City looks into response to fire in N. Stamford

kpelley wrote:

Wake up, my point exactly, no big city in CT has volunteers, We are not in MD or any other part of the country. Unlike you I use my real name. When i got HIRED we did not have 24 hr shifts, and the overtime is gone. Still love my job. Too bad you did not pass the test, Dummy.

One, I don't use my real name because I have not introduced myself formally to you as you are not a friend or someone who I wish to associate with.

I have no time for formal introductions with people like you who lack the intelligence to debate properly or try and solve a problem.

As far as the Overtime, Don't tell me it's not there. You may have missed the article about it in the newspaper, or maybe the callbacks for the recent fires, or how about the shift coverage or fire watches.

As far as the "test" If you refer to the fire exam, I have never taken it. If you refer to my college education, yhea, I passed that...

Ouch.. you hurt my feelings by calling me a dummy... Well, you’re an unintelligent washed up drunk who is a major part of the problem.“now that’s how you thrown an insult..“dummy”

Ha!:)

I think I am going to have to get a bit of a vote going. I'll set up an email address so everyone can send in his or her vote with confidentially.

The question will be a YES or NO on whether you want to work this issue out or just continue to try and destroy each other. Of course you can add short optional explanation.

Only serious and confirmed emails will be counted...

I bet at least 90% of the volunteer and paid guys would vote yes and the explanation would say.. We can't do it because of the idiots around us who keep making the problem worse!

Oh hell, why would I spend the time now that I have given the factual answer already?? duh...

I have enjoyed the debates and agrrements with though of you today who have the intellect to see the problem in the big picture. For those of you who only insult and belittle, you will get yors in the end I'm sure. For those of you who want a fix, the first step is to shut the fools up, the next is to try and make it happen. The majority has the paower, you just need to SPEAK UP!

Now, I must head home to the wife who will probaly be just as trying on me tonight as some of you have been in your idiotic posts... ha ha ha!

See you all tommorw...!

Stamford-Res wrote:

Bunch of Over Paid, Under Educated Cry Babies that only want more control of the Cities Fire Rescue System so that later on, they can hold the City hostage in negotiations for pay raises.
Look at examples in all the other major cities in the U.S. and you will see the truth in the consolidation resolution that the City Department wants.

I am one of those individuals who you charge that I am uneducated and a cry baby. If you would like to compare education please give me your email or phone number, I would love to discuss the education statement with you, and the statement about being a cry baby, again please be a man and show yourself.

hurry home your wife should still be warm.

Jake wrote:

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Well you pay for it, because I sure as *ell can't afford for all paid departments in Stamford. Then we can't argue if they raise overtime, or request more funds. They are all overstaffed as it is.

At the forum the other night we were told we were already being taxed for paid fire service.........$5 + million in tor district alone???????!!!

MBA FF2 wrote:

<quoted text>
Go have another drink. What do you care, you're not paying for it anyway.

MBA FF2 -

Maybe you should keep a link for the Advocate classifieds. Rumor has it you might be losing your job soon, either due to running out of funds or your department no longer existing. Maybe you shouldn't bite the hand that's connected to the a@$ you might have to kiss for a job one day. Maybe you can go back to repairing bikes?

New Inventions wrote:

<quoted text>
Wake up dutz... There are volunteer firefighters in NEW YORK CITY TOO!!!
Check your facts Idiot.

So quick to lash out behind the protection of the anonymous internet. There are smaller cities without the tremendous tax base provided by Stamford's larger population and strong business presence with fully paid fire forces. Geography and scale also comparable.

As for being held hostage during pay raise negotiations, that should prove considerably more difficult in this economic environment.

Why is it that all you paid guys can compare how stamford is bigger than city such and such which is all paid or how every other big city in Conn. has paid guys, but when someone points out the fact that the same argument applies to cities bigger smaller or whatever having volunteers you ignore it? As was siad by kpelly we ARE NOT all those cites and departments you all point to either. You and your double standards. this whole attitude that ONLY you paid guys have the answer is absurd and another part of the problem. OPEN you eyes and look around. And most definitely check your facts before you say anything. Remember too that if you use other cities or departments as examples there are just as many or more that can prove our point as well. Fact is you don't want to work it out, just kick us out and alot of taxpayers ARE NOT on your side no matter how much hot air you spew.

