Retired Fire Chief Urges Support for Measure F
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Who Rescues the Rescuer!
Since retiring after nearly 40 years in the Fire Service and Public Safety sector, I have not often interjected my opinion on Community Safety issues such as Arcata Fire Protection District’s Measure “F”. Measure “F” is so important to Humboldt Bay’s overall safety that I need to pose the question of “Who Rescues the Rescuer” to help you understand how important it is that the AFPD regains basic capability to protect the citizens they have sworn to protect.
Recent disinformation provided by the Humboldt Taxpayers League and others regarding AFPD’s Measure “F” has been well chronicled. The rebuttal information recently authored by Paul Nicholson, provided a much more accurate picture for the residents to evaluate the Measure upon.
The foundation from which modern fire or community protection is structured around is based upon appropriate response time and initial resource arrival with the ability to stop or slow the growth of the incident. The initial response is followed by the remainder of a well-equipped, force to effectively fight the blaze, as fires can easily grow in as few as 3-5 minutes to the point of flashing over and consuming a whole room.
Many are unaware that the same methodology is applied towards community medical emergency protection and was the reason why the Fire Service began medical responses- i.e.- the response system was already in place, including strategically placed resources. , Stations, initial response personnel (engines) and an adequate response force (ambulance, extrication equipment) were located strategically throughout the community. And the same critical time intervention threshold in medical situations such as not breathing, cardiac arrest or even severe bleeding share the catastrophic damage timeline of 3-6 minutes for brain death to begin. In retrospect, it is easy to see why Fire Departments took on this critical medical response responsibility as there is a system in place with distributed stations/resources and personnel available for immediate response within each community.
However, there are those folks that try to compare local agencies without taking into consideration the unique differences and challenges each community has. The key element is that each community must determine the effectiveness of their Fire Department and the real question is, can the residents of AFPD really afford to weaken their Community Protection System further?
I close asking you to seriously explore and become familiar with this critical issue and subsequent decision. It is important to consider that Measure “F” comes with a Citizen’s Oversight Committee and a sunset date of 10 years. In return, you and your neighbors will see the restoration of the 8 vacant firefighting positions that have been frozen due to budget cuts; the re-opening of the third fire station to ensure safe and rapid emergency responses; adequate funding applied to the equipment/vehicle replacement fund to address aging firefighting equipment as needed; and the replenishment of the emergency reserve funds, so critical in providing continuity in operations during these uncertain times. By supporting Measure “F”, you help to ensure that we don’t collapse the current Community Protection System and reduce the risk of needless damage, personal injury or loss of life.
So, I ask again, who Rescues the Rescuer?
Eric Smith
City of Eureka Fire Chief (retired)
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A couple of points to consider if you have not made up your mind on the Measure F yet:
The AFD fire tax from 2005/06 was supposed to sunset in ten years it DIDN’T that Citizen Advisory Committee whole heartedly voted to keep it going.
Me thinks that Measure F won’t ever sunset considering AFD is asking for more funding every 4-5 years.
The Pie Chart that has been posted by the cheerleaders for “F” ….. YA that one that showed less than 5 percent of calls have anything to do with fires …… and 45 percent are some sort of medical aid request…..The other 50 percent is a combo of service and good intent calls…….one look at that and one might think we need a few more ambulances in the district not more Firefighters with the big pension liability.
Im pretty sure Arcata MadRiver abumbulance EMTs and Paramedics don’t have lifetime pensions.
We had two votes on this Fire Tax the past few years and the people said NO its like our votes don’t count and they just have elections until its going to come out in their favor…WTF
If Safety First is the Measure F rally cry ….. How come the Closing of the McKinleyville station on the rotating basis AFD says on the website “after careful consideration” what a crock of BS….. Its a blatant punishment of McKinleyville for the failure of Measure R to pass and plays into the Measure F scare out the vote campaign.
McKinleyville voters shout be pissed.
I think everyone supports the Firefighters its just… enough is enough… on the endless tax hike measures.
Please vote but think critically about the Pro Measure F propaganda from all these letters to the editor.
I think someone should put a proposal on the ballot that says the government can’t pass or expand another single tax til they can work efficiently and within their budget, that’s be great.
I believe that government has a spending problem that doesn’t truly serve the greater good of humanity.
I’d like to see government lemonade stands shut down
There’s a RICO case to be made for all the corruption and secrecy in the name of power.
Tax Fatigue: With the failure of Measure R, 8 firefighter positions had to be cut. It takes 8 firefighters to staff one station 24/7. With the 3 stations placed strategically 5 minutes apart throughout the District and one station having to be closed, it was decided to rotate the closures to be fair to all. Those who attended the Zoom meetings after the failure of Measure R saw the agony on the Board and all AFD personnel. No one is penalizing McKinleyville. The McKinleyville station is closed 1/3rd of the time just like the Downtown Arcata and Mad River stations are. They are just trying to be fair equally based on the personnel they have. If you would have attended the Zoom meetings, you would have known this.
