Post by Bob on Oct 11, 2005 10:42:13 GMT -5
what do think of the report?
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Closure of 5 firehouses urged
Consultant suggests 5 others be relocated
By Gregory Korte
Enquirer staff writer
Map
CANDIDATES' VIEWS
The review of the Cincinnati Fire Department, when completed, will eventually end up on the mayor's desk. Here's how the two candidates for mayor said they would approach the report's recommendations:
Councilman David Pepper: "I don't think there's anything wrong with what the master plan is doing, which is to take a step back and look at the big picture. ...
You'll never see me sacrifice safety or response times in exchange for efficiency, that's for sure."
State Sen. Mark L. Mallory: "I'd need to know a lot more about this report. ... Periodic reviews are probably a good thing, but you have to make sure that when you get the results back, that they can be realistically implemented."
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The Enquirer/Gary Landers
Among the firehouses that a consultant recommends the city of Cincinnati close are Engine Company 50 in Sayler Park (left) and Engine Company 31 in Oakley.
The Cincinnati Fire Department should consider closing five firehouses and relocating five more, according to a draft report from a consultant hired to do a top-to-bottom review of the department.
Those are among the 221 recommendations contained in the report from Virginia-based Tri-Data. The Enquirer obtained a copy of the report Monday through an Ohio Public Records Act request.
City Manager David E. Rager cautioned that the results are preliminary, and the city is still trying to understand the methodology that led to the recommendations. He sent the study back to the consultant, which should deliver a final report next month.
"This is like picking up a novel, turning to the last page, and seeing how it ends first," Rager said. "The way I approach these problems is: Let's establish the service standard, and then ask how do we achieve that for 100 percent of the community."
The $185,000 study is the most comprehensive review of the Cincinnati Fire Department in at least three decades and could lead to a sweeping overhaul of the city's fire service.
The firehouses recommended for closure are Engine Company No. 5 in Over-the-Rhine, Station 21 in South Fairmount, Station 31 in Oakley, Station 32 in Avondale and Engine Company No. 50 in Sayler Park.
The three stations with ladder trucks in addition to pumpers - South Fairmount, Oakley and Avondale - were among those "browned out" last year in a cost-cutting measure by Rager's predecessor.
The Sayler Park station would be moved east to the 3800 block of River Road, where it would be consolidated with Engine Company 37 in Riverside.
Other stations that would be moved to put them in more strategic locations: Engine Company 34 in Clifton, Engine Company 35 in Westwood, Engine and Rescue Companies 38 in Winton Place and Engine Company 52 in College Hill.
The consultant based the recommendations on response times, call volumes and population trends. Aging neighborhoods, for example, require more fire services than younger ones.
The age of the fire stations themselves is a factor, too. Most of the stations affected were built before 1915.
The consultant's goal was to cover the city with a four-minute response time - except for Sayler Park and Riverside.
Those two city neighborhoods - which stretch out along the Ohio River on the West Side - present the biggest challenge for the consultant. Engine Companies 37 and 50 have some of the lowest call volumes in the city, and many firefighters choose to spend their last years before retirement there for that reason.
But eliminating either one would increase response times beyond the city's four-minute standard.
"Since the areas around Stations 37 and 50 are less densely populated than other areas of (the) city, it would be appropriate to allow for a longer first-arriving response time," the report said. "Given a six-minute travel time - a goal Tri-Data has recommended in other communities for low-density suburban areas - there is a possibility for consolidation of Stations 37 and 50."
In the other areas, the consultant determined that neighboring fire stations could pick up calls within the four-minute response time. In South Fairmount, the station would be closed only after Engine Company 35 in Westwood - which currently sits a few blocks from the Cheviot border - moves farther east, near Harrison Avenue and Werk Road.
Elliot Ellis, president of the South Fairmount Community Council, said the neighborhood is comforted by having Station 21 so close.
"South Fairmount is kind of unique. We have a lot of older residents who rely on the EMS services. The 21s are pretty busy that way," he said. "You can't take that part of the safety away from the community, because it would take them longer to respond."
