chicagomike
01-26-2007, 12:21 PM
Festering facilities anger firefighters
Union blames city; city blames FEMA
Friday, January 26, 2007
By Brendan McCarthy
Inside a trailer in eastern New Orleans, three firefighters sat watching a Western movie, waiting for the next emergency call. Outside, their fire engine sat in a shell of a building -- actually, only one standing wall -- amid rubble and remnants of better times.
Poised to launch a public relations assault on City Hall, firefighters and the head of their union say New Orleans Fire Department houses are understaffed, uninhabitable messes with mice infestations, sewage backups, exposed wiring and more.
"Some of them aren't even getting toilet paper," union President Nicholas Felton said. "People are asking: Can you spare a square?"
The dispute between the union and City Hall is the latest in a long-running struggle over fire protection financing, which includes salaries, staffing and equipment issues. The money for firehouse repairs mostly is clogged in a tangle of bureaucracy, which includes FEMA and the state.
Fire Department Superintendent Charles Parent did not return repeated calls for comment. Terry Davis, a spokesman for Mayor Nagin, blamed FEMA for the conditions and declined further comment.
FEMA has approved $13.2 million in aid to the Fire Department, agency spokesman Ronnie Simpson said. FEMA sent those disbursements to the state, which should pass the money along to the city after local officials properly document the expenses. To receive aid available for rebuilding, the city must apply for assistance from FEMA. FEMA approves money to cover 90 percent of the cost of repairs to public property damaged in disasters, but only after governments prove the extent of their storm-
related losses.
However, the upkeep of the firehouses, or what's left of them, is the city's responsibility.
"It's typical for the city: using FEMA as a scapegoat," Felton said. "FEMA is not responsible for toilet paper, for all these little things. FEMA is not supposed to come unstop a toilet. . . . The city isn't taking care of us."
Meanwhile, the ramshackle firehouses remain in deplorable shape and without enough firefighters even as the emergency calls come in, Felton said.
Engine 31's firehouse can't be considered a house by most standards. There's a frame, but three walls are missing. The majority of the structure is amassed in a pile of rubble that more closely resembles New York's ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001, than other flooded buildings. There's a coating of dust on everything. Mixed in the mess of cinder blocks is a firefighter's boot, shards of ceramic dishes, pictures, clothing and a weight bench. The firefighters says the building, in the 4300 block of Alba Road, was hit by a huge surge of water.
"This all makes for a big lack of morale," said a 28-year department veteran who asked not to be named. "We have a private phone in the trailer that we pay for. The city phone is out. The computer system is out." Engine 6, the firehouse in the 4500 block of Old Gentilly Road, fared better than its eastern New Orleans counterpart: It has walls.
But it also has a major sewage problem. With each flush the sewage backs up into the driveway. A foul-smelling trail of tissue marked the spot Thursday morning.
About three miles away, Engine 21's firehouse is entirely gutted. Each room looks like a fire swept through. There's paint peeling off the walls, stained floors and exposed pipes. A sign outside says the building was erected in 1948. The firefighters' trailer is in the back.
Union President Felton says 22 of the 32 firehouses were destroyed or severely damaged during Katrina.
"The only work that's been done since then is by firefighters or private groups," Felton said. "The city says everything is going to be fixed up. We are still waiting."
Felton said the department is still suffering from severe understaffing, recruitment and equipment issues.
Studies show New Orleans firefighters are paid significantly less than their peers in other cities. The starting pay for a rookie firefighter averages about $8.25 an hour, according to Felton.
In December the City Council approved a 10 percent pay raise for all fire personnel, a move Nagin's administration strongly opposed.
The city had been ordered several years ago to pay firefighters state-required 2 percent raises that previous mayoral administrations failed for years to implement.
The city has yet to disburse the back-pay settlement, estimated at $100 million or more, and has haggled with the union over details.Support those who keep us safe in New Orleans
Union blames city; city blames FEMA
Friday, January 26, 2007
By Brendan McCarthy
Inside a trailer in eastern New Orleans, three firefighters sat watching a Western movie, waiting for the next emergency call. Outside, their fire engine sat in a shell of a building -- actually, only one standing wall -- amid rubble and remnants of better times.
Poised to launch a public relations assault on City Hall, firefighters and the head of their union say New Orleans Fire Department houses are understaffed, uninhabitable messes with mice infestations, sewage backups, exposed wiring and more.
"Some of them aren't even getting toilet paper," union President Nicholas Felton said. "People are asking: Can you spare a square?"
The dispute between the union and City Hall is the latest in a long-running struggle over fire protection financing, which includes salaries, staffing and equipment issues. The money for firehouse repairs mostly is clogged in a tangle of bureaucracy, which includes FEMA and the state.
Fire Department Superintendent Charles Parent did not return repeated calls for comment. Terry Davis, a spokesman for Mayor Nagin, blamed FEMA for the conditions and declined further comment.
FEMA has approved $13.2 million in aid to the Fire Department, agency spokesman Ronnie Simpson said. FEMA sent those disbursements to the state, which should pass the money along to the city after local officials properly document the expenses. To receive aid available for rebuilding, the city must apply for assistance from FEMA. FEMA approves money to cover 90 percent of the cost of repairs to public property damaged in disasters, but only after governments prove the extent of their storm-
related losses.
However, the upkeep of the firehouses, or what's left of them, is the city's responsibility.
"It's typical for the city: using FEMA as a scapegoat," Felton said. "FEMA is not responsible for toilet paper, for all these little things. FEMA is not supposed to come unstop a toilet. . . . The city isn't taking care of us."
Meanwhile, the ramshackle firehouses remain in deplorable shape and without enough firefighters even as the emergency calls come in, Felton said.
Engine 31's firehouse can't be considered a house by most standards. There's a frame, but three walls are missing. The majority of the structure is amassed in a pile of rubble that more closely resembles New York's ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001, than other flooded buildings. There's a coating of dust on everything. Mixed in the mess of cinder blocks is a firefighter's boot, shards of ceramic dishes, pictures, clothing and a weight bench. The firefighters says the building, in the 4300 block of Alba Road, was hit by a huge surge of water.
"This all makes for a big lack of morale," said a 28-year department veteran who asked not to be named. "We have a private phone in the trailer that we pay for. The city phone is out. The computer system is out." Engine 6, the firehouse in the 4500 block of Old Gentilly Road, fared better than its eastern New Orleans counterpart: It has walls.
But it also has a major sewage problem. With each flush the sewage backs up into the driveway. A foul-smelling trail of tissue marked the spot Thursday morning.
About three miles away, Engine 21's firehouse is entirely gutted. Each room looks like a fire swept through. There's paint peeling off the walls, stained floors and exposed pipes. A sign outside says the building was erected in 1948. The firefighters' trailer is in the back.
Union President Felton says 22 of the 32 firehouses were destroyed or severely damaged during Katrina.
"The only work that's been done since then is by firefighters or private groups," Felton said. "The city says everything is going to be fixed up. We are still waiting."
Felton said the department is still suffering from severe understaffing, recruitment and equipment issues.
Studies show New Orleans firefighters are paid significantly less than their peers in other cities. The starting pay for a rookie firefighter averages about $8.25 an hour, according to Felton.
In December the City Council approved a 10 percent pay raise for all fire personnel, a move Nagin's administration strongly opposed.
The city had been ordered several years ago to pay firefighters state-required 2 percent raises that previous mayoral administrations failed for years to implement.
The city has yet to disburse the back-pay settlement, estimated at $100 million or more, and has haggled with the union over details.Support those who keep us safe in New Orleans