Contact or not. No layoff clause or not. Pink slips are a comin soon to the ole SFRD. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Us workin folk will be lookin fer ya on the food bank lines. Yer good ole boy Malloy gonna stab y'all in the back and give er a good twist.
Yee Hah get along little doggie the cows are a comin home. Pigs er flyin by. and Hells a freszin over. No matter how ya slice it just stick a fork in ya cause you is done.
Happy days are here again da da dada da da dada.

Seriously I'm not a paid fire employee--- not sure how I'm going to convince you otherwise. But my posting history seem to clearly show my hand in terms of my profession.
Stop making the attacks personal--- I'm just a concerned taxpayer from N. Stamford.

I hope you don't get so worked up under real stress-- say a fire. It's a bit concerning to see this aggression from someone sworn to protect.

Harry wrote:

Seriously I'm not a paid fire employee--- not sure how I'm going to convince you otherwise. But my posting history seem to clearly show my hand in terms of my profession.
Stop making the attacks personal--- I'm just a concerned taxpayer from N. Stamford.
I hope you don't get so worked up under real stress-- say a fire. It's a bit concerning to see this aggression from someone sworn to protect.

As a "paid employee" of the city of stamford fire and rescue I could not agree more with you and I am sorry that the public has to see it's firefighters acting in such a childish manner...for that I apolgize to you and all the taxpayers of this city...

The recruiting and retention of Volunteer Firefighters is one of the few areas where the individual departments will have to share the blame with the city. While it is true that the city has refused to even look into most of the incentive plans in place in other towns, until recently no volunteer (or combination) department in Stamford has taken recruitment seriously.

For too long we have sat smugly inside our Fire Stations waiting for potential recruits to come to us, little or no effort has been made to seek out new volunteers. When members do come up with ideas either they are not well received or they are openly fought against. When there is a viable recruitment effort, there is no effort made to weed out inappropriate candidates. This causes the Volunteer Firefighters to distrust the program and not to support future programs.

Beach Stickers would be a start, so would the tax credit, but these would only work if there was a standard attached to them, other than simple membership. Test points are only good for those who start volunteering in order to stop, this attitude makes no sense.

As a Volunteer, I do not seek or expect compensation, but I know there are those who do. Those are the so called Volunteers who argue in favor of the most expensive and least restrictive incentive programs, which by the way do nothing to recruit or retain ACTIVE VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS.

The city could find relatively low cost ways to provide incentives, and the departments could enforce standards and actively seek new recruits at locations outside the firehouse, but I doubt this will ever happen because it is much easier to play the blame game than to fix the problem.

No matter how many inmcentives the City would offer for volunteers to recruit and retain membership it would be far far less than paying 30 more firefighters full time. The questions are 1) Would the City offer incentives to attract more volunteer firefighters and keep the ones there are?
2) Would the volunteers actually do the work to recruit new firefighters and keep them?
3) Would any incentives really atract firefighters or keep them?
Of course both sides would have to accept this as a means to provide for public safety and work together to make it happen.

To most taxpayers this whole mess started because the City wanted to save money. If that is true than shouldn't the City be looking to increase volunteers, which without question saves money.

