To the Editor:
This week’s working fire in the Village of Collier is proof that 2-man companies do NOT work and NEVER will.
The first arriving unit (Ladder 45 Quint) laid out a line, but the members had to conduct a quick search of the premises and there was NO hydrant hook-up and NO ladder work due to minimum manning. Very sad. The second arriving unit made the hydrant 4-6 minutes later. If Ladder 45 had four firefighters on-board the MPO would have made the hydrant, a second firefighter would have raised the pre-piped waterway and the remaining two firefighters would have conducted a quick search of the premises leaving 2-In-2-Out as per NFPA Standards.
Our Villages leaders are playing Russian Roulette with OUR lives and OUR property and it is ONLY a matter of time before someone dies due to poor manning of fire apparatus.
ALL engine (not just Squad 51) companies should have three firefighters per shift and ALL ladder companies should have 4 firefighters per shift. We spend LOTS of money on development, amenities, recreation, entertainment, etc. and The Villages firefighters deserve pay hikes, pension benefits and proper manning of apparatus. I will be following the fire department very closely and photographing ALL incidents to justify the union’s demands. I have 32 years of public safety experience, including nine years with Westchester County Fire Services in New York and I am shocked and appalled by the poor fire protection provided to our residents.
John Peter Maguire
Village of St. Charles