Budget cuts dive team / FFs unable to make rescue

[BladesRobinson]

Water Rescue Turns Fatal In Dayton

Mike Campbell, Reporter
Posted: 10:24 pm EST March 3, 2009Updated: 2:16 pm EST March 4, 2009


DAYTON, Ohio -- A woman in her 60s has died after the car she was driving plunged into an icy pond.
The crash happened around 10 p.m. Tuesday at the eastbound Route 35 ramp from Gettysburg Avenue in Dayton.
Firefighters worked for 90 minutes to pull the woman out of her submerged vehicle, but she died early Wednesday morning at Miami Valley Hospital.
Police said the woman was traveling east on Route 35 when she tried to exit onto Gettysburg Avenue, lost control, slammed through a guardrail and drove into the pond.
Sgt. Joseph Wiesman said, Ÿe got here and the vehicle was all underwater. You could see the lights down under the water.
IMAGES Of Van Into Icy Pond
Dozens of Dayton firefighters and police officers arrived and began to work on freeing the woman. Firefighters said since they had no trained divers available to dive to the car and hook a cable to its frame, two firefighters put on wet suits and went into the frigid water.
The firefighters were tethered to other firefighters on shore and were watched closely by two others in a boat.
Firefighters managed to get a wire around the door of the vehicle, but they were only able to tow it about 8 feet before the door broke loose.
Firefighters then managed to get a cable more securely around the car and pull it out of the water with the use of a tow truck.
The woman was quickly removed, wrapped for warmth and then carried her to a waiting ambulance. She was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where she later died.
Upset and disappointed firefighters said budget cuts that have accumulated over the years have limited their options.
District Fire Chief Mark Whisman said, Ūf we would have had a dive team, we would have had her out in 15 minutes. Absolutely would have made a difference.
He said, ŪtÃÔ very frustrating; you'd have to talk to politicians about that, as a fire chief, it's very frustrating."
Wiesman said, "Due to the fact that she traveled a far distance and there was no signs of braking, this may have been a medical condition that caused her to lose control."
Firefighters said Box 21, a volunteer dive team in Dayton, did not have any divers in town on Tuesday night, and the nearest dive team they could contact was in Piqua. That dive team was enroute when firefighters cancelled them after getting the woman out.
The woman's name has not been released.


THIS SOUNDS LIKE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR A LAWSUIT... IT REMINDS ME OF THE OLD SAYBROOK, CT CASE DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/pu...n-being-sued-not-having-dive-rescue-team.html

 

[Lucy's Diver]

Those lawsuits never work. As noted in the post you linked to, that aspect of that suit was dismissed. They always are. The concept is that the voting booth, not the courtroom, is where the will of the people as to any given government budget are to be decided. People think you can sue anything or anyone for anything at all. While you really can, these frivolous lawsuits are dismissed early but still do drain the public coffers of funds that could be used for more public safety.

 

[BladesRobinson]

Those lawsuits never work.

I agree that the clients filing the claims seldom get a cash settlement (as you noted) but they do work to raise public awareness and oftentimes work to the benefit of the local agencies. Also, as you pointed out, the cost to defend these claims oftentimes exceed the costs of funding a team.

 

[Yotsie]

One of the rather large fire depts. in our county just down scaled down their on duty staff, giving up staffing on the new "heavy Rescue" truck (3 persons) and a station (addtional 3 persons) recently built in the north side of thier jurisdiction that has been experiencing a housing boom. They will also start a rolling "brown out" of staions if firefighters call in sick.

Very scary times.

 

[imfddiver]

A lot of dive teams are going to have to get creative with the dollars.

Blades,

I just joined the board here, good to see you on, not that I am surprised. Thanks so much for the two weeks of top notch training in Vero. You have the right people teaching your classes. Stay safe and I will see you in Charlotte.

Thanks again,
Seth Comer

 

[BladesRobinson]

ANOTHER INTERESTING STORY...

