Post by wellingcountry on Feb 23, 2008 12:16:59 GMT -5
From: Firefighterclosecalls.com
UPDATE: N.J. MAYOR ORDERS SHUTDOWN OF FIRE STATION
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The mayor closed the Chesilhurst fire station because of what he called a poorly run volunteer firefighter company. Here is a local media EDITORIAL:
HEADLINE: Concerns about volunteer firefighters must be dealt with before fire company can reopen.
Until serious questions about whether the borough’s volunteer fire company can do the job are resolved, Chesilhurst Mayor Michael Blunt is right to shut down the fire station. However, with the amount of political acrimony in Chesilhurst, it will certainly take someone from the outside, a judge and perhaps county fire officials, to make the call about what needs to be done to improve the volunteer fire department, and that should be done quickly.
Suddenly not living within a certain distance of an operating fire station could cause some residents’ homeowners insurance rates to rise.
Mayor Michael Blunt says there are allegations of firefighters drinking on the job and unqualified volunteers riding on firetrucks responding to calls. He says residents have talked to him about the department not responding to calls. The president of the volunteer firefighter association denies these claims.
In light of the fire department failing to respond to a blaze at a vacant home Monday, the mayor’s concerns must be addressed. The people of Chesilhurst deserve to know they have a volunteer fire department that meets all safety standards and is staffed by properly trained volunteers.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
"Residents have expressed concerns because a lot of times Chesilhurst does not respond to calls," said Mayor Michael Blunt, who ordered the fire hall in the 200 block of the White Horse Pike closed Friday.
Blunt said there are issues of liability because of allegations of firefighters drinking on the job and having unqualified personnel on fire trucks.
Robert McCann, who said he was interim president of the Chesilhurst Volunteer Firefighters Association, said the mayor’s charges were untrue. He said evicting firefighters from the station was "a bad mistake."
"To us, this is an unlawful eviction," said McCann, who was a borough council member until December. "The lawful way to do it would be to go to Superior Court."
Blunt said Winslow fire officials have agreed to respond to calls in Chesilhurst. Winslow’s acting fire chief, Michael Scardino, said his department has always responded to calls in the neighboring community.
"We’re going to continue to provide mutual aid," Scardino said. "They asked us to help them out in their time of need."
Scardino said Blunt told him the borough was reorganizing its fire company and they would discuss compensation for additional calls. Blunt said details of how much compensation are still not settled. Chesilhurst has 1,500 residents to Winslow’s 34,000. The borough had 76 fire calls last year to Winslow’s more than 1,400, Scardino said.
In addition to the way the volunteer company is run, Blunt said problems include members living at the fire station. Blunt said Rich Bower, who identified himself as a volunteer firefighter, and McCann’s brother live there. But Bower and McCann dispute that. Bower said he lives next door to the station with McCann in a house McCann’s mother owns. McCann said both his brother and Bower live in his mother’s house.
McCann and Bower are not currently able to fight fires, they said. McCann said he is not certified to fight fires and Bower, who is able to operate fire equipment such as a truck, said he isn’t certified to go into a fire.
McCann estimated that four out of about 10 volunteers in the company are certified to fight fires.
A three-alarm fire in the borough was reported at 401 Grant Ave. at 9:09 p.m. Monday, to which the volunteer firefighters were unable to respond. Firefighters from Winslow, Waterford and Berlin Township responded to the blaze and brought it under control at 10:23 p.m., Camden County emergency dispatch said.
The vacant dwelling was extensively damaged but no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation and Blunt has asked the county fire marshal to investigate the blaze.
Neither side disputes that the borough owns the firefighting equipment, but the ownership of the fire house is another matter. McCann said the firefighters association has a 99-year lease that doesn’t expire for 33 more years. Blunt said the ownership of the building is still being determined, but the borough pays for operations there.
By BILL DUHART
Courier-Post Staff
UPDATE: N.J. MAYOR ORDERS SHUTDOWN OF FIRE STATION
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The mayor closed the Chesilhurst fire station because of what he called a poorly run volunteer firefighter company. Here is a local media EDITORIAL:
HEADLINE: Concerns about volunteer firefighters must be dealt with before fire company can reopen.
Until serious questions about whether the borough’s volunteer fire company can do the job are resolved, Chesilhurst Mayor Michael Blunt is right to shut down the fire station. However, with the amount of political acrimony in Chesilhurst, it will certainly take someone from the outside, a judge and perhaps county fire officials, to make the call about what needs to be done to improve the volunteer fire department, and that should be done quickly.
Suddenly not living within a certain distance of an operating fire station could cause some residents’ homeowners insurance rates to rise.
Mayor Michael Blunt says there are allegations of firefighters drinking on the job and unqualified volunteers riding on firetrucks responding to calls. He says residents have talked to him about the department not responding to calls. The president of the volunteer firefighter association denies these claims.
In light of the fire department failing to respond to a blaze at a vacant home Monday, the mayor’s concerns must be addressed. The people of Chesilhurst deserve to know they have a volunteer fire department that meets all safety standards and is staffed by properly trained volunteers.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
"Residents have expressed concerns because a lot of times Chesilhurst does not respond to calls," said Mayor Michael Blunt, who ordered the fire hall in the 200 block of the White Horse Pike closed Friday.
Blunt said there are issues of liability because of allegations of firefighters drinking on the job and having unqualified personnel on fire trucks.
Robert McCann, who said he was interim president of the Chesilhurst Volunteer Firefighters Association, said the mayor’s charges were untrue. He said evicting firefighters from the station was "a bad mistake."
"To us, this is an unlawful eviction," said McCann, who was a borough council member until December. "The lawful way to do it would be to go to Superior Court."
Blunt said Winslow fire officials have agreed to respond to calls in Chesilhurst. Winslow’s acting fire chief, Michael Scardino, said his department has always responded to calls in the neighboring community.
"We’re going to continue to provide mutual aid," Scardino said. "They asked us to help them out in their time of need."
Scardino said Blunt told him the borough was reorganizing its fire company and they would discuss compensation for additional calls. Blunt said details of how much compensation are still not settled. Chesilhurst has 1,500 residents to Winslow’s 34,000. The borough had 76 fire calls last year to Winslow’s more than 1,400, Scardino said.
In addition to the way the volunteer company is run, Blunt said problems include members living at the fire station. Blunt said Rich Bower, who identified himself as a volunteer firefighter, and McCann’s brother live there. But Bower and McCann dispute that. Bower said he lives next door to the station with McCann in a house McCann’s mother owns. McCann said both his brother and Bower live in his mother’s house.
McCann and Bower are not currently able to fight fires, they said. McCann said he is not certified to fight fires and Bower, who is able to operate fire equipment such as a truck, said he isn’t certified to go into a fire.
McCann estimated that four out of about 10 volunteers in the company are certified to fight fires.
A three-alarm fire in the borough was reported at 401 Grant Ave. at 9:09 p.m. Monday, to which the volunteer firefighters were unable to respond. Firefighters from Winslow, Waterford and Berlin Township responded to the blaze and brought it under control at 10:23 p.m., Camden County emergency dispatch said.
The vacant dwelling was extensively damaged but no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation and Blunt has asked the county fire marshal to investigate the blaze.
Neither side disputes that the borough owns the firefighting equipment, but the ownership of the fire house is another matter. McCann said the firefighters association has a 99-year lease that doesn’t expire for 33 more years. Blunt said the ownership of the building is still being determined, but the borough pays for operations there.
By BILL DUHART
Courier-Post Staff
