NEAFC 31st Annual Conference.pdf - New England Association of ...

NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF FIRE ,CHIEFS
they have guarantees by law, but they don’t have to work excessive hours. A great
many are working on off.shift time.
We had one case in the past two weeks, where a fireman was working in a sawmill.
He lost two fingers and, is now claiming, full pay from the fire department.
CHAIRMAN Woo~.*.i~Y: I ;believe other members of the Panel have encountered
this. If we_can crystallize these questions. I want to do so. Chief Murray, have you
any thought.
CHIEF MURRAY: I might be barking up a tree: and maybe we can’t do anything
about it, judging from a headline that appeared in our Boston papers within two weeks.
Most of you may recall that it upheld a man’s right to work outside. Therefore, we
may have nothing to argue on at all.
CHAIRMAN WOOLLEY: I would like to have Chief MarshaI1 give us his story. It
is a very serious matter.
CHIEF LEWIS A. MARSHALL, Providence,Rhode Island: We solved the manpower
situation by a physical reorganization of the fire department. Of course, the fire department
stations were built in the horse-drawn idea; by means of a $1,750,000 bond issue,
and getting rid of most of the old stations, and meeting new travel distance requirements,
we kept the seven stations we wanted, did away with twenty-three old, and
built nine new. From a total of thirty-seven companies we cut down to twenty-nine
and to a great extent solved our manpower situation.
O’f course it was a bond issue and we ran quite a publicity campaign on it to
acquaint the people with the situation. It was a pro;blem that was worked over for a
period~ of seven years. It started in 1945 and the first of this year it .moy,ed .into the
last stages. ’ >" - -
CHAIRMAN WOOLLEY: You have had some observations by our Panel, but it
wouldn’t ;be fair unless we invited expressions from the audience. We have only a
short time ,but I think we could take at least five minutes to have this aired first, so let’s
hear from anyone of you and make it as short as you can.
CHIEF THOMAS P. GORMAN, Quincy, Massachusetts: I think it is a problem on
which sooner or later the chiefs will have to take a definite stand. There may come a
time when firemen with any availabgz time may be called on to give their service to
other tasks. I have noticed .some are engaged in pretty labori.ous work. When they came
in to the job they gambled they might get an all-night’s sleep. I think the Chief should
find out what these men are doing so they can .be properly accounted for in case of
injuries they may claim, or the ability, or inability to do their work in the fire department.
I don’t think you can penalize a man, for going out and earning a few more dollars.
When each person starts to get more money he starts to live at a different level. He
reaches a tempo that he hates to give up and a fellow will keep on working as long as
he can obtain some sort of outside labor; but I think we Chiefs have got to. develop
some sort .of system to have them physically able to perform duties--Chief Murray did
mention the case in Boston,--that is only in the District Court but I think it is going to
the Superior Court.
CHAIRMAN WOOLLEY: Very pertinent observations.
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