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Saturday, July 19, 2014

FIRE PROTECTION:: ARE MERGERS THE WAY TO GO? A CONTINUING DISCUSSION

A friend just passed this to us.  With the Maple Heights police chief retiring/resigning, and Maple Hts in fiscal watch, politicians may want to keep looking at this. (Article published in 2004)
 
According to this article, you  don't have to reduce the number of firefighters if you consolidate into one agency; however, that takes cooperation by politicians and fire chiefs from other cities.
 

"One big fire department?

Sunday, February 29, 2004

By Martin Stolz

Today: As part of a yearlong series examining regional government, The Plain Dealer looks at fire protection.

Inside: Boots and ladders. What fire departments in Cuyahoga County spend in a year, and what it takes to put a ladder truck on the road.

Next month: How will race influence the discussions about regional government in Northeast Ohio?

Fire chiefs in the suburbs surrounding Portland, Ore., took some time in the late 1980s to consider why they had seven fire departments to protect an area the size of Columbus, Ohio.

The conclusion?
�Gosh, this is stupid.

In 1989, they began merging into one department and since then, taxes for fire service have dropped 50 percent while safety has dramatically improved."
 
 
Continued HERE
 
 
The one problem we see though is the (what looks like in Maple Heights (?) and various other cities) continued institutional racism in that branch of the safety forces.  Many cities are trying to rectify the problem; however, lawsuits  may continue unless the fire unions and politicians address this head on. 


Mergers among Northeast Ohio communities unlikely, despite all the talk and collaboration http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/04/officials_arent_optimistic_tha.html
 
 
 263 F3d 513 Cleveland Branch v. City of Parma, Ohio | OpenJurist  http://openjurist.org/263/f3d/513/cleveland-branch-v-city-of-parma-ohio


Luke v. Cleveland - Third Amended Complaint
http://www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/EE-OH-0093-0001.pdf


Where's the Fire Station
http://www.cleveland.com/region/images/fire3.pdf


Maple Heights Fire Chief Explains Closure of Fire Station #2
http://youtu.be/tVw8jSyjy4I


Regionalism - cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/region/plaindealer/index.ssf?/region/more/1.html

Regionalism - cleveland.com


Regionalism - cleveland.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

JB
Facebook comment:

Traditionally, they take years to complete. Here�s the process they typically follow:

1. A detailed study looks at equipment, response times and potential cost savings.

2. Chiefs agree to coordinate responses.

3. Departments share services, such as dispatching or training.

4. In a merger, a single agency absorbs existing departments.