So, is there a problem or not?
Right before the Nov. 3 election, we received a letter from the Arlington firefighters union and volunteers saying their department was in dire straits.
We did not think it would be fair to do a story then because we didn’t have time to check the facts. But we have been trying to do one ever since and have been stonewalled by firefighters and the city.
The only comment we have received is from Public Safety Director Bruce Stedman, who said the letter was only “politically motivated.”
The letter sure seems worse than that.
It says the community isn’t safe with the public safety director position. It says Stedman is stretched too thin, and the fire department is hurting as a result.
It also says:
•There is a loss of direction, a decrease in communication and significant decrease in morale.
•There is an increase in turnover, losing six people in two years. Another five are trying to leave, it says, “causing significant impact to our service level.”
•Emergency medical services also are dropping in the level of care, due in part to the loss of its director. Nobody is overseeing a program that is 80 percent of what they do, the letter says.
•Training is deficient, with business inspections not being done, and fire hoses not even being tested.
The letter goes on to say Chief Tom Cooper has done his best but tensions are high. He is simply “overwhelmed with the workload and little support,” the letter says. It notes administration has dropped from four to 2 1/2 in two years.
Despite that, call volume has increased 40 percent over six years.
The letter says, “At what point do we stop and ask, ‘Is this effective and safe?’”
We wonder the same thing. If things really are this bad why aren’t the firefighters and city letting the public know so something could be done.
It should not matter who was elected mayor or to the City Council. If this letter is correct, action needs to take place now. Public safety is nothing to play with.
The city will be looking into discontinuing the public safety director position and hiring a police chief next year. But if things really are this bad something needs to happen in the interim.
But if this letter was just politically motivated, as Stedman suggests, shame on those behind it. Maybe firefighters don’t think city government appreciates them, but the public does. We hold firefighters in high regard. The profession should be above this type of political wrangling.
