The Rumford Reporter at its best!

From The Rumford Reporter:

Quote: At budget season, you will hear the same thing every year from the RFD. "We saved a lot of basements."

Quote: you (the Rumford Fire Department) let four other buildings burn.

Quote: you (the Rumford Fire Department) used the fire hydrants which not only cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars but affected water service to the surrounding neighborhoods

Quote: Oh, you (the Rumford Fire Department) were chasing Med-Care ambulances, blocking traffic, and really not helping them at all because they never asked for your help to begin with

Quote: do some exercises so you (the Rumford Fire Department) can improve your response times and efforts if we do in fact have an incident

Quote: we got lies and "I don't know."

Quote: basing his [Wentzell] assessment on inaccurate data and the testimony of personnel (Rumford Fire Department) known to lie, cheat, and steal.

[ therumfordreporter.com ]

you (the Rumford Fire Department) used the fire hydrants

Ummm.................

Call me foolish, but I thought that's why the fire hydrants were there. For the fire department to use.

Has she lost ALL her little marbles?

T,
Thanks for listing all those TRR "gems".

When the Virginia Fire happened over a year ago, the Rumford Fire
Department didn't perform that well. They arrived when one building
was involved. That was a lost cause. But three others caught and went
up after they had already arrived and began trying to control the
fires. One of the buildings, in particular, was no where near catching
and they ignored it until it suddenly flared and was gone. One of the
problems seems to have been a failure to understand the amount of water available
through the fire hydrant system. If they had the capacity to draw
water from the river, they should have done so. The use of the
hydrants caused the local public water supply to collapse and the
Virginia section was without water for several hours. That's what Jennifer is talking about. It seems, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the Fire Department has a relatively low call volume, and not a great record on the calls they actually receive. Another South Rumford house was lost when the fire trucks went to the wrong address. The recent near fatality of a fire fighter on a mutual aid call has cost the town thousands in fines for the safety violations perpetrated by the fire fighters on scene. I'm not stating opinion here. It's fact. If you can cite instances in which the RFD has performed well, that would be a good response. Screaming and flaming would not be a good response, even though this is an emotional issue.

Mark, there's a huge difference in how you and TRR each presented your information. Maybe you could get a job at TRR?

Mark, thank you for your civil reporting.

Information regarding this subject was clarified to me by Mark Tripp:

"At 0326 we received the first tone for the Virgin St. fire, the second set of tones which directly followed the first was that PD was on scene and it was double structures on fire. On our arrival at 0329 there were multiple structures already on fire the vacant block on virgin, the austins barn, and the austins house. The Edwards house on virgin st was smoking from the eaves. I cannot comment on the house on prospect ave because I don’t have the FACTS on that since by the time that caught I was on virgin st at the intersection on Ernest. There were multiple factors that played into the water shortages which were directly impacted by the CMP grid being “dumped”. All times can be verified from recordings. People need to get FACTS stop shooting from the hip. The Rumford Fire Department is one of the best in the state of Maine and I’m not saying it just because I am a member. The South Rumford Rd. fire accusation is ridiculous. If it is the fire out in the 700’s area they are talking about that was a result of multiple layers of remodeling led to lots of voids which spread the fire. Also due to the amount of fire on arrival and the lack of manpower played big roles in both calls."

So, where's the truth?

Mark's report is closest to what I have heard. I have received comments from some who witnessed other things, but as I was not there, I can only assimilate what I am told and derive a reasonable vision of what actually happened. I do know that there was one call on So. Rumford Road where it appeared that the engine went up the wrong side of the river, but that may have been a dispatch error. My opinion of some ORCC dispatchers has pleanty of room for improvement. I can site an actual example of a time where lives were on the line, but the dispatcher was not on the radio (perhaps a smoke break). I know because I was on the other end of the radio calling for a paramedic, but I digress. Anyway, please remember that no service is perfect. EVERYBODY makes mistakes, and it is difficult when communications and staffing are lacking.

Its also my understanding that dispatching is now done through the Oxford County office (correct me on this if I'm wrong). Its very difficult to dispatch in an area that you do not travel in. Relying strictly on maps is never a smart idea. Most decent dispatch centers require a monthly ride along so they can become and keep familiar with the area. Kevin is also correct about the lack in staffing. Most dispatch centers run on a ten to twelve hour shift sometimes with only one person staffed. I know in centers I've worked I've learned to drink very little during the day because you won't get a bathroom break until your shift ends (has nothing to do with a smoke break).

Kevin I also know that Paramedics, Firefighters and Police Officers respect towards dispatchers is lacking. I would like to give the dispatcher the benefit of the doubt and consider possibly that other things were contributing to the circumstances. Have you recently sat at the ORCC for a day to see what they have to handle. Have you ever had 3 911 calls, radio traffic from two officers, a paramedic, and a fire engine all at the same time? Its not like you are given one job (i.e radios) when you work at a center. There is always room for improvement, but like I also tell Jen walk a day in their shoes.

