Thursday, July 29, 2010

Clark County Fires Back At CCFD Firefighters, Defends Rory No Last Name

Clark County management has responded to the claims that the CCFD unions have made in advertisements and in the press regarding the closing down of the Haz-Mat and the Heavy Rescue truck in the past month. The County goes blow by blow against the union and it defends Rory No Last Name against the union, some of it justified and other not.
http://media.lvrj.com/documents/Clark_county_Fire_IAFF_Fact_Checking_0710.pdf
Here is the union bash against Clark County: http://lasvegasbadger.blogspot.com/2010/07/ccfd-union-declares-war-on-rory-no-last.html

This is the bottom line, both sides are wrong. If the union and county want the heavy rescue and haz mat units in operation, they have to allow cross-staffing of the units. They need to cross staff the units with an engine or ladder company but from what I can see, union rules don't allow this. A haz-mat and heavy rescue squad does not need to be staffed 24/7. Most fire departments around the country cross staff different units within a department. Some departments cross staff ambulances and a engine. Other departments cross staff heavy rescue with a engine or ladder crew and same with haz-mat.
The union is right that a haz mat or heavy rescue squad is needed. But in 99.9% o the cases, the first responders can stabilize the situation while it waits for the haz mat and heavy rescue units to arrive, no matter what the distance.
The County also puts out false information: The typical County fire engine (E34) arrives on scene far more often at 2,199 times.
Engine 34 is the only apparatus at the station and the vast majority of the calls they go on are medical calls, as they are the first responder to any medical call or emergency call in their area. They are not a typical engine and the county portrays this engine company is just going on fire calls, accidents and other engine only calls. It is not the typical engine company. For more information on engine 34: http://fire.co.clark.nv.us/(S(xraaoz45fdtzyub41uk4ftyx))/Station.aspx?id=34
More false Clark County information: Further, responding to these calls would help offset the
4,000 calls the County responds to within the city.

What they don't mention is the number of times the City also goes into Clark County. I teach at a school in the City of Las Vegas and about 15 times a year, we need the ambulance. Most of the time, we get City equipment, but other times, we get County equipment every now and then. When I was at a fire scene at Sahara and Maryland (or close to it), both the City and County responded. The City and County have a great relationship and both departments respond to calls in and out of their jurisdiction. The same goes with North Las Vegas and Henderson.
So, from what I can see, both sides are stretching the truth or just lying. There are simple solutions to the problems but both sides want to be in a pissing match to see which one can piss more. Maybe both the union and the County can piss on an electric fence and shock both of them back into reality.

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