Reminder: Department of Fire Programs seeking public comment

I can understand where Lookin is coming from. I, too, was quite skeptical, last winter, that the county would have the “political nerve” to take the necessary actions in this matter.

When Mr. Barnes made his recommendations for changing the F&EMS system public last June, I was greatly encouraged. It appeared to me that “we” were finally going to get serious and take the necessary action in the matter.

When I read Dan Telvock’s article in the FLS yesterday morning, I was surprised and disappointed. It appeared that in his directions to the VDFP Panel, Mr. Barnes was “de-scoping” the depth of their study.

I spent the rest of the morning thinking about the situation and hoping someone would come on line and clarify the problem. When that had not happened by early afternoon, I decided to go to the source and emailed Mr. Barnes directly with my concerns.

Within minutes from the time I sent that email, my phone rang and it was Mr. Barnes calling.

We had a rather extensive conversation on the subject. The bottom line was that Mr. Barnes was NOT “de-scoping” anything. My understanding is the county had already briefed the Panel prior to the meeting on which Dan reported. It is true that the Panel will not address certain things, but NOT because the county is declaring them “off-limits.” They will not address those things BECAUSE the Panel is confident the county already has a plan and the issues are under control.

I addressed the issue of F&EMS management. In particular, the issue of a single individual (Chief) in charge of both the paid and volunteer personnel. Mr. Barnes confirmed that he believed that was an essential element of the system changes required and that issue was still in the mix.

I hope that clarifies things a little bit.

Larryg is correct about the state Panel. That would have been preferable in a perfect world. However, it is useful to remember that “we” were “pressuring” the BOS and Mr. Barnes, after the February tragedy and other issues came to light, to DO SOMETHING. It is also factual that the state does not come in uninvited and that implies that the invitee provide some directions for what they want examined.

Mr. Barnes stepped into the breach and produced a plan of action (June 8, 2010) that included a roadmap for a VDFP Panel. If you look at that roadmap, I am not sure one could find a more comprehensive set of requests for the VDFP Panel.

It’s not Mr. Eudaily’s fault the system runs like it does. He knows all the problems inside and out and knows what needs to be fixed. He can’t fix anything because when the fire and EMS commission was formed the BOS and County Administrator allowed this commssion to be a governing body instead of an advisory committee to the fire and rescue director which at the time happen to be Mr. Eudaily. When Mr. Eudaily’s title changed several years ago to Fire Chief, thats when he should have been given ultimate authority of the combined fire and ems system both volunteer and career. But not in Spotsylvania!! The lopsided fire and ems commission is to blame for the lack of forward progression in this County. Mr. Dillard keeps saying “we have a model combination system in Spotsylvania” but this is one of the most dysfuntional combination fire and ems systems I have ever seen. Mr. Dillard all of a sudden is changing his tune and saying “change might be good” Yes, Mr. Dillard is a commission member. Fredericksburg Rescue Squad did a good job when they got rid of Dillard a few years ago. Good luck Chancellor VFRD. Now that the fire and ems commission is more balanced I would imagine there will be strides made in the next 1-2 years. Still the entire system needs one Fire and Rescue Chief to run the department PERIOD. Reduce the fire and ems commission to an advisory board. Have one volunteer deputy chief for SVFD and CVFRD and EMS Captain for SVRS. One Chief of EMS to run the EMS side of the house, and all other officers can be station officers that meet certain training standards both career and volunteer. Training standards also need to be put in place and enforced immediatley, not 2 years from now. 24/7 staffing needs to be stratgically plced throughout the county at certain stations. Response guidelines and one set of SOP’s need to be created and enforced for all fire and ems providers. Stay tuned for the release of the fire study and then let’s get to work to make the system the best it can be, and restore the public trust in the system.

MD,

Ummm, it is Chris Eudaileys fault. He strapped the badge on, did nothing about anything in the OLD REPORT, nor is he on record saying anything to the tune of
‘this badge is useless if everything must be done by -committee’,
Where is anyone claiming any responsiblilty in any of this??. No one is standing up and saying ‘The buck stops here’.
Chris Eudailey was enjoying a sweet paycheck ,going with the flow, carving out a future with ‘someplace else’ while the foxes were guarding the chickens. I like Chris but I don’t respect a man that doesn’t do his job.
I agree with you about the snake oil salesmen though.