A great article written by My friend Mike Williams to the Des Moines Register: Fire Protection for Des Moines…………..Alfred E. Neuman style…What? Me Worry? I can’t shake the sickening feeling I get when reading about the staffing issues with the Des Moines Fire Department. I spent 30+ years as a professional firefighter and I can tell you, those men and women who serve in that capacity don’t do so because they can’t get a job somewhere else. They WANT to be a firefighter and will settle for nothing less. Most would be highly successful regardless of which profession they choose, but let us be thankful for their dedication, courage, and willingness to put it on the line each time the bell rings. The recent downtown Younkers fire and Equitable fire only give a glimpse of the daily struggles the department faces each day by shuffling equipment and personnel from one station to another to meet minimum staffing needs. Between vacation, sick leave, military leave, or administrative leave, not a day goes by that each fire station doesn’t scramble to get enough people in the right places. Holy cow……there could never be 2 or more major fires at once….do you think? You can only rob Peter to pay Paul so many times before you get caught with both hands in your pocket and a fist fight is on the horizon. To add insult to an already grievous situation, the Des Moines Airport authority has opted not to fund the existing specialized Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting (AARFF) department that has served in that capacity for 41 years. Since 1973 the Iowa Air National Guard has funded and provided their highly skilled ARFF service to the Des Moines airport. In addition to ARFF protection for military aircraft that flew for the 132nd Fighter Wing, they maintained the same posture of excellence for private and commercial aircraft that patronized the DSMIAP. With the Air National Guard flying mission gone, so is their need for ARFF services. The time has now come and gone for the Des Moines aviation department to ante up and provide adequate protection for the nearly 2 million+ travelers who pass through the airport terminal each year. Their response was one of a typical “bean counter”. What is the cheapest way to do this? The answer is….contract the fire protection out to a private company and cross your fingers. What does that mean? It means that the Des Moines airport fire department will be reduced from a 30 person, site-dedicated, highly trained, highly experienced, and a highly educated profession organization, to a downsized 10 person bare-boned department with virtually no aerospace firefighting background, or professional ARFF certifications, with rookie firefighters on a pay scale equal to the person who serves you burgers and fries at your favorite fast food restaurant. The Des Moines aviation department had the opportunity to keep the existing ARFF protection intact for less than $1 increase per airline ticket. They opted to go in a different direction. Not a single current ARFF employee was even given an interview during the hiring process. How can that be explained? With only 3 firefighters on duty per day at the airport, their only capability would be to drive their single apparatus to the scene of a crash or pending emergency and pray that everyone escapes without assistance. Of course they will rely heavily on backup from the city fire department…..which is already under staffed and unable to meet the minimum 2 minute response time as mandated by the FAA. If predictions hold true by the “bean counters”, there will never be 2 or more simultaneous emergencies at the airport. Just in case you didn’t know already, on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at midnight,… gone will be the 30 person full time airport fire department. Gone will be a fire chief, 3 assistant fire chiefs, 3 captains, and a training officer, as well as rank and file firefighters. Also gone will be the entire fleet of aerospace vehicles provided by the Air National Guard, as well as rescue equipment, support equipment such as generators, emergency lighting, forcible entry tools, bunker gear, HazMat response equipment, Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), firefighting agent and reserve supply, training library & videos, computer network, mobile and hand held radios, resource materials such as standard operating procedures, risk management plans, and even the recipe for good firehouse chili. What will remain will be a shell of a fire station with 4 walls. No tables or chairs, no televisions, no nautilus work out equipment, no pictures hanging in the hallway. Just 4 walls and the kitchen sink. On October 1, 2014 at 1201 AM, 41 years of aerospace fire protection provided by the 132nd Fighter Wing for the Des Moines airport will come to an end. Everything will be replaced in the darkness of those early morning hours pertaining to the protection of the general public. On duty will be 3 rookie firefighters manning a newly purchased ARFF vehicle. Sleep well my flying friends. You are protected. Fire departments are nothing more than an insurance policy. You call your agent when you’re involved in a fender bender on a road trip, or a storm drops a huge tree onto your roof, or your spouse finds out they have cancer………. And the first question asked is, “Gee whiz….I hope my insurance is adequate?” No…..but when real misfortune strikes…….you can always dial 911 and be confident that highly skilled professional help is on the way….no questions asked. The direction things are going with the city fire service and particularly the aerospace fire protection at the Des Moines airport; the “bean counters” are saying a greater risk must be shared even more by the general public. Longer response times, fewer firefighters on duty, less dollars spent on training, and less equipment equals greater loss of property and lives. And do you think your taxes will go down, or airfare be reduced with the drop in your fire coverage? I bet not. Buyer beware. It’s just a matter of time. Let us all pray that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow doesn’t make a visit to the city of Des Moines. Something like that could never happen here…or could it? I can tell you from the debriefing I attended in Sioux City after the United Flight 232 crash on July 19, 1989, that it was headed to Des Moines to attempt a landing, but upon further consideration by Captain Al Haynes, elected to go to Sioux City. He knew that a safe landing was unlikely and that the aircraft was going down. He elected to make the airfield approach over the cornfields near the Sioux City airport rather than the heavily populated city of West Des Moines. Good call Captain Al Haynes. Lives probably saved with that decision. Bad call “bean counters.” Lives probably lost with your decision. Mike Williams, 30 year professional ARFF firefighter. Retired Carlisle, IA 515-729-3695
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 21:48:40 +0000
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