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One man/woman with courage makes a majority.
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This publication is dedicated to & maintained by those of us who really care about this city. We are many --- (and growing stronger with more people joining our ranks everyday). We are the nameless , faceless city, county, state, federal, and corporate taxpaying citizens & workers who are sick of the good ole boy system here in Houston, Texas --We were born on 7-30-1999. We are --- married & single-male & female, maintenance worker to Deputy Directors. We are the faceless civil servants who year after year do our job. We are the one's who see the hard earned tax $$s of the citizens in this area used & abused and given away to enrich a few greedy people with each new administration. Our hobbies include: Watching our backs---as we try to bring you the truth of what is happening in Houston, and getting the REAL information out to the public.
This is from an on-line discussion forum called Fire Fighter Forum.
I and many others, would really want to know how you feel on some "touchy" issues. 1. Do you really feel you are doing the "right" thing? What's best for the Department? 2. Imagine you are the Captain of the Titanic. You hear a crash from an iceberg. Do you get together with the crew to help retify a bad situation? Or plow through the seas so you can be first to sail an unsinkable ship? 3. Your goal to be a Class A department is a very lofty and commendable one. But by putting feathers in your cap by plucking one from each one of us, is not the definition of a "true" leader. A true leader reunites communication from the other factions, understands from the other point of view, works to form unity and cohesion.
Don't try to re-invent the wheel. Study Ghandi, MLK, and Lincoln. These "Leaders" had a more serious problem than you do. Learn from them.
Date: Monday, May 29, 2000
Time: 10:05 AM
Comments
stickman, how can you defend a group of leaders who do nothing but drag our dept down? How can you defend leaders who outright lie at every station during a certain election , and spout off ignorant statements that cause lawsuits .this fire dept does not belong to one man, it belongs to the city of Houston. If the citizens knew what was going on, i guarantee the would be a different set of leaders .How can you stand behind someone w/o honor?
Date: Monday, May 29, 2000
Time: 03:21 PM
Comments
I LOVE my job. I just think in this job you have to have leaders who are Honorable men/women, people who are role models for all the dept, not just someone who is a good ole boy if you are in his clique. Pretty soon we are going to have Women running this dept, and I for one am looking forward to having someone who doesn't think he is the biggest rooster in the hen house. This dept needs fresh minds running it , not the ones we have. Looking at this forum tells me that I am not the only dissatisfied fireman with time in. i also have been thru 4 fire chiefs .
Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2000
Time: 04:05 PM
Comments
The city is absurd by not letting firefighters and police officers ride their time out. Think about the huge amounts the city would have to cough up. One example would be: 1100 firefighters on the DROP, 2000 Hrs of sick time average, average rank is Captain ($22.83/hr) Now (1100 x 2000 x 22.83)= ?
More than $50 Million. They can't find the money to start classes? Where are they going to find money to pay only the sick time benefit? What about the holidays and vacations? This is only the firefighters. Riding out the sick time spreads out the cost. Most businesses would rather do that than pay cash for it. The budget problems may be deeper than just the fire department. Let's start at the top and question the mayor. Make him work for us. Make him accountable to us. Make him responsible to us. We can make his job hard or easy. United we can make our voices heard
.
Date: Friday, May 26, 2000
Time: 05:57 PM
Comments
The admin lost another one. Age discrimination suite. With all the law suites no wonder we are in the shape we are in. May be the admin should try to solve some of the problems and stop making the problems worse. Let your old hard feelings go and run the dept. You have attacked all your past enemies and you have lost and lost big. Get along and lead us into the future, stop talking about it.
Date: Friday, May 26, 2000
Time: 04:37 PM
Comments
I just reviewed our Mission Statement created by Chief Tyra and his Transition Team. Here are 3 excerpts:
We Believe In And Are Committed To:
Service Excellence
Community Service BEYOND Expectations
Safety For Our Members and Community
Say what you mean and mean what you say........
