seem that this has to be privately funded. We are already separately taxed for education up to 12th grade.
DeletePlainfield demographics do not support the notion of a volunteer fire department. Big difference between south plainfield and plainfield. Most fully paid departments are also Abbott districts relying on state funds to survive. These volunteer departments train on their own time and sacrifice family to help others
ReplyDeleteI don't know of any urban city of 50,000+ people with a volunteer fire service. The risks are not worth the reward.
ReplyDelete