911D,
In the case to which I refer, there was no other traffic on either of the two frequencies they operated at the time. Whatever distractions they had were their own. However, in the Christmas spirit, I will give the benefit of the doubt

Kevin,

I'm interested because I don't know how they operate. How many departments do they handle? How many radio frequencies do they have to monitor at one time? For my department I have a radio channel for Alaska State Troopers, a separate channel for two police departments, and another two channels for Fire and EMS for two different towns and the guys in the field can not hear all channels at the same time. Also how many phone lines were ringing during the call to include the business line and 911 lines? I'm not doubting that it may have been a break that the dispatcher was on. What I'm hinting to is there is a bigger picture that you are not seeing. I am also guessing by your remarks that you have never set foot inside ORCC or met your dispatchers. Which is a shame because all responders should be on a first name basis with those looking out for them on a call.

Ok so I'm an over achiever.........

I called and spoke with a very professional and very friendly dispatcher from the ORCC. They normally have 3 persons per shift. Now lets do some math

500,000 calls a year divided by 3 dispatchers = 16,666 calls a year per dispatcher

16,666 calls per dispatcher divided by 356 days in a year = 47 calls per day per dispatcher

47 calls per dispatcher divided by a ten hour shift = one call every 4.7 minutes

Most calls last 2 to 5 minutes sometimes longer depending on severity and response time. This does not include the time that is never surveyed on radio transmissions. If you ask me those are some busy dispatchers.

Altho I am not a Rumford resident, I had been visiting my sister on the night of the Virginia fire and was driving back home when I saw the fire. I was in the crowd. Equipment was sitting unused, and fire fighters were hanging around. The failure to water down buildings that weren't involved caused the fourth house/fifth building to go up, even though the equipment was there. They finally started watering down the multi-family at the corner of Prospect and Free at the last minute and saved that one.

What happened to Mark Tripp's post? I can't see it, except in quotes.

What I asked for were success stories. I am aware of many failures. Has the RFD had any successes?

that was so great of you to do, 911. thanks!

Mark, I was there also. I don't know where you were standing, but from where I was standing, it looked like the firefighters were working pretty hard. The firefighters that you say "were hanging around" were probably catching their breath. This might come as a shock to you, but fighting fires is very hard work. Also, you need to realize that there is only so much you can do. Sometimes things don't go as well as one would like them to go. If there was any problem with the way the fire was handled, the Fire Marshall's office would have been investigation the fire department as well as the fire scene. That did not happen.


There are plenty of success stories. You yourself mentioned one. They saved a house at the corner of Prospect and Free. Here's a success story, the rest of Virginia did not burn. Old buildings burn fast. Building construction is a factor.

I am curious about your knowledge of firefighting. Any experience? I am asking because it sounds like you are criticizing without knowledge.

Mark wrote:Altho I am not a Rumford resident, I had been visiting my sister on the night of the Virginia fire and was driving back home when I saw the fire. I was in the crowd. Equipment was sitting unused, and fire fighters were hanging around. The failure to water down buildings that weren't involved caused the fourth house/fifth building to go up, even though the equipment was there. They finally started watering down the multi-family at the corner of Prospect and Free at the last minute and saved that one.

What happened to Mark Tripp's post? I can't see it, except in quotes.

What I asked for were success stories. I am aware of many failures. Has the RFD had any successes?

I'm venturing a guess you are a liar. You sound just like another Mark I know who is also a liar. You cearly are only on this forum to push the agenda of MB, RT and LG. For you to insinuate things like there were 4 buildings on fire and the RFD was was standing around doing nothing and that you know of many failures of RFD and no successes is obviously just pushing their - and your - agenda of discrediting the RFD at all cost.

You my friend, are tranparent.

A Ha:

"I'm venturing a guess you are a liar. You sound just like another Mark I know who is also a liar. You cearly are only on this forum to push the agenda of MB, RT and LG. For you to insinuate things like there were 4 buildings on fire and the RFD was was standing around doing nothing and that you know of many failures of RFD and no successes is obviously just pushing their - and your - agenda of discrediting the RFD at all cost"

This is what I expected as a response.

Do the taxpayers want to subsidize the behavior which seems to say that no questioning is allowed no matter how poor the performance?

I am still waiting for an example of an RFD success. And, after failing to save several buildings, finally realizing they had to water down the last building, is not my idea of success. The firefighters were not exhausted and catching their breath. They were hanging around, waiting for water. It wasn't just RFD. It was a mutual aid situation, but RFD was the incident command and any blame must lie there. Why didn't they know that the public water and hydrants would be inadequate, why didn't they draw river water?

Scream and flame all you want, but I would like to see answers to my questions.

Hey new Mark - wow, you know a lot about the town and fire department and it's "many failures" and all the "details" even though you are not a Rumford resident and were just visiting your sister. Don't mind if I'm suspicious...I think Chuck, whoever the heck that rabble-rouser is, is bang on. If I'm wrong, I'll put you on my apology note list.

Yeah, yeah.

Describe how RFD succeeded in some instance. I think that would be helpful in clarifying what works and what doesn't.

Well, good luck with your assignment. I suggest you go down to the station and have Gary or one of the firemen help you out with your research project. I know John Wolfe helped me with mine when I was taking a college course on emergency management. I even got a 4.0 in that course (sorry, just had to brag since my parents aren't here to do it for me...lol).

I’m not a member of the RFD. I am a member of this town and I have seen much that the RFD does well. One specific thing they do extremely well is remain professional in the face of clearly inaccurate and unjustified attacks.

As a member of this community, I just wanted to let you know that no one with an once of rationality is going to believe your statements. It’s clear that you make them for no other reason than to smear the RFD. Let’s talk about that.

As I stated before, you are transparent.