Date: Friday, May 26, 2000
Time: 11:46 AM
Comments
Well, after yesterdays news conference and Chief Tyra's rebuttal, I finally lost total confidence in our leader even though my previous posting stated I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Several points are to be considered. I am convinced finally that those in control of the city administration and department administration have lost sight of one key aspect of their job, THEY ARE TO PROVIDE THE BEST SERVICE TO THE CITIZENS WITHOUT REGARD FOR THEIR OWN POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS. I believe now that under the current Strong Mayor form of government this city has, the citizens will never truly receive a fair shake from its leadership. If they did, then the Mayor and Fire Chief would tell the citizens the truth and prioritize their safety better. I accept the fact that the city has had a budget shortfall, now if this is a result of fiscal mismanagement or revenue shortfalls is not relevant. What is relevant is that the Fire Department has a budgetary and manpower need that requires immediate attention, not lets procrastinate onto the next administration in 2 years. If this requires a tax increase, then tell the citizens WHY this increase is needed. If this requires Parks to lose some funding or other departments to cut back (and I am not saying the other departments don't have their needs, but prioritization is lacking) then do so. UH OH< this would be political suicide! NO NOT NECESSARILY. If such measures were implemented and SOLD to the constituents as to WHY they were beneficial to them, then the political careers of such individuals could be IMPROVED. I know that for a fact that they would receive overwhelming support of their employees and that could have far reaching effects in the future. HERE IS PROBLEM 1! The fire department is staffing its Engines and Ladder Trucks with sufficient personnel to make an effective and aggressive rescue or suppression attack upon the first Engine companies arrival. WITHOUT 4 personnel on each apparatus at ALL times, there are TOO MANY instances in which a company would arrive on scene, have a working fire with a possible victim, and WOULD BE INCLINED TO MAKE A SEARCH OR SUPPRESSION ATTACK prior to having the 2 IN: 2 OUT assembled, jeopardizing the safety of our members as well as that of the citizens. My crew and many others can not justifiably assemble outside and stand around waiting on the NEXT Engine before entering the house while the residents sit and wonder WHY AREN'T WE DOING ANYTHING while their neighbors possessions or life is eaten away on the clock. Having SUFFICIENT PERSONNEL for an aggressive attack is key to preserving LIFE AND PROPERTY. Chief Tyra knows this to be so as he managed what some call the most aggressive of all Districts in the city (although my brother and sisters over at 51's and 68's may differ with this). Holding the fire to one room or even partial room contents can cut in half the citizen or business's loss and claim to the insurance company (if they have insurance) YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE ACCOMPLISHING THIS TASK WITHOUT A GUARANTEED 4 MEMBER CREW! I volunteered for a department many years and yes, fire trucks ALWAYS ARRIVED, and quickly as we sometimes rode with 1 or 2 members. Fires always went out, (THEY ALWAYS DO), but the property damage was always much higher than our Career colleagues as they had more manpower. Even our part-time Day Crew used to state how they had to employ different tactics at fires than if they had a full crew by WRITING OFF 1 or 2 apartments that had not even been touched by fire yet because with the limited manpower, by the time they stretched the needed equipment and assembled the necessary manpower, those units would be lost. NOW I THOUGHT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MORE PROGRESSIVE AND A LEADER IN THIS COUNTRY not resorting to rely on old tactics used by volunteer departments for many years. IT TAKES MANPOWER TO PUT OUT A FIRE OR EFFECT A RESCUE!!!!!! HERE IS PROBLEM #2!: Chief Tyra stated to the media after the UNION press conference that the department has sufficient resources and the fire trucks and ambulances would still respond and response times would not suffer. Tell IT LIKE IT IS AND STOP HIDING BEHIND POLITICS. No, response times will not suffer, as it only takes ONE PERSON to get the apparatus to the scene. WHAT WILL SUFFER IS EFFECTIVENESS, EFFICIENCY, and the safety and well being of our members and the citizens. NOT BEING ABLE TO GUARANTEE