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STAMFORD, Conn. The following is a letter from Brendan Keatley, head of the Stamford firefighters union. The Stamford Daily Voice accepts all letters to the editor from readers. Letters can be emailed to reporter Anthony Buzzeo at tbuzzeo@DailyVoice.com.
To the Editor,
For over 30 years there has been a requirement that the Stamford Fire & Rescue Department (SFRD) have a minimum number of firefighters on duty at all times to respond to the myriad emergencies fire departments must deal with. That number is currently 52 firefighters, protecting a daytime population of over 170,000 residents, commuters and visitors to the city of Stamford.
Mayor Michael Pavia, leader of New Englands fifth most populous city, wants to have the power to unilaterally cut that number when the mood strikes him, without any input from the professional firefighters who know Stamford best and without regard for the citizens of Stamford.
The problem is that the types of emergencies that fire departments respond to cannot be predicted. Structure fires, downed electrical lines, gas leaks, car accidents and medical emergencies simply happen for a variety of reasons. Some days it seems like emergencies never stop, which is what happened to Stamford on Wednesday, June 20, 2012, the first day of summer and showed how quickly firefighting manpower can be stretched to the limit and beyond.
In a time period of less than two hours, firefighters from Stamford Fire & Rescue along with Stamford volunteer firefighters and Stamford EMS responded to six significant emergencies, including a major electrical transformer fire in the vicinity of the Government Center on Washington Boulevard, a fire alarm activation at 133 Tresser Blvd., a mass casualty incident at the Stamford High School graduation, where 10 people required medical attention due to the effects of the extreme heat, a structure fire at 703 Hope St., a motor vehicle accident on West Broad Street and a medical call on Pacific Street.
The transformer fire alone required 34 firefighters and forced the Government Center to close on Wednesday and Thursday. These emergencies used all of the 52 on duty SFRD firefighters and whatever volunteer resources that were available. In addition, the city had to request firefighters from Norwalk (2 fully manned fire trucks) and one fully manned truck from Greenwich to help our city bridge the gap.
While Wednesdays events thankfully dont happen every day, it shows the need to be prepared for a variety of eventualities, including simultaneous emergencies. Over the years, Stamford has had to deal with significant weather disasters, such as hurricanes and ice storms, which are all too common in the Northeast that have led to flooding, downed trees and electrical wires and other hazardous conditions that had to be urgently cleared by the citys firefighters, career and volunteer.
Firefighters from Stamford Fire & Rescue, Stamford EMS and the volunteer companies who responded deserve high praise for a job well done. One can only recoil in horror if Mayor Pavia had the authority to unilaterally dictate staffing levels for the Fire Department.
What would have happened if Emmet P. Hibson, the mayors director of human resources, who claims that the city doesnt have to bargain with firefighters over staffing levels, said how many firefighters were needed on a given day? How many firefighters does Mr. Hibson, a New Haven resident, who is protected in New Haven by a minimum of 70-plus firefighters on duty at all times, think is adequate for Stamford and its citizens?
What would have happened if there were less than 52 firefighters available to respond immediately, fewer volunteers were available, or if Norwalk and Greenwich had their own emergencies and couldnt assist us? Its almost too frightening to think about.
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