If Measure F fails, the proposal is to have only one station. That is necessary based on 2006 revenue, which is the last time an increase was passed. The CPI (Consumer Price Index) has increased 33.3% since then. Since the Mad River Station is in the center of the District, that would possibly mean closing McKinleyville and Arcata stations, which would increase response times to 2/3 of the District by 5 minutes. 5 minutes is the difference between a fire going to flash or life and death on an EMS call.
A big percentage of calls you do not mention are good intent calls, which are calls that they get dispatched to but end up being nothing. It is hard to determine during a frantic call if a response is 100% necessary. I am happy AFD goes on those calls and they have saved lives because they did. Once they get to the scene they can see if it is a good intent or EMS call. Wouldn’t you want them to error on the safety side instead of assuming something? Can you imagine the outcry if they did not come and someone died? The people in charge of AFD make life saving decisions all the time. It is an extremely stressful job.
There are another big percentage of calls AFD responds to like lift assists, just to name one. With the aging population in our area, these are becoming more frequent. When someone falls, AFD assists with the lift at no charge. Sometimes when there is one lift assist request, another 1, 2 or 3 additional calls come in until the family makes plans for their family members.
I called Arcata Mad River Ambulance to ask about lift assists. They charge $250 to $350 per call. The $100 extra is for after 7pm or before 7am. They said Medicare rarely pays and since falls occur more than once, it is can mean they would have to bill someone for 2 or more calls. It could easily be over $1,000.
Since there are only 2 crews that cover North of Indianola Road to the Del Norte County line and East to 1/2 way to Willow Creek, AFD beats them to the scene over 75% of the time and sometimes AFD is the only one to respond. Caring about seniors is a priority and Measure F does that.
I know of one case where someone had previously fallen and the FD assisted on the lift. Shortly thereafter, another fall occurred so they never called for help and laid on the floor from 9pm to 7am before calling for help. They got sepsis, stayed in the hospital 3 days and almost died. The costs for all of this was hundreds, even with Medicare and a supplemental policy. Measure F is a great deal for all seniors.
By the way, there is a mandatory 10 year sunset clause in Measure F and it creates a public oversight committee made up of people not part of AFD. It would be great to have someone like you on the committee to help make recommendations before the Board decides on an issue.
Measure F is the best way to protect our 37,000 residents in the 52 square mile District. Please vote YES on Measure F. Thank You 🙏.
The best way to protect your home is to take responsibility for your own house. Enough with bleeding the tax payers. Everyone is making uncomfortable changes in expectations and responsibilities.
If the government can force independent businesses to close, then the government doesn’t get to keep spending money it doesn’t have.
Sars Cov2 is a huge pill to swallow.
Let the shutdown teach everyone a lesson in supply side economics.
Correction to the Arcata Fire Districts size. Typo of 52 square miles. It is 62 square miles.
Humboldt Bay Fires District is 55.5 square miles in comparison.
Also, if Measure F fails they may have to discontinue EMS calls that are not life threatening. This is a reality.
Paul I’m pretty sure McKinleyville property owners are smart enough to see through the AFD talking points regarding the rotating station closures.
But one each open in Arcata and McKinleyville does not fit the scare out the vote agenda for AFD.
I did mention good intent calls if you reread my post
Wow “FREE” lift assist calls that the property owners get to pay for!
I still think the best solution is to have AMR ambulance get a few more rigs to take the load off AFD call volume and not just pile the payment responsibility on the property owners.
Lastly I would to love hear about any citizen advisory committee that has ever sunsets a fire tax I cant recall ever hearing about one, sounds good on the sales pitch to the voters but in reality never happens.
Tax Fatigue: Measure F is about protecting everyone in the District equally. If you would have attended any of the 6 meetings prior to the last election or the monthly Zoom meetings after the election, you would understand the importance of less than 5 minutes response times and the tragedies that occur if times are over 5 minutes.
Obviously you did not understand good intent calls which is part of the pie chart and explained at many meetings. They go out as a EMS call and change to good intent if it turns out not to be EMS. They don’t know until they arrive. One person complained about AFD responding to a bee sting. Some people can be killed by a bee sting or even eating peanuts. They can go into a anaphylactic shock. I am proud AFD goes to those call, just like Humboldt Bay Fire and other Fire departments do throughout the USA!!!
Measure F is all about helping everyone, including you. There is a lot AFD does that no one sees on a daily basis. It is about giving them the personnel and equipment so they can provide service to ALL who live, work or pass through the District.