A RAPID, AGGRESSIVE ATTACK WITH a 2 out rescue team monitoring the initial attack or search (well known to be the most dangerous time) will only make it a matter of time before one of us becomes another statistic, either severely injured or killed in LOD. FIREFIGHTERS PUT OUT FIRES AND SAVE LIVES, NOT FIRETRUCKS ARRIVING WITH LIMITED CREWS!!!!!!! HERE IS PROBLEM #3!: LACK OF FORESIGHT!!!! The administration is currently undergoing a complete management study by Tri-Data which concluded a similar to bottom evaluation in Chicago a couple of years ago. This department an city is not that different from theirs. They received many severe scoldings from fleet to manpower to management. They are under a similar major fleet overhaul of which the study cited was crucial to the firefighter safety and capabilities. Unfortunately, their vendor has not completed delivery yet and a firefighter was killed in a traffic accident responding to a call in which several state could have been survivable had he had the newer apparatus. Another firefighter was critically injured as they were riding with a 5 man crew as mandated by the study. My point is, after you review the study, it is HIGHLY likely the Tri-Data study will recommend a minimum of 4 member crews and probably 5 in certain areas if not ALL. I reach this conclusion as they suggested even though the Chicago Station in the SUBURBAN BEDROOM districts could accomplish their tasks with a 4 member crew, the procedure of BACKING-IN in other areas during multiple alarm incidents or would place them in need of a 5 member crew, therefore they stated 5 man ENGINE and LADDERS should be considered citywide. KNOWING THIS, The City Of Houston should be in a PROACTIVE STANCE, NOT REACTIVE SAYING THIS COMING AUGUST "OOPS, We didn't see this coming, our budget will not support it therefore we will only follow those recommendations which we either an afford or I receive a a benefit from" (McKinsey???) HER IS PROBLEM #4!: The administration and Mayor would both have the citizens believe the union is pushing this issue only to pad the pockets of its members with OVERTIME. AS I MENTIONED IN THE PAST, THIS COULD NOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. Proper administrating and hiring practices would ensure this to be a stopgap measure and would trickle the program over the next couple of years. I would work the "overtime" as available but understand that I could not continue this over the long term as the more time at work, the more time away from your children as they grow up, and they will always be NUMBER 1. I will not jeopardize my relationship with my kids for "bucks" in my pocket. After all, didn’t the EFFECTIVE leadership of Mayor Lanier do the same in HPD? An additional 600 FTE's (personnel) were identified as a necessity and provided through overtime. Over the next couple of years recruiting and hiring was accelerated to phase this down. HERE IS PROBLEM #5!: Lack of learning from others mistakes. Washington, DC had similar budget shortfalls a few years ago and sacrificed their manpower cutting to 3 member crews against their OWN recommendations and policies for 4. THE RESULT, SEVERAL LINE OF DUTY DEATHS RESULTING IN A HUGE LIABILITY FOR THE CITY DUE TO LAWSUITS AND A RETURN TO 4 MEMBER CREWS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, my keyboard is worn out, sorry to run this so long, but this is only the tip of all of the trouble at hand. My all of my Brother and Sister Firefighters return safely to their families from every shift and may we continue to provide the best service possible to our citizens with the limited resource and support at hand. THANK YOU
Date: Friday, May 26, 2000
Time: 07:27 PM
Comments
What makes you so sure that top mgmt. will even listen to, or agree with, the professional opinion of a management company they hired? The McKinsey study proves that HFD has a history of not listening... What has changed? Just the players.
Date: Friday, May 26, 2000
Time: 03:57 PM
Comments
I saw the fire chief on the news today and he said that once the next cadet class graduates, the crisis will be over. It is not his fault that this class is not over yet. So right now it is not his fault. Once the class graduates, however, if the crisis continues you have to say it is his fault. After all, he had the opportunity to tell the truth about the manpower crisis. He should have said that this next class will only be a minor improvement to the problem. He should have told the citizens of Hou. that we have a huge problem that needs to be addressed.