Across town, Oakley Community Council president David Schaff said he doesn't know whether the consultant has taken into account the future commercial growth his neighborhood expects.
"Which fire station would serve the Millworks and the Center of Cincinnati?" he said. (The recommendations call for Oakley's Ladder Company 31 to be moved in with Engine Company 49 in Madisonville.)
Schaff said he wants to know whether that took into account demands that will be placed on Madisonville given the development of the Red Bank Road corridor and the continued development eastward on Madison Road.
"I don't know the answer to that question either," Fire Chief Robert Wright said.
"We haven't validated any of the information, and we don't really understand all the criteria under which they made their recommendations," he said, "reserving an opinion" on the validity of the report.
The recommendations, if adopted, could take years to implement. "None of the station relocations or closures is urgent," the report said. Other recommendations - such as upgrading all ambulances to advanced life support - should take precedent, the consultant said.
Councilman David Pepper, the chairman of the Law & Public Safety Committee - which meets today at 1 p.m. - sponsored the ordinance that led to the review. He said he had not read the draft report. "I had very serious concerns when I saw their proposal for Sayler Park. I have the same concern for any of the other four," he said. The fire report is not on the committee's agenda.
Cincinnati Fire Fighters Local 48 spokesman Doug Stern said he's "surprised that a draft is generating so much interest" at City Hall. The bottom line: "We're not going to let anything happen that's unsafe for the public or our firefighters."
The recommendations are likely to be unpopular with firefighters, who get to know the neighborhoods they work in as their "second home," Local 48 president Joseph W. Diebold said.
But he said the union would keep an open mind to ensure the Fire Department continued its tradition as one of the most progressive in the country.
"It's not going to be easy, but we need to change, to move into the 21st century," he said.
"I'll say something the membership will probably kill me for. We don't want to see something closed for the sake of saving money. But if we have to move a particular fire company, or close a particular fire company, in order to meet our goals, that's something we have to do."
E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Closure of 5 firehouses urged
Consultant suggests 5 others be relocated
By Gregory Korte
Enquirer staff writer
Map
CANDIDATES' VIEWS
The review of the Cincinnati Fire Department, when completed, will eventually end up on the mayor's desk. Here's how the two candidates for mayor said they would approach the report's recommendations:
Councilman David Pepper: "I don't think there's anything wrong with what the master plan is doing, which is to take a step back and look at the big picture. ...
You'll never see me sacrifice safety or response times in exchange for efficiency, that's for sure."
State Sen. Mark L. Mallory: "I'd need to know a lot more about this report. ... Periodic reviews are probably a good thing, but you have to make sure that when you get the results back, that they can be realistically implemented."
ADVERTISEMENT
The Enquirer/Gary Landers
Among the firehouses that a consultant recommends the city of Cincinnati close are Engine Company 50 in Sayler Park (left) and Engine Company 31 in Oakley.
The Cincinnati Fire Department should consider closing five firehouses and relocating five more, according to a draft report from a consultant hired to do a top-to-bottom review of the department.
Those are among the 221 recommendations contained in the report from Virginia-based Tri-Data. The Enquirer obtained a copy of the report Monday through an Ohio Public Records Act request.
City Manager David E. Rager cautioned that the results are preliminary, and the city is still trying to understand the methodology that led to the recommendations. He sent the study back to the consultant, which should deliver a final report next month.
"This is like picking up a novel, turning to the last page, and seeing how it ends first," Rager said. "The way I approach these problems is: Let's establish the service standard, and then ask how do we achieve that for 100 percent of the community."
The $185,000 study is the most comprehensive review of the Cincinnati Fire Department in at least three decades and could lead to a sweeping overhaul of the city's fire service.
The firehouses recommended for closure are Engine Company No. 5 in Over-the-Rhine, Station 21 in South Fairmount, Station 31 in Oakley, Station 32 in Avondale and Engine Company No. 50 in Sayler Park.
