City of Peoria, Peoria Fire Department

Guest Editorial: Is the PFD prepared for this?

6 Comments

New York Crane Collapse

Are we prepared for this in Peoria? With our current Fire manpower? Machines? Equipment? Budget? Imagine a crane like that falling into the Gerlach building at OSF. I understand the use of mutual aid (MABAS), but will surrounding departments be used even though there is no ongoing training together for an event? When was the last time PFD called for help from, say,a volunteer department? Likewise, when was the last time a volunteer department called the PFD?

An event like this would overwhelm the PFD even with calling in all off duty people. Stations would be empty and who would provide service? East Peoria? Pekin? They would most likely be called to the scene. We would be lucky to get other paid departments here in a short time. Canton, Bloomington, Normal, etc. There are excellent departments that surround Peoria, but the mentality is “they are just volunteers.” Look at most of the PFD and you will see a strong volunteer background. Why does the PFD shun outside agencies?

Think about this.

Yes, I am a Volunteer fireman. I have great respect for the men and officers of the PFD! I just have a problem as to the “Us and Them” issue. We both train, provide service and have pride; just some get paid more than others.

6 thoughts on “Guest Editorial: Is the PFD prepared for this?”

  1. I got this comment off-line from a Peoria fire fighter who wishes to remain anonymous:

    I have to laugh at your guest editorial and how he puts the blame on us…. The “us and them” attitude works both ways. When was the last time the PFD even called for mutual aid? We hardly ever need it because we have 16 front line equipment manned all of the time. Ask him why does Peoria Heights call West Peoria and Dunlap when each of them have to drive by 3 Peoria fire houses EACH. So 6 Peoria fire houses couldn’t respond quicker? Why does West Peoria call for Limestone’s ladder truck when Truck 4 is just down the hill. Why did Peoria Heights call for a ladder truck from Washington. Washington, are you serious? We have never called for Pekin since I have been on the job. We have called East Peoria. East Peoria can get over to Peoria quicker than any volunteer can get to their station and then respond to the city.

    Paid and volunteer departments have their place. Volunteer departments are having a hard time even getting people to volunteer and Limestone has hired a chief and two guys that work from midnight to eight through the week. We have had this discussion at work lately, do you really want your tax dollar paid fire protection leaving the city?

  2. Actually, with the bizarre lines of the city limits in some areas, YES, I would want the tax-payer owned fire department to assist in close-by situations.

    Would you, as a fireman, want to just sit there and do nothing, knowing that you may have been able to help save someone’s life?

  3. How fitting:

    “BRIMFIELD — A one-story home in rural Brimfield was consumed by a fire Tuesday after a gas tank exploded in the basement….Volunteer firefighters from Elmwood, Limestone, Logan-Trivoli, Princeville, Dunlap, Farmington and the Air Guard assisted in fighting the blaze.”

    Now, I’m no geographer nor an expert on Peoria County, but I’m wondering if the Peoria FD isn’t closer to this scene than some of these other volunteer units.

    I find it odd that Mr. Palmer had enough reason to post his editorial, but hasn’t had the time/guts/passion to respond to the firefighter’s comment above.

    What proof do you have that PFD wouldn’t call a volunteer department if they needed one. When was the last time PFD called anyone, even another professional department?

  4. As for the comments “anonymous” above. Other volunteer departments call each other as the same as the PFD call other stations for help. As for EPFD can get to the COP faster, what about station 19 or 20s district? It is true some VFD have problems getting people durring the day to volunteer, each department must deal with that. As for the response of each department, that is in each SOPs.
    As for “not using mutal aid since we hardly ever need it” My point was in a disaster like the crane incident in NY, if it happened like at OSF it would be the largest incident and the potential evacuation of the hospital would be a huge undertaking. Serch, rescue and recovery would be long and drawn out.Help would be needed(from inside peoria and from outside) As for taking our tax dollar paid fire protection out of the COP, I guess the PFD would not help any other department when asked, acording to anonymous. Anonymous answered his own question about not calling the PFD by the Tax dollar comment. The walls must be broken down by all departments and a working relationships needs to be started in case of the “what if” happens.

  5. Martin,

    I assume that the City has some sort of disaster plan on the books, right? Don’t we have an ESDA agency? Does the plan for an emergency (like the one you noted) call for using volunteer fire departments? You’d like to prove somehow that you are being dissed, but I don’t see that in the absence of any evidence. Has there been an incident in the past few years in which a closer volunteer department was bypassed in favor of a paid department by the PFD? Can you be honest enough to say that volunteer departments (Peoria Heights, for example) have in the NEAR PAST bypassed a paid department (right across the street) for other volunteer departments?

    A little honesty would help make your point, not just your bruised ego (bruised, evidently, for no apparent reason).

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