Date: Thursday, May 25, 2000
Time: 09:16 AM
Comments
Well, I know for sure that it's not the firefighters, Engineer/Operators, Captains, Seniors, or even District Chiefs. I feel that the real fault starts all the way to the top of the "food chain" starting with the mayor himself. If you saw the Wayne Dolcefino investigative report on the Houston Police Department titled "An Internal Affair" (5-24-00), Brown "quickly" passed the buck stating "he has people in place doing their job" and most of the real issues were answered with "I don't know". When will the civic club leaders and city council members "light the fire" at the stake to make changes in the hiring practices of firefighters through a more stringent recruiting process.
MEMO TO CITY COUNCIL; You do have a voice, so DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED!
Since the current applicants must have 60 semester hours before applying, why not do recruiting drives at UH, Rice, TSU, HBU, UT, Baylor, SMU, LSU, USL-Lafayette, etc. to give yourself a better "draft pool" to draw from. Most of these kids are looking for a diverse career and when the get off of probation, they can enjoy two careers, Firefighting and the one they went to school for. The other alternative is to lower the semester hours for those who are or were economically challenged to where they could not attend college, but have the desire and heart to be a good firefighter. Hell, we had a fire chief that had a G.E.D.!!! Why does it take so much college to learn to do this job when the excellent instructors of HCC (when one of them is not trying to put someone into heat stroke) teach you everything you need to know?
Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2000
Time: 01:51 AM
Comments
As I sit here and read all of the comments, I ponder on where all of this will get us. I believe anyone of us will agree (unless you have your head buried in the sand) that the current situation is not acceptable. I myself may not have ever worked under Chief Tyra in his line officer days, and have heard many opinions of his work ethics. I take these as I have always taken anybodies comments prior to my transferring to a new command and hearing rumors. So far I have always found them unfounded. However, even if I do not agree with the current situation, I still am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he has no desire to lessen our benefits and safety, nor that of the citizens. I say this only because I have always had, even prior to my service with this department, a respect held for my commanding officers. However, considering the current crisis, and I do now call this a crisis, I am starting to wonder, where is the feisty and strong leaders voice of yesteryear. If his hands are restricted for any number of political reasons, then it is time we together help unbind him. He has accomplished several worthy goals, however, the most important taught in any management class, seminar or training is missing. PERSONNEL MORALE. When you lose trust and backing of even a great number of your employees or troops, not necessarily a majority, your effectiveness is severely hampered. After all, the men are the ones who day in and day out, risk their lives rescuing the citizens and protecting their property and they do this with whatever tools they have available, making adjustments as necessary. They are the most important resource in this and any organization and deserve to be treated as such. In the words of an infamous BATMAN, I too never joined the Houston Fire Department to get rich. However, I do ask that me and my colleagues be given fair compensation and incentives to allow us to support our families in a standard of living that is worthwhile. Public Service does mean sacrificing, however, my family does not have to sacrifice along with me. I am willing and always will be willing to sacrifice my weekends, nights, holidays, Christmas dinner, etc to provide the most PROFESSIONAL and efficient service to our citizens. BOTTOM LINE: I will back our leaders as long as they show an interest and desire to lead, and will rally to the best of my ability to have all of us stand behind that leader, whether it is the Fire Chief for Administrative issues or our Union President for Labor Issues. However, both need to take a strong stance at this time and we all need to rally together to show anyone and everyone just how important these issues are to us and our families. No one wants to attend another Mayo/Smith ceremony because while we were short handed, those of us that arrived first went the extra mile to save a child or adult before extra companies arrived. I know my family is concerned about riding 3 and 3 because they know how dangerous this profession is. To all of my Brother and Sister Firefighters, We have to work together, put the petty issues aside and stand together for what we deserve. Lets only hope that the fire once in our current Fire Chiefs heart is still burning.