The three stations with ladder trucks in addition to pumpers - South Fairmount, Oakley and Avondale - were among those "browned out" last year in a cost-cutting measure by Rager's predecessor.
The Sayler Park station would be moved east to the 3800 block of River Road, where it would be consolidated with Engine Company 37 in Riverside.
Other stations that would be moved to put them in more strategic locations: Engine Company 34 in Clifton, Engine Company 35 in Westwood, Engine and Rescue Companies 38 in Winton Place and Engine Company 52 in College Hill.
The consultant based the recommendations on response times, call volumes and population trends. Aging neighborhoods, for example, require more fire services than younger ones.
The age of the fire stations themselves is a factor, too. Most of the stations affected were built before 1915.
The consultant's goal was to cover the city with a four-minute response time - except for Sayler Park and Riverside.
Those two city neighborhoods - which stretch out along the Ohio River on the West Side - present the biggest challenge for the consultant. Engine Companies 37 and 50 have some of the lowest call volumes in the city, and many firefighters choose to spend their last years before retirement there for that reason.
But eliminating either one would increase response times beyond the city's four-minute standard.
"Since the areas around Stations 37 and 50 are less densely populated than other areas of (the) city, it would be appropriate to allow for a longer first-arriving response time," the report said. "Given a six-minute travel time - a goal Tri-Data has recommended in other communities for low-density suburban areas - there is a possibility for consolidation of Stations 37 and 50."
In the other areas, the consultant determined that neighboring fire stations could pick up calls within the four-minute response time. In South Fairmount, the station would be closed only after Engine Company 35 in Westwood - which currently sits a few blocks from the Cheviot border - moves farther east, near Harrison Avenue and Werk Road.
Elliot Ellis, president of the South Fairmount Community Council, said the neighborhood is comforted by having Station 21 so close.
"South Fairmount is kind of unique. We have a lot of older residents who rely on the EMS services. The 21s are pretty busy that way," he said. "You can't take that part of the safety away from the community, because it would take them longer to respond."
Across town, Oakley Community Council president David Schaff said he doesn't know whether the consultant has taken into account the future commercial growth his neighborhood expects.
"Which fire station would serve the Millworks and the Center of Cincinnati?" he said. (The recommendations call for Oakley's Ladder Company 31 to be moved in with Engine Company 49 in Madisonville.)
Schaff said he wants to know whether that took into account demands that will be placed on Madisonville given the development of the Red Bank Road corridor and the continued development eastward on Madison Road.
"I don't know the answer to that question either," Fire Chief Robert Wright said.
"We haven't validated any of the information, and we don't really understand all the criteria under which they made their recommendations," he said, "reserving an opinion" on the validity of the report.
The recommendations, if adopted, could take years to implement. "None of the station relocations or closures is urgent," the report said. Other recommendations - such as upgrading all ambulances to advanced life support - should take precedent, the consultant said.
Councilman David Pepper, the chairman of the Law & Public Safety Committee - which meets today at 1 p.m. - sponsored the ordinance that led to the review. He said he had not read the draft report. "I had very serious concerns when I saw their proposal for Sayler Park. I have the same concern for any of the other four," he said. The fire report is not on the committee's agenda.
Cincinnati Fire Fighters Local 48 spokesman Doug Stern said he's "surprised that a draft is generating so much interest" at City Hall. The bottom line: "We're not going to let anything happen that's unsafe for the public or our firefighters."
The recommendations are likely to be unpopular with firefighters, who get to know the neighborhoods they work in as their "second home," Local 48 president Joseph W. Diebold said.
But he said the union would keep an open mind to ensure the Fire Department continued its tradition as one of the most progressive in the country.
"It's not going to be easy, but we need to change, to move into the 21st century," he said.
"I'll say something the membership will probably kill me for. We don't want to see something closed for the sake of saving money. But if we have to move a particular fire company, or close a particular fire company, in order to meet our goals, that's something we have to do."
E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com