casa de Charlotte Della Luna

NOFD PHOTOS BY SKELETONKREWE

I thought I’d share with y’all this letter sent today to the City Council by a New Orleans Firefighter. It’s an excellent brief history of NOFD’s struggle with city government for pay increases over the years, a struggle that continues today. Three examples of the dept’s heroic efforts during major events (including Katrina) are documented – a very good read of NoLa firefighter history.

The demoralization of our brave men and women are evident in these words. Please read it and contact your councilperson to show support for our NOFD. Email and phone numbers are here.

I plan to email this post to my firefighter friends so Please leave a note of support for the NOFD on this post after reading the letter. Non-New Orleanian’s support is welcome too!

Honorable Council members,

It is very disheartening to hear a possible proposed pay raise for NOFD members has been put on hold for another two weeks. To many veteran firefighters, this is not a surprise. We have been inured to be second-class civil employees. All the while, giving the most professionalism and efficient service of all city departments. It has been customary tradition of the New Orleans City Council to give raises to the squeaky wheel. Of course, the NOPD has always been the squeaky wheel. From robberies, murder, bank heists, the department going over its budget, to the NOPD Superintendent calling for more pay for his employees.

In 1997, the NOPD received a 20% increase in pay while no other city employee received a pay raise. Since then, the police department has continued to receive pay increases along side all other city employees for the exception of this year. They are now above the “southern regional average” and paying more than their closest competitors in Jefferson, Kenner, St Bernard, and St. Tammany Parishes. As for the New Orleans Fire Department, we have continuously been left out of raises by this mayoral administration. We have yet to receive the last ten percent pay increase this city council endorsed to the NOFD after Mayor Nagin once again left the fire department out. After that supposedly pay raise, a member on the fire department that has 46 years on the department and 47 years with the city of New Orleans received a reduction in pay. In fact, he received no checks for one month. And then, after the one month period, he received $500.00 less in his paychecks. How is this a 10% pay raise, even more, just a raise.

Since Hurricane Katrina this fire department has continuously provided this city with the utmost service while doing it with less manpower, equipment, facilities, and morale. The NOFD has kept the fire insurance rating down although the department is down by more than 300 men and women, and three engine companies and more than five firehouses before Hurricane Katrina. The department is doing more with less without complaints. If there is complaints, its that the fire department is tired of watching everyone get raises except for them. If there was no money for any employees and no one department was receiving a raise. The fire department men and women would not have the gull to cry for a raise for themselves. The crying now comes from being left out of raise after raise after raise. When now, all city employees will be at the “southern regional average” and the fire department will not be even close to its neighboring parishes. In fact, little town of Hammond pays its fire fighters more than the big city of New Orleans pays its fire fighters. That is a disgrace. Especially when we have more fires, historic buildings, medical calls, and all other types of emergencies that a big city brings compared to a small town.

The city of New Orleans is known and wants to be known as a tourists mecca. Where people from all over the world can come and enjoy themselves, and feel safe. How can this continue to be accomplished if the very department that is the lead agency for many major disasters and emergencies is being paid less than a school janitor.

Let’s just recall three major disasters/emergencies the city has experienced within the last ten years. We have a 70,000-ton freighter, the Bright Field, crashing into the Riverwalk shopping mall, downtown hotel, and a condominium in 1996. There is the Mother’s Day crash in 1999, and finally, Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In all three disasters/emergencies, the fire department excelled more than any other city department. In the Bright Field incident, the fire department had heroes going into this crash site rescuing and searching for victims without a civil engineer giving the okay the building was safe to enter. This is also the year of the First Responders conception for the fire department. This came after Councilwoman Clarkson had to bear the devastating information of a small child dying in the street on the Westbank after being hit by a car, all the while, waiting on an EMS unit to arrive. This was to be a pilot program for a year, and then, the men and women of the fire department was going to be compensated for taking on medical calls. Of course, the fire department union members overwhelmingly supported the program but the compensation never did come. Once again, the fire department doing more for less.

Then there was the 1999-Mother’s Day crash. The fire department was first on the scene and saved many riders from dying by stabilizing these victims. This is what Councilwoman Clarkson had in mind when the fire department began its First Responder pilot program. And I can tell you, the men and women of the fire department is very happy to be able to save lives in other ways besides going into burning buildings and pulling someone out. The fire department is a ‘calling’ and not just a job. Fire fighters do what they do because they want to make a difference. Unlike a police officer where you might get a rotten apple because the person wants authority to bully people around. The fire department has no authority to push citizens around. Fire Fighters come on the department to make a difference in this city and in someone’s life. To save a life is one of the most God giving ability and joys, of knowing you helped someone in their time of need.

Finally, we have Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Where there is published reports of police officers abandoning their posts, taking cars from a dealership, being filmed in Wal-Mart taking items off of shelves while loiters join them and nothing is being done about the loiters, and the undisclosed abandoning of fellow civil servants in the men and women of EMS, the fire department has none of these crises. What the fire department does have on its history record for Hurricane Katrina is men and women doing their jobs without no communication from their superiors. Men and women of the fire department locating abandoned boats and swimming to them to begin rescue operations. Men and women of the fire department in New Orleans east refusing to be taken out so they can continue to rescue citizens of New Orleans. Men and women of the fire department that discovered the 30 or so EMS personnel walking in circles after being abandoned by a certain city department and taking them in as their own. Giving them shelter and food, and integrating them into how we come together and fulfill our duties. Dr. Julliette M. Saussy was just in front of the Budget Committee explaining how important it is having the fire department as First Responders. She also touched on how the fire department came to EMS rescue during Hurricane Katrina when she said, “If it wasn’t for the fire department, we do not know where we would have been during Katrina.” This is after they were abandoned by another city agency.

Recalling these incidents gives me chills and goose bumps on how heroic these men and women are on the fire department. How unselfishness they were to their fellow man. When most employees on the fire department had their houses flooded and in some instances, unsure on how a loved one was doing. They continued their mission with the most professionalism of any department in this city during Hurricane Katrina. Even after the fire department had been left out of raises after raises after raises before Katrina.

It was told to some members of the New Orleans Fire Department in ‘07, that one of the City Council priorities’ in ‘08 would be to bring them up to the “southern regional average” after the police department was brought up to it. Well, here we are in ‘08 and still, our cry is falling on deafening ears. I can understand Councilwoman Midura’s questioning of city raises because she was elected for exactly what she is doing. Always being articulate in her decision making and examining everything with a fine comb. But while these raises are being once again postponed, it sends the wrong message to the men and women of the fire department. It should be a no brainer that the fire department deserves a needed big increase in pay raise. If not now, then when? How far do you run an efficient city agency into the ground. How far do you go without recruiting for manpower concerns? What will it take for the city to realize the