I am not a firefighter but I have lived in Stamford all my life and seen many changes to our city, some good and some not so good. For many longtime residents like me Stamford is more than "the City that works", it is our home. One of the attractions of Stamford is it's neighborhoods especially to people like me who have lived here in "our neighborhood" of Stamford for many years. I understand that Stamford is not the place it was years ago and that is progress, but the neighborhoods are still here and we want to keep them. I have seen people comment in this forum comparing Stamford to other cities. To those of you who do pleas try to understand we love Stamford precisely because it is not like those other cities. The volunteer fire departments that some here deride and others defend are a part of our neighborhoods. They are part of what makes Stamford the good place to live that it really is. A perfect example is the Belltown station. They held their annual bingo last night which drew the neighborhood out to not only support the firefighters but enjoy a social evening with friends and neighbors. This may not seem important and it may not be progress but it is a part of what makes Stamford, Stamford. It is also a part of our lives that we look forward to and enjoy. Many of use that live in the neighborhoods of northern Stamford do not want to be gentrified or lose a part of what makes us unique. The point to all this is to ask all the firefighters of Stamford and the Mayor to do everything they can to keep our neighborhood volunteer stations and with them our unique neighborhoods alive.
Thank you

Stamfordian wrote:

I am not a firefighter but I have lived in Stamford all my life and seen many changes to our city, some good and some not so good. For many longtime residents like me Stamford is more than "the City that works", it is our home. One of the attractions of Stamford is it's neighborhoods especially to people like me who have lived here in "our neighborhood" of Stamford for many years. I understand that Stamford is not the place it was years ago and that is progress, but the neighborhoods are still here and we want to keep them. I have seen people comment in this forum comparing Stamford to other cities. To those of you who do pleas try to understand we love Stamford precisely because it is not like those other cities. The volunteer fire departments that some here deride and others defend are a part of our neighborhoods. They are part of what makes Stamford the good place to live that it really is. A perfect example is the Belltown station. They held their annual bingo last night which drew the neighborhood out to not only support the firefighters but enjoy a social evening with friends and neighbors. This may not seem important and it may not be progress but it is a part of what makes Stamford, Stamford. It is also a part of our lives that we look forward to and enjoy. Many of use that live in the neighborhoods of northern Stamford do not want to be gentrified or lose a part of what makes us unique. The point to all this is to ask all the firefighters of Stamford and the Mayor to do everything they can to keep our neighborhood volunteer stations and with them our unique neighborhoods alive.
Thank you

Great if you love Bingo, but while you where playing Bingo there was a fire call in the Springdale VFD district and not ONE Volunteer showed up...

I guess I should have known that this is the type of response that would be forthcoming based on the tone throughout this forum. I understand there are factors involved other than keeping neighborhoods and playing bingo. I had hoped that a plea from a concerned resident to work together would not fall on deaf ears. I can see from your reply I may have been mistaken. I hope the snide tone of your response is not indicative of the attitude of the people whose salaries my tax dollars pay.
Many of my neighbors as well as myself would like to know what it is that the paid fire department is doing to help the volunteer ones achieve the number of people they need to serve the community? I see many complaints in this forum about lack of people and nothing about what the City is going to do to fix it without putting yet another large tax burden on the residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes. It is truly a shame that the only way to solve this is to destroy what made Stamford the wonderful city that it is.

How does a non-response in Springdale have anything to do with a Bingo being held in Belltown?

Was it a fire call or a fire?

Isn't the Stamford Engine in Springdale replacing what was once Springdale's First Due Engine?

If so was this really a non- response at all?

Once again what does any of this have to do with supporting a fundraiser in Belltown?

Nothing, just a response to once again try and make the volunteers look bad. Belltown has a 100% response rate and Turn of River gets out the door to most calls. Springdale rarely gets out and Glenbrook is useless since they respond once a month.

ProVFF wrote:

Nothing, just a response to once again try and make the volunteers look bad. Belltown has a 100% response rate and Turn of River gets out the door to most calls. Springdale rarely gets out and Glenbrook is useless since they respond once a month.

A 100% response rate for Belltown, if you count a couple of vollies showing up for a call in dress uniforms a proper response and no fire apparatus.

I commented in this forum with an honest plea for cooperation by a concerned resident. What I got in return was a snide and arrogant dismissal from Scott. So to any paid firefighter in this forum I will ask my question a liitle more directly. What is it that the paid fire department is doing to prevent my taxes from going up and ensure there are enough volunteer firefighters to make up any difference?
It is a very simple question based in the stated desire of many paid firefighters in this forum to do what is BEST for the residents.