PFD STUDY RESULTS: THE TALE OF THE TAPE

A recently commissioned study of the Philadelphia Fire Department has been released. Needless to say the results paint a picture of a highly dysfunctional agency where rank and file firefighters and medics feel ignored, disrespected and marginalized by a highly autocratic and out of touch command staff. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Below are the results of the employee surveys compiled by the study group.

It defies logic that any agency would allow senior leadership to continue in light of the complete loss of confidence by rank and file this survey indicates. I can tell you from my point of view and in my opinion certain aspects of the study are 100% accurate. On the other hand most of the “solutions” called for by the same study would in most cases make things TREMENDOUSLY worse.

Most of them revolve around Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The system has been inundated with hundreds of thousands on non-emergency calls that are crushing the departments operations. Yet every time our senior command staff gets involved they only make things worse for the medics. This causes morale to be destroyed even further, and so it goes. I don’t know what will eventually come out of this study, but I’m not encouraged. We will most likely re-arrange the deck chairs… as the band plays on. LINK

Read the survey results below.

SHOP TALK: WALKING THE WALK

This is the fire that injured two firefighters the day before last. The video is pretty chilling. Watch closely as one firefighter comes out the front door. He has apparently lost his helmet in the midst of the battle to get this fire under control. Don’t pay much mind to the conversation of the bystanders. Their not exactly right. It is hard to see but there are hose lines already inside the first floor. While it did take a while to get this fire under control, below is a picture of what the fire looked like AS THEY ARRIVED. Note the front door: the fire has totally flashed over and is down to the floor. The fire is all the way through the property as indicated by the heavy smoke coming from the rear visible above the roof.

At this point in the job the first floor has been knocked down. With that much fire, the radiant heat is tremendous. The firefighter who is seen exiting was most likely the one burned and that ‘s why his head is smoking. The sad and disgusting part of this, is that he is now vulnerable to being disciplined by the department for getting burned. He will most likely be transferred as a result of his heroic efforts. One resident was rescued and transported to the hospital and will survive.

PHILLY FIREFIGHTERS HURT BATTLING BLAZE

In case people forgot, fighting fires is dangerous business, especially when resources are scarce, and fire stations are being browned out.

It appears that the injuries are not life threatening. That’s definitely good news.

Two firefighters and a resident were injured Monday afternoon in a Northeast Philadelphia house fire, the fire commissioner said. The blaze was reported at 1:35 p.m. in the 3600 block of Genesee Drive in the city’s Parkwood section, said Commissioner Lloyd Ayers. The fire was placed under control 53 minutes later.

The firefighters and resident, a woman, were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, Ayers said. The fire marshal was called to the scene because fireworks may have been stored in the house. (LINK)

Storing fireworks at home. Never a good idea, kids.

ROCK A ROLLA TUESDAY: BUSH

These guys really rock. Raw video showing Bush at their best.

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

Got our first round of the white stuff. It’s a good bet we’ll get hit a lot harder in the days and weeks to come. Have a great week!

STUFF LIBERALS SAY

Brilliant! Funny because it’s true.

PHILLY FIRE DEPARTMENT: APOCALYPSE NOW!

 

I’ll update this post when I get my thoughts together.

ROCK A ROLLA TUESDAY: PEARL JAM

Great video from the worlds most pretentious rock band.

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

Happy birthday to me. Today I turn 45 and I celebrated with a nice long nap. Despite popular myth in  this town firefighters don’t get their birthday off. I’ll be in the firehouse tonight. It’s very cold out now and there is a good chance we’ll be working. Anyway I hope everyone has a safe and quiet week.

NUTTER LIVES UP TO HIS NAME

Some in Philly’s liberal media were “shocked and surprised” to hear Mayor Nutter curse on live TV. Nutter was addressing this week’s triple homicide in the Juniata section of the city.

AFTER the Tuesday-night shooting that killed three teens, an outraged Mayor Nutter had a few choice words to share outside City Hall.

“The first way for young people to stop this stuff is for young people to be home, where they’re supposed to be home, and for adults not to act like idiots and a**holes out in the streets of our city shooting at kids in a car.”

The mayor has no regrets or apologies, said Nutter spokesman Mark McDonald. (LINK)

Please. Nutter has spent most of his first term slashing and cutting his way through the police department (and fire department) budgets. The result? Less cops on the street, and less cars to patrol the neighborhoods. Now he’s shocked when the homicides are up? Is he serious? This is nothing more than faux outrage; a performance for the cameras. That’s all.