From: "Wilson, Kurtis"
Date: July 26, 2013, 3:05:16 PM EDT
To:FireandRescueStations
Subject: JFRD's Week in Review

I’ll be brief….lol

Thank God it’s Friday, as another busy week is now behind us. 

For those that did not catch Tuesday’s Council meeting, here is what you missed:

•       Pension Reform—voted down.  What does this mean?  Unfortunately this is one question we (the Administration) are not allowed to discuss… labor laws and such. So I will direct any and all questions, comments, and concerns to your knowledgeable Union leadership.

•       Tax Increase? –actually what the Council did was set what the millage rate could be.  This is called a TRIM notice and it’s an acronym for Truth In Millage and it’s what the Tax Collector needs prior to the August mailings to property owners.  By their action, they have the ability to raise around $65 million in additional revenue for the city to cover the budget shortfall.  Again I would caution, we are a long way from what a final budget for us will look like.

Bulletins last Friday—hopefully there wasn’t too much confusion as I will quickly run down the four.

•       Pre-Fire plan project---is now underway.  The chiefs have a good grasp on what needs to be done and are in the process of disseminating the zip code packets to Suppression captains.

•       Dual Response—this was to simply clarify some common questions on the D.R. stations.  An addendum was sent out to FRCC informing them to send a Rescue to an area when both dual-response rescues are out of pocket.

•       FF-Officer LOA’s—again this is an attempt to free up some leave time for those who really need it by increasing the availability of people for FF and Officers to LOA with.

•       36 Hour Canceling Policy---this one had the most questions.  No, you will not be forced to take off if you call late.  You simply will be in violation of an Instructional Bulletin and that’s between you and your chief.

Dual Response 49 and R40—this was put on hold due to some concerns raised by the Union.  The Administration and Union will continue to discuss this plan or the feasibility of an alternate plan.

Rehab 9 / Comm Van---for the last 3 months we have been testing the possibility of combining Rehab 9 with the Comm Van.  Here’s how it works: old Rehab 9’s equipment is now located on the Comm Van.  If field units request Rehab, then FRCC will dispatch for Rehab and station 9 will know how to respond appropriately and where to stage the Comm Van for rehab purposes.  If the Comm Van is requested, then the unit is dispatched and station 9 knows how to respond.  Many times, when the Comm Van is needed, so is the Rehab.

•       Effective today, this is the response posture for the Rehab/ Comm Van located at station 9.

New Mass Decon 21---Recently we took ownership of the new Mass Decon 21, which is a 53’ semi-truck and it’s pretty impressive. Spec’d by Capt. Kotsis, Eng. Jason Kerr, and David Johnson from Fleet, this new asset can decontaminate many more victims and more quickly than our current unit. We are still in the training phase of the new unit and some additional equipment needs to be purchased prior to placing in service. Once this happens, we will certainly let you know.

New Facilities Manager—in case you missed last week’s bulletin, Gary Daly is our new Facilities Manager.  Please continue to call him for any issues relating to facilities.  His contact numbers are 334-9967 (c) and 630-0204 (w) and gdaly@coj.net for email. Anyone who knows Gary will appreciate the value he will bring to our department in this capacity.

JFRD HQ Uninterrupted Power Supply or UPS---last weekend we replaced the UPS at HQ.  Although it doesn’t seem like much, the project was enormous as over twenty different agencies and departments were affected by the power outage.  Managing this entire process was Liz Henderson.  Countless meetings, coordination of contractors, as well as the server teams, phone teams, electricians, FRCC folks moving to JSO HQ, Motorola techs, and Hewlett Packard techs, all fell on her shoulders.  And in the final hours of this project, she did so while planning for her brother’s funeral.  She deserves a huge gratitude of thanks from all of us for a job well done!!!

Which brings me to some crews we would like to recognize this week.

•       When was the last time you walked out of the front door of your work and saw a 7-story building on fire?  For me it was Monday and before I could say anything, here comes the first alarm assignment operating much like a NASCAR pit crew. Station 4 caught the plug and advanced a line into a door the ladder had just forced open.  Then the crews from E1, L1, and E2 make entry into the smoke filled building and begin search & rescue after reports of people living on the 2nd and 4th floors. Rescues quickly take up staging for victims while F1, F5, and F7 began managing the process. It was definitely impressive to watch.  Well done!

•       To the crew of R59A and E59A led by Lt. Myers and Lt. Peters.  The constant ringing of phones in this office is occasionally the voice of a thankful family member of someone we responded to.  Here she was convinced they truly saved her husband’s life. Great job 59!

•       To the C shift crews of E1, L1, E2, and L18.  Sometimes its lives, other times such as last Sunday, it was property.  Their fast thinking and quick response prevented 311 W. Ashley from flood damage and ruin from a discharging sprinkler head.

•       To the Hazardous Materials Teams at 7 and 21 ‘A’ shift.  Monday afternoon, two people were sent to the hospital after coming in contact with an unknown powder at the Airport. Usually a routine call, but this time things were amped up as we had the POTUS coming in on Thursday. This means they operated under the pressure of every Federal Agency in the alphabet soup. FBI, DHS, US.SS, Port Authority, CBP, JSO, to name a few. As always, they conducted themselves as professionals and were able to identify the powder found. 

The Zimmerman Verdict—every now and then, something comes up in the media that questions the very fabric of our soul.  It’s okay to feel the way you do,  that is what makes you human.  What binds us all together, is the fact every third day we come together for a common cause and mission, and that is what makes you a professional. This department is more than just firefighters and paramedics, you are the protectors of a community: you try to right what is a wrong, you heal that which is hurt, and you bring calm where there is chaos.  Every third day you are in the trenches and as such you become a Band of Brothers and Sisters.  Please remember that, when a jury of 12 strangers makes a decision we all had nothing to do with.

As always, we thank you for what you do, why you do it, and for being the best Fire Department in the Country.

Very Respectfully,

Kurtis R. Wilson