Some who have opposed Measure F the most have received help on a fire when AFD assisted due to mutual aid agreement with surrounding Districts. It is best for all if everyone works together.
One McKinleyville resident was saved when he fell from an area called Top of the World(I believe) up Fickle Hill a few months ago. It was out of District but he could have died if AFD did not save him from 70 feet down. There was no one else available. I am OK with that too.
You suggest Mad River Ambulance spend thousands and thousands of dollars more by adding more 24/7 crew. Have you called them and asked them to do this? Have you investigated the costs? Who will pay for the added cost to Mad River Ambulance? How much are you willing to pay for the added service you are suggesting. There is a cost for your suggestion.
Measure F is requesting $6 month for an in park mobile home, $8 per month for a single family residence ($13 per month for a rural residence like mine where there is no fire hydrant within 700 feet).
It baffles me when people suggest others should do something when they have done nothing themselves! Just like people saying get more volunteers but they don’t help recruit, train or pay for the volunteers. They just want someone else to do it for free.
The citizen oversight committee is written in the Measure along with the 10 year sunset clause, which has been mentioned in some of the many posts I have made. It is not a “sales pitch”! It is a reality and gives the Community input and control. AFD has to follow what is written in the Measure. Please read the Measure and attend informational meetings. It will help you understand the facts. Thank You 🙏.
1570 dollars over the stated 10 years if a home owner doesn’t have a hydrant within 700 ft of their house, gee sure sounds like a lot more than a mere 14 dollars a month. At 200.00 a lift assist a person could fall 7 times and need help and still be better off paying the per lift charge.
“One person complained about AFD responding to a bee sting. Some people can be killed by a bee sting or even eating peanuts. They can go into a anaphylactic shock. I am proud AFD goes to those call,”
Actually, that sounds like a perfect argument to what’s been suggested about hiring more ambulance/emt types instead of full geared firefighters.
Tax Fatigue, you seem to be very ignorant about what AMRA does…they don’t have pensions because they are a FOR PROFIT COMPANY! If you think the owners the ambulance company are just going to add more ambulances to “take the load off” you are sadly mistaken. Ambulance companies do not do lift assist for free, that creates a bill the patient is left with that insurance and Medicare DO NOT cover. Guess how much that sets them back it’s actually well over $1,000. No wonder the good people in support of measure F are so frustrated, you spout B.S about what you think the fire service and EMS should be doing when you in fact have no clue.
Big guy a few more ambulances is a suggestion. Maybe Supervisor Madrone can get some measure Z money flowing for them. How much would the district tax payers save by not paying the huge salaries and pensions of AFD firefighters?? I know it’s not what your union bosses want to hear.
AMRA is for profit for sure and I put Free in quotes for sarcasam sorry if that went over your head.
The tax paying public has voted these AFD tax measures down twice, I wish there was an easy answer going forward instead of just raising our fire taxes.
I guess we will find out soon enough how the vote plays out.
Let me get this straight you think funds from measure Z should help pay for an ambulance for a for profit ambulance company that pays their employees shit while the owners of the company are multi millionaires? Just making sure I’m understanding you. Like others have suggested, you should probably attend the meetings they have been having if you have such good ideas. Or better yet go schedule a ride along with AFD and actually talk to them and get to know their job and how difficult it is. How much they have to work to make that amount of money. But it sounds like you are more content on being an armchair quarterback.
The new normal will require sacrifice from everyone, public employees, especially.
You want some money, open up the economy yesterday, otherwise you can sell lemonade and baked goods to raise money.
Go for state funding instead of public
We haven’t been allowed to work for months, the answer is not raising taxes. We have all needed to tighten our belts. Yeah this sucks but this is not the federal government that can print money out of thin air (which has its own set of repercussions). You need money from citizens and raising any taxes after a pandemic is short sighted and honestly very rude. We don’t have any money to give! We are struggling to pay our property taxes and our mortgages because we have not been offered the same relief as people who don’t own property. Then there is rent control on the ballot as well? If you raise our property taxes we raise rent, thats how we stay afloat, now that is being attempted to be curtailed as well. We are going to be forced to sell our properties to real-estate barrons like Squires or even worse, lose our properties to the gov’t to be turned into Section 8 housing for us former property owners. The gov’t is trying to tax us into poverty and reliance on the gov’t! Wake up people! Quit relying on the gov’t for everything! Pretty soon there will be an ass-wiping tax because people are going to start relying on the government to do it for them. Enough with this crap, the government needs to be held accountable for the cash it has, they literally receive millions of dollars from an economy that has been in the shitter.
The underlying problem is that the FD is top heavy with too many chiefs and captains and too few firemen. Flatten the pyramid to save money before asking for higher taxes.