Our Fire Fighters - REAL Local Heroes.

Lest we forget
It takes a lot of courage to run INTO a burning building. Bill Johnston showed an enormous amount of courage going inside the building in Mexico to fight the fire and make sure no victims were inside. It took even more courage for Rumford Fire Deputy Chief Chris Bryant, Rumford Firefighter Ed Carey and Mexico Firefighter Allen Chartier to rush in to dig him out. After all, the roof of the building had just partially collapsed on top of Bill. It had to be clear to everyone that the danger of going inside that building was extremely high. These Firemen willingly put their own lives in danger to save a “brother”. They often put their own life in danger to save the life and property of all of us here in town.

Firefighting is a dangerous job. That’s why our firemen train like they do and why there have been such trouble with keeping a highly trained call force in town. It takes a huge commitment to stay up with the training to be a volunteer firefighter. Not many have the time or the energy for such a commitment.

Our firefighters don’t do this job because of financial rewards. They could make more money in other professions. They do it because of the type of people they are. They do it because they want to feel good about their chosen profession. They want to help the people of this community. They want to save lives, even if it means putting their own life in danger. Anyone that knows the Firefighters in our surrounding communities can see that in these people. The same can be said for our local Police Department and Ambulance personnel.

Our local Firemen have been getting a really raw deal lately. They are having to suffer through having one of our Selectmen, Mark Belanger, filing a formal complaint against them for endorsing a candidate other than himself. They have been subjected to ridicule and attacks on a particular website in town. They have seen their budget cut severely and repeatedly. It has to be demoralizing. Yet they have maintained themselves as the professionals they truly are, risking their own lives to save others.

They are true heroes in our community. We at the RFP want to publicly thank them for their selflessness and let them know how thankful we are that they are here. If you have a minute, stop by the fire station to offer some quick words of support. I’m sure they could use it.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bill Johnson for a complete and speedy recovery. Our thanks go out to him and all of our local heroes that worked to save him and that work to keep us safe on a daily basis.

More Information on the Rumford Fire Department.

The Rumford Fire Department but has been getting steadily cut. The RFP believes members of our community should be aware of the following information:

For fiscal year 06-07 the Department budget was $977,000.
For fiscal year 07-08 the Department budget was reduced to $900,000, a $77,000 cut.

This year the Selectmen recommended $799,000, a $101,000 cut which will cut 3 positions that are currently not filled.

The Finance Committee recommended $707,000, a $193,000 cut which we will cut 5 positions, 3 which are currently vacant and 2 firefighters that are currently employed.

Support the Rumford Fire Department

"DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Authorities in Dartmouth, Mass., say a couple trying to beat the high cost of gasoline accidentally caused a fire."

The headlines like the one above could be happening a lot more frequently this winter. High energy prices are causing a major crisis for a lot of families. This winter fuel prices are likely to be even worse. People are more likely to try to stay warm with home made devices, hastily and improperly installed, causing an increase in fire danger in our community.

The call force for the town has dropped to a dangerously low level after Selectmen cut their pay retroactively last year. Now the Town Selectmen are suggesting major cuts to the Fire Department in this new budget. The Finance Board is suggesting even more. Until the call force is built back up again, I’m suggesting that the town limit the amount cut to the amount recommended by the selectmen. That would give us a little time to rebuild the call force and ensure the town has adequate fire protection. Please let our selectmen know that public safety is crucial for our community.

If you find yourself downtown, why not stop by and chat with the Firemen or send them a quick note on here. They could use some support. They have been getting some pretty unfair, even ridiculous criticism lately. Let’s not let the debate over town budgets get personal with them.

A letter from our Fire Department

Publisher of RFP, After tonight’s meeting I would like to take a opportunity to clarify a few false statements made by Ron Theriault, if you would allow me to do so here they are and thank you.

First thing is the fact that we had 85 call men when he was on the force. Records show at most there where around 30 or 35 members at one time. Currently we have around 7-12, and that is simply because of the training requirements and people work further away from home now rather than right in town. He then goes on the stress concern for the Mexico taxpayer bay saying they come over here for every fire because we have no one, but then in the same breath wants to decrease the size of our department.

Second is that we park the apparatus out front to be a inconvenience to the citizens walking by. I’m sure most people that have been here for any length of time will agree that the trucks have always been parked out front at different times for various reasons, not an inconvenience.

Third is the straw pole he just loves to down size. I truly believe had this “straw pole” gone the other way it would have been gospel to him, in fact the straw pole was sparked by the board of selectmen. Regardless of how he views it, it was a vote of the people!

Fourth is actually not a false statement, we do take a pumper or ladder truck with us most everywhere we go. The reason behind this is so if we get a call we have our tools with us and we can go directly to the scene. A fire truck is our tool box, without tools what good are the firefighters?

Lastly I would like to talk briefly about Ron and Jason talking about us breaking our contract by handing out informational flyers at the meeting. I can tell you this is not even mentioned in our contract, as a matter in fact a copy can be obtained at the Town Managers office, or stop by the station and one can be available for you to look at. The letter Jason was talking about tonight was one that was sent to the Selectmen Candidates from the Union asking some questions about themselves, careers, views, accomplishments and a few other things and they where also asked if they would meet with the Union to discuss there vision for the town if they got elected. It was a pretty simple self explanatory letter and questionnaire. I tried to address it with Jason at one point during the night but he ignored me so I never got to explain it to him.

If anyone has questions comments or concerns feel free to stop by the fire station to get info or if you ask most any firefighter they should be able to furnish you with the correct info. I can also be reached by e-mail @ marktripp@pffmaine.org

Thank you,
Mark Tripp
Union President
LOCAL 1601
Rumford, Maine

Should the Fire Department respond to medical calls?

There has been a lot of righteous indignation about the cost of the Fire Department responding to medical calls in town. For some medical calls, like motor vehicle accidents, it’s crucial for the Fire Department to respond. They may need to employ the jaws of life to free you from your vehicle or they may need to deal with leaking hazardous material. On calls for medical emergencies, they may arrive prior to the ambulance personnel, putting them in position to provide basic life saving first aid and assess and assist with the situation to speed critical care.

So, how much does this town service cost? Well, it’s not likely the $708,000 that is suggested to be cut from the Fire Department budget by the Finance Committee. According to Acting Fire Chief Richard Coulombe, it’s more like $8,000. Fire Department personnel are already on the clock so there is little extra cost there. The actual costs are most likely fuel and wear and tear on the response vehicle.

To make such a fuss about this particular service provided by the fire department doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. It certainly doesn’t justify recommending cutting $708,000 from the Fire Department budget.

While we’re on the subject of the Fire Department, think about this. Heating oils is now over $4.00 a gallon and will probably go higher. Residents will likely try to find other methods of heating their homes, some perhaps not as safe as they should be. There may be reason to fear an increase in serious fire calls this year. The Fire Department’s call force was reduced to an almost non-existent level after Selectmen voted to retroactively cut their call pay last year. Perhaps prior to making cuts in the Fire Department personnel, efforts should be made to rebuild the call force to an acceptable level.