NEAFC 32nd Annual Conference.pdf - New England Association of ...

NEW t~I~IGLAIXlD ASSOCIATIOlXl OF FIRE CHIEFS
years ago. It looks to me as if we have been crawling to this forty hours; the
tax base has been increasing, so let’s have the forty hours!
MoDeraToR Woov.L~Y: Thank you very much, Chief; that is. the
sort of thinking which helps out a panel like this. I think we. have been going
places with our discussions here this morning. I wish we could keep this particular
subject going, because we could debate the many factors represented
in the question.
You mentioned the situation in Connecticut, where the firemen were
asked to do police work. Let me make a very serious announcement to you
Chiefs. You are going to’ be asked, many of you, before long, to try to double
in brass. You have already been asked to do that in Stamford, but thank
God it Was kicked out of the picture.
In Chicago, there are several worthwhile organizations that are out to
sell, on economy measure, the idea that the fire and police departments should
be merged; they believe that the policemen can do fire duty, and firemen can
do police duty, and that since the municipality is paying them, what difference
does it make what the man does.
So that you are going to be faced with that as an economy measure. When
and if it happens that any Chief is faced with that problem, I will be glad to
give him substantial evidence to show the foolishness of it.
I have with me two letters from cities in Indiana and Pennsylvania,
where the Chiefs face just that problem. It came like a bolt out of the blue~
where the administrative head of the city said:
~How about working out a schedule of the firemen doing police
work, and also a schedule where certain policemen will be available for
fire duty."
I leave the though t with you, and I have got to skip along, now, because
we have many more questions.
Here is a question from a well-known Chief who lives within the smell
of the salt water on the Cape:
How can the small-town Chief control or handle the curiosity seekers
at large fires?
CHI~.F FKaT~.s: You are talking about sidewalk firemen, are you?
MOD~.RArO~ WOOLL~Y: No; the curiosity seekers.
Cm~.F FI~AV~S: Well, it is pretty hard. In Bath, when the fire alarm
blows, they all.pile in; we have to pull two or three of them in and.fine them.
That is all I can say.
It seems that everybody wants to go to a fire and get in the way. We
are having trouble down our way on that score.
CHIEF Mv.ss~: We are all in the same boat. We have good cooperation,
however. I feel that if the. smaller, communities could get rid of the audible
alarm, that would be one method of controlling it. You"can keep it down to a
smaller group of seekers.
As .to the actual handling of them after they get there, I don’t know
~hat I can give you a good description of anything, unless it would be to
get their support and the support of the Chief of Police and his men who
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