Much needed and way over due..
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retired fire fighter
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Posted 1:48 pm, 05/06/2015
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And I went through ISO/DOI inspections with about 15 fire departments and thoroughly understand the process. Graduate of the State Fire Marshal's Institute many moons ago. Worked with DOI and ISO in several counties.
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retired fire fighter
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Posted 1:46 pm, 05/06/2015
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underdog2 | Posted 1:03 pm, 05/06/2015 | Have you ever been through a 3 day inspection? Are you not smart enough to realize that having paid personnel at the station reduces response time and indeed does count toward a lower rating?
Again, most of the departments have already gotten their ratings lowered with what they have now |
Unless it has changed, a full time fire chief gives you the same credit on the rating system as does having one firefighter on duty 24/7.
They may have lowered their rating with what they have, but under the new rating system, it does not mean that they can/will keep it. Times have changed.
Volunteers are very valuable to the communities. I did a comparison quite a few years ago on cost of volunteers vs full time firemen. If I remember correctly, back then it would have cost the community over $350k more in taxes to staff a rural department 24/7. To have minimum staffing it would take about 15 full timers to staff 24/7 365. $500k would not even to begin to cover the cost if you figure in wages, FICA, and minimum other costs of employees.
I salute the volunteers of today. The requirements on their time have increased exponentially since I retired after 30 years.
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underdog2
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Posted 1:03 pm, 05/06/2015
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Have you ever been through a 3 day inspection? Are you not smart enough to realize that having paid personnel at the station reduces response time and indeed does count toward a lower rating?
Again, most of the departments have already gotten their ratings lowered with what they have now. Do you really think that you go to pond mountain and you could respond to a fire in Fleetwood? Have you ever heard of a company transfer?
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Fire2
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Posted 12:53 pm, 05/06/2015
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Having paid staff does not lower your rating. What lowers your rating is earning enough points during teh NCDOI inspection to qualify for a lower rating. We are rated on everything from trucks, equipment, hauling capacities and times of mutual aid departments, to how the call is handled by the 911 system. the main reason the training center is needed is because of the regulation change in January which requires ALL training to be hands on rather than simulated. Nothing is allowed to be simulated in a classroom any more, it has to actually be done by the students and some of these things, such as roof venting and basement firefighting techniques MUST be done in a fire training facility. You are correct about one thing though- training requirements keep increasing and as volunteers spend more and more time away from their family and their jobs, the number of volunteers will continue to decrease until we have to pay personnel to man the stations.
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underdog2
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Posted 12:37 pm, 05/06/2015
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Most of the departments in Ashe county have already gotten their ratings lowered without the expense of a training facility. They have achieved 6-7 ratings and a new toy fire club house will not get them a bit lower.
The day of the volunteer hose jockey is slowly coming to an end. Your boys club will be replaced with paid professionals. Having paid staff does lower ratings significantly.
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Fire2
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Posted 12:31 pm, 05/06/2015
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The training changes took effect in January but commissioners were made aware of the need for a training facility over two years ago when it was first requested. The emergency services director has always supported us with things we need but as always, the volunteers are put on a back burner by commissioners and county managers and taken for granted. Basking, having the training center would help some departments lower their ratings as they earn points for having such a facility. As for going out of county, when you are talking pulling a majority of your fire trucks and personnel out of your area for training, do you really want them to be 2 hours or more away when something happens?
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retired fire fighter
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Posted 11:07 am, 05/06/2015
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underdog2 | Posted 7:36 am, 05/06/2015 | Basking they can still burn a house with some common sense restrictions the state put on them. One being asbestos. No better training than in a real house |
As one that has burned over 150 houses for training in years past, the new restrictions on burning a structure have made it almost impossible for find one and then after you do find it, what is left after complying is not much training. The new state standards have become very restrictive on training and manpower requirements. I expect to see some of the ratings go the wrong way once the first round of inspections are complete. Maybe not here but I expect that some of the departments around the state to lose their ratings due to lack of volunteers. In the past you could could a volunteer in multiple departments, that all went away with the new standards.
It will be a sad day to see this happen, but it is a sign of the times, and with some of the attitudes and opinions voiced here......
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Basking
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Posted 10:53 am, 05/06/2015
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Haven't you been schooled enough in the past?
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puttinmyneckontheline
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Posted 10:37 am, 05/06/2015
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Well how about this, puttinmyneckontheline is here during normal hours. Bow wow, you are still at the old ways of talking down to people who buck your standards. Yes, I think you are pretty stupid. Answer me this - which department put down a nearby facility and got iso training credit for it?
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underdog2
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Posted 7:36 am, 05/06/2015
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Basking they can still burn a house with some common sense restrictions the state put on them. One being asbestos. No better training than in a real house.
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underdog2
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Posted 6:17 am, 05/06/2015
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How dumb do you really think we are? I know the club houses put down a nearby facility. Which is perfectly fine with the iso. Its not my fault your employer wont let you use the computer. I am smart enough to have access and work.
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puttinmyneckontheline
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Posted 11:33 pm, 05/05/2015
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Bow wow - get your facts straight before you go barking up the wrong tree.
http://www.isomitigation.co...c3009.html
Do any of you think that this could have a positive swing and influence people and young ones to become somebody that doesn't sit around the house and wait on a check in the mail?
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Basking
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Posted 6:32 pm, 05/05/2015
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The state has gotten pretty tight on letting fire departments burn old houses for practice. They say it's not good for the environment.
Years ago watauga had their own hose jockey training facility in Blowing Rock. But they realized it was cheaper for them to get rid of it and send the firemen to other facilities. This is just another clubhouse for the hose jockeys
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underdog2
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Posted 4:50 pm, 05/05/2015
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They can all get a property owner to donate a shack in the county every now and then and all of them could train on the same house for weeks.
This burn building has no impact at all on the grading for a departments iso rating.
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onlyinashe
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Posted 4:46 pm, 05/05/2015
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AT $340,000 plus annual insurance and maintenance costs, How many burn permits would have to be pulled to equal that cost? I applaud the work of the Volunteer squads, but I do not believe this is the best money to be spent for training purposes. Where are the nearby training facilities? Could we partner with another county to develop a more regional approach to a facility like this?
Were was the Director of Emergency Services for the County when these new regulations were being passed in Raleigh? Why was she not banging the drum letting the the County Manager know of the need for this type of expensive change so alternative could have been reviewed?
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underdog2
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Posted 4:34 pm, 05/05/2015
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Tell the hose jockeys not another dime extra until ALL the county departments get their insurance ratings to at least a 7.
Clodhopper tim your department did a fine job of earning the rating of a 6.
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crestonflash
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Posted 4:04 pm, 05/05/2015
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Heels09 | Posted 2:41 pm, 05/05/2015 | It should have been approved in March along with the new community college building. |
Watauga's proposed budget has money for a new classroom in Boone for Caldwell CC
Bunch of mental midgets running things here.
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basking
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Posted 3:57 pm, 05/05/2015
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tell the hose jockeys to lower their ratings first so they save their residents on insurance.
But at least Tim finally found something he cares about
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Heels09
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Posted 2:41 pm, 05/05/2015
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It should have been approved in March along with the new community college building.
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UP4IT
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Posted 2:32 pm, 05/05/2015
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http://jeffersonpost.com/ne...refighters
I hope the commissioners take this request serious. It is something that has been needed for years in the county. Proper training can mean the difference between life and death, not only to the citizens of Ashe. But their emergency response personnel as well.
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