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Fire officials rebut gripes
By Chris Wiebe
CITY HALL — Fire Department officials Tuesday responded to criticism heaped upon the department by a Glendale resident and former Pasadena police official who brought his concerns to the City Council in a series of presentations.
Bruce Philpott, who served as Pasadena police chief for one year, addressed the council every Tuesday for 11 weeks, challenging Glendale fire operations through an analysis of response times, staffing and numerous others public-safety-related issues.
Among his criticisms was that the department could save millions of dollars each year and improve response times by cutting down on fire crew staffing and restricting some non-emergency functions of fire personnel. For instance, he has said that a Fire Department policy allowing on-duty firefighters to go on jogs away from the fire station while on duty could compromise response times.
And at a special council meeting on Tuesday, fire officials had their say, delivering a 36-slide PowerPoint presentation that outlined the intricacies of fire personnel, resources and managing fire risk in the city.
“The makeup and operations are based on constant development and change in the city,” interim Fire Chief Don Biggs said.
Emergency response time is crucial, and officials are constantly evaluating the department’s operations to keep response time low, Howard said. Firefighters are on-scene in five minutes or less in 64.7% of fire incidents and 79.7% of medical incidents, which ranks about in the middle of other cities its size, Deputy Chief Steve Howard said.
Glendale fire officials recently eliminated off-site exercise programs for on-duty firefighters because it was having a small impact on response — for 21 calls during a calendar year of 15,000 incidents, he said.
“But even with the small number the right thing to do was not impact emergency response,” he said.
Philpott’s challenge prompted Howard to affirm the importance of having a fully staffed, professional fire department, as opposed to an agency made up of volunteers or reserves.
“The reason we don’t have them is because this town and this community needs to have a professionally based fire and medical response system,” Deputy Chief Steve Howard said. “If we go to reserve or volunteer-based system, it’s going to reduce the level of service to the community.”
And the issue of volunteers can pose problems for a department, including minimal training, limited actual emergency experience and no ability to participate in mutual aid arrangement, or Unified Response, with agencies in other cities, he said.
“Will it save money? Sure, it will,” Howard said. “But you’ll also provide a lower level of service.”
Fire prevention remains a priority among fire officials, especially in light of the fact that wildfires remain the largest risk to the community, Howard said. Glendale is a dense, urban area with multifamily residences and high-rise buildings that are surrounded by wild land, he said.
“All of this adds to the risks that we have to manage here,” he said. “And we like to think we do a good job in preventing those risks.”
The department’s vegetation management program aims to clear dangerous, flammable debris from nearby structures and educate homeowners about how to help mitigate damages in the event of a wildfire, he said.
Philpott said later at the City Council’s regular meeting that he did not condone the idea of an all-reserve force, but that having a fourth firefighter on an engine as a reserve could save the city millions.
Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian wanted more information on such a reserve position.
“I want concrete examples of cities that use a reserve program,” he said. “Please bring examples so we can look at them, so we can get an understanding of its feasibility.”
Philpott said he would return to the council in the coming weeks and months to offer more of a response to the department’s points.
Howard will bring information about department overtime at a future date, he said.
Bruce Philpott, who served as Pasadena police chief for one year, addressed the council every Tuesday for 11 weeks, challenging Glendale fire operations through an analysis of response times, staffing and numerous others public-safety-related issues.
Among his criticisms was that the department could save millions of dollars each year and improve response times by cutting down on fire crew staffing and restricting some non-emergency functions of fire personnel. For instance, he has said that a Fire Department policy allowing on-duty firefighters to go on jogs away from the fire station while on duty could compromise response times.
And at a special council meeting on Tuesday, fire officials had their say, delivering a 36-slide PowerPoint presentation that outlined the intricacies of fire personnel, resources and managing fire risk in the city.
“The makeup and operations are based on constant development and change in the city,” interim Fire Chief Don Biggs said.
Emergency response time is crucial, and officials are constantly evaluating the department’s operations to keep response time low, Howard said. Firefighters are on-scene in five minutes or less in 64.7% of fire incidents and 79.7% of medical incidents, which ranks about in the middle of other cities its size, Deputy Chief Steve Howard said.
Glendale fire officials recently eliminated off-site exercise programs for on-duty firefighters because it was having a small impact on response — for 21 calls during a calendar year of 15,000 incidents, he said.
“But even with the small number the right thing to do was not impact emergency response,” he said.
Philpott’s challenge prompted Howard to affirm the importance of having a fully staffed, professional fire department, as opposed to an agency made up of volunteers or reserves.
“The reason we don’t have them is because this town and this community needs to have a professionally based fire and medical response system,” Deputy Chief Steve Howard said. “If we go to reserve or volunteer-based system, it’s going to reduce the level of service to the community.”
And the issue of volunteers can pose problems for a department, including minimal training, limited actual emergency experience and no ability to participate in mutual aid arrangement, or Unified Response, with agencies in other cities, he said.
“Will it save money? Sure, it will,” Howard said. “But you’ll also provide a lower level of service.”
Fire prevention remains a priority among fire officials, especially in light of the fact that wildfires remain the largest risk to the community, Howard said. Glendale is a dense, urban area with multifamily residences and high-rise buildings that are surrounded by wild land, he said.
“All of this adds to the risks that we have to manage here,” he said. “And we like to think we do a good job in preventing those risks.”
The department’s vegetation management program aims to clear dangerous, flammable debris from nearby structures and educate homeowners about how to help mitigate damages in the event of a wildfire, he said.
Philpott said later at the City Council’s regular meeting that he did not condone the idea of an all-reserve force, but that having a fourth firefighter on an engine as a reserve could save the city millions.
Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian wanted more information on such a reserve position.
“I want concrete examples of cities that use a reserve program,” he said. “Please bring examples so we can look at them, so we can get an understanding of its feasibility.”
Philpott said he would return to the council in the coming weeks and months to offer more of a response to the department’s points.
Howard will bring information about department overtime at a future date, he said.
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