Date: Monday, May 22, 2000
Time: 11:11 PM
Comments
The following is a list of things the Great Fire Chief has done for us. 1-dropped the apparatus to 3, didn't he fight against this in the past? 2-Wasted all the money in the budget...no extra board. 3-Has more assistant chiefs than we have firefighters. 5-purchased all chiefs a new car. 6-promoted a civilian to an assistant chief position. 7-Has handed more discipline than any chief before. 8-Pushed training so much that we cannot have a class now. 9-Pushed ISO to the point of putting the city into a crisis....we will not see any rewards from a low ISO. 10-Has had more law suites filed than any city manager in history.... 11-I could continue but I have to take a break and puke to see a job I love so much be ruined.
In closing, any time the booper goes off I will respond, I will give them 100%, and I will attempt to make this a better department and city. Too bad the leaders don't think the same.
Date: Saturday, May 20, 2000
Time: 05:57 AM
Comments
Let's all face the fact that things are going to get even tighter in the next few months. Although, we have been granted a 2% pay raise, they have raised the insurance. We now have approximately 47% of the Houston Fire Department either eligible or currently on the D.R.O.P with no relief in sight. The current cadet class slated to graduate on June 22nd is not even a drop in the bucket, and the class behind them is already down to 46 after starting at 55. I have a personal projection of 40 graduating in October. Was this an oversight by the chief that he was so concerned with an ISO rating that he did not see the "big picture"? All the training, we can deal with, but give us people we can train! On average, the city as a whole comes in at least 70-80 people short, thus increasing the work load and stress level of the officers and firefighters who have to do extra and should not have to do extra. How many times this summer will a district chief have to "pull taps" just for manpower purposes to get a fire under control versus four man/woman (gotta stay politically correct) pumper crews doing the same job under similar circumstances? I think everything will come a head on how bad the situation will be come anytime after July 1, 2000 when the "Back D.R.O.P hits and the new city fiscal year starts. I was hired at the tail end of the "hiring glut", so my colleagues and I will be eligible for the D.R.O.P next year. For those who live in the city I ask this simple question, Do you think you are getting your monies worth from the provided city services? In closing, I want to thank each one of my fellow firefighters and paramedics for going the extra mile everyday we come to work. We get no pat on the back from the administration, only reprimands and suspensions, REMEMBER: "WE ARE GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT" Hell, they don't even show up or have a representative show up at firefighter funerals...... I know because I am on the Honor Guard. May God watch over us and may our patron saint St. Florian continue to intercede with prayers for our firefighters.
Date: Friday, May 19, 2000
Time: 11:18 AM
Comments
Rumor has it, hopefully a vicious one, that the administration is going to rotate closing stations on a daily basis due to the manpower shortage created by A) inadequate hiring practices B) Lack of extra-board/ overtime funding. This would be a dangerous practice to both the citizens and personnel resulting in lapsed coverage in areas where the citizens deserve total coverage and increased response times for back-up in the event of a critical emergency. This practice proved disastrous for a couple of other cities in the past and for the careers of both the fire administration and city administration. We are taught history in school so we may learn from others mistakes. Maybe it is time several officials return to the classroom........
CRIME IS UP.....REVENUES ARE DOWN...MORALE COMPLETELY SUCKS.....P W & E HAS OVERSPENT DUE TO BUDDY DEALS, THE MAYOR & AL HAINES CAN'T FIGURE A BUDGET...AND THE SAFETY IF YOU NEED A FIREMAN OR AN EMS ATTENDANT IS JEOPARDIZED....
GOD HAVE MERCY ON OUR CHILDREN, BECAUSE THIS CURRENT ADMINISTRATION HAS NONE!
A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.
Tell em what you think darlins.....