Firefighter: Cuts may mean disbanding Elyria dive team

Lisa Roberson


ELYRIA — In the aftermath of a recent tragedy that saw a 13-year-old boy drowned in the Black River, frustrations are mounting over the Elyria Fire Department’s role in the rescue efforts.
The tragedy brought to light the fact that the department’s dive team may be a thing of the past.
Dean Marks, president of the local firefighters union, said he has been a member of the department’s dive team, which is headed by Lt. Rick Thrasher. However, the team has stopped training in recent months, and Thrasher is moving to disband it, Marks said.
Thrasher tried to bring up the rescue effort at the City Council meeting on Monday night, but was shut down by Law Director Terry “Pete” Shilling. Shilling said afterward he was working to protect the city, and the conversation Thrasher may have had with the Council might have opened the city up to liability.
Through Marks, Thrasher declined to comment following the meeting.
“(Thrasher) just wants us to train the way we are supposed to,” Marks said. “In 21 years, we have never dived at the falls in a dangerous situation. Yet, on that day, that is what we were called to do and there was this confusion about whether Elyria divers could get in the water because everyone thought we didn’t have a dive team anymore.”
Mayor Bill Grace said the Lorain County dive team — made up of one or two certified divers from fire departments across the county — was relied upon heavily that day and, in the future, it likely will be called upon again.
“We are no longer in an era where individual communities can have their own individual response teams,” he said. “We do have individuals that are trained to do certain things, but we need to expand opportunities to be a part of countywide operations.”
Grace said training for the dive team has been substantially reduced because it is linked to overtime. The same can be said for the now-disbanded Elyria HAZMAT Team. Once the training stopped, the members were absorbed into the county team.
“Even with the passage of Issue 10 (the city’s 0.5 percentage point income tax increase on the November ballot), we will have to aggressively go down the path of consolidated services,” he said.
In the meantime, something the Fire Department can do now is increase its educational programming to children and teenage, Fire Chief Rich Benton said.
Benton did not return calls Tuesday, but said Monday night following a City Council meeting that firefighters have to start going back into the classrooms to educate children.
With concrete blocks, rebar, and debris, the Black River is dangerous and the only way to stop another tragedy from happening is to prevent it, he said.
Still, Marks said he would like some sort of training to resume for those on the department who are water-rescue certified, as he is.
Before budget shortfalls resulted in 16 members of the Fire Department getting laid off this year, Marks said the dive team trained once a month for about four to five hours at a time. While they were away from the station, off-duty firefighters were called in to man the station and answer calls.
But when the department got cut, so did the training, he said.
When the first eight firefighters were laid off in April, Marks said training was restricted to those who were on-duty only. If a fire call came in, divers got out of the water and responded to the fire.
When eight more firefighters were cut months later, training all but evaporated.
“Every time they cut the Fire Department, the first thing that goes is the training,” he said. “That’s how firefighters die. You want to know what you are doing when you hit the water.”
Marks said he believes Thrasher wanted to express those frustrations Monday night to the City Council. He said he cannot speculate on what Thrasher was going to say, but as someone who was on scene the day of the emergency, Marks said, he knows what happened that day.
“I know I was there, and I wasn’t happy with the way it went down,” Marks said.
When Logan Spradlin went into the river near the East Falls Riverwalk shortly after 2 p.m. on Oct. 10, Marks was not working but was at Fire Station No. 1 volunteering to show visitors around the station for the department’s first open house, he said.
When the 911 call came in, Marks said all of the on-duty firefighters left the station and hustled to the river bank.
However, Marks and Craig Camp, another member of the dive team who was also at the station because of the open house, stayed behind at the station. The dive team was not initially called, Marks said.
Several minutes later, Marks said his emergency pager vibrated. The Lorain County 911 staff was calling for the Elyria dive team.
Marks said the dive team’s equipment and truck were at the shuttered Broad Street station. He and Camp went there, only to find the truck wouldn’t start.
“That’s what happens when no one is at a station. We aren’t there everyday to start the trucks just to make sure they will start,” he said.
After charging the truck’s battery, Marks said he headed right for the river. However, as soon as he made it to the Riverwalk, Marks said was told by Assistant Chief Ron Brlas that he could not get into the water because Elyria does not have a dive team.
“At that point, I didn’t care if we had a team or not,” he said. “I still had my skills. I still had my training.”
Marks said he was told to put the department’s inflatable boat into the water because the Lorain County dive team was entering the water.
Marks said there is no way to know if Spradlin could have been saved that day if things were done differently. The boy was recovered the next day by a Lorain diver in a 30-foot-deep pool under the East Falls of the Black River. It was 30 to 50 feet from the area near an old mill where he fell over the falls.
Still, Marks said he would have wanted the opportunity to try to make a difference.
“Who knows what would have happened?” he said. “In situations like that, time is everything. You have to be there quick and get in the water.”

 

[BladesRobinson]

A SIGN OF THE TIMES...

Van Buren officials disagree over proposed public safety cuts

Scott Spielman
Editor

Five hours after the Van Buren Township dive team pulled two drowned men out of Belleville Lake, the unit itself was in jeopardy.
The marine unit is one of several special patrols that could be eliminated as public safety officials try to remove $412,000 from its budget for next year, according to Capt. Greg Laurain of the Van Buren Police Department. Laurain and Capt. Ken Brooks are putting together the budget for the department, which does not have a public safety director.
“The public safety department is not the only department that’s taking a reduction,” said Township Supervisor Paul White. “All departments are taking a reduction.”
Laurain said the budget, which dropped from $5.9 million last year to about $5.5 this year, also proposes the elimination of the bicycle patrol unit, the honor guard, the motorcycle unit, the accident investigation team and the neighborhood watch program.
Training would be reduced from four times a year to one—the minimum state standard—and public safety personnel would not be available for programs like the haunted forest, day camp appearances or the annual fireworks.
Part of that is because the budget only shows about $170,000 for police overtime, a reduction of $143,000—or about 44 percent—from the previous years’ budget.
It also means that patrols could be reduced from five patrol cars and two supervisors to a minimum of three patrol cars and one supervisor on every shift.
Laurain said that would be accomplished by not back filling shifts—calling someone in to cover for a scheduled police officer who is ill or who takes a personal day.
“It does mean slower response times,” said Laurain. “Now, when you call for a police car you’ll get a police car. Next year you may have to wait for a police car.”
The two captains also proposed to leave the public safety director position empty for 2010, which would save more than $120,000 in salary and benefits.
White said he was not in favor of that.
“I think we need a director,” he said. “I plan on putting money into the budget so we can have a public safety director in 2010.”
He suggested using funds otherwise allocated for public safety staff to fund the position. He said he’s been in contact with other townships to get insight on the job descriptions for their public safety director positions as well as updated salary guidelines.
Trustee Phil Hart, the board liaison to the Public Safety Commission, said keeping the position vacant was a good way to save money and keep up service levels.
“I don’t see any reason that we need to fill the public safety director position immediately—or in 2010,” said Hart. “I’d rather have boots on the ground. I’d rather see low response rates.”
Besides, he added, Brooks and Laurain have capably managed the department since June, when Gerry Champagne was fired. They have managed the department for more than 18 months in the past, performing budgetary duties and day-to-day administration.
“The background here is these gentlemen are doing an outstanding job,” said Hart. “We have an opportunity to save money here.”
White, though, said he thought it was imperative to fill the spot.
“I will not relinquish my ideas and thoughts on that,” he told Hart at the Public Safety Commission meeting Tuesday afternoon. “I will not take a step back.”
He also said the reduction of cars on patrol wouldn’t slow response times. Events like the fireworks could still take place without an adverse impact on overtime, if they were planned far enough in advance, White said.
Residents at the meeting pointed out that the five-patrol system and reduced response times were among the promises township and public safety officials made when they promoted the police millage several years ago.
“We’ve never had the level that was promised,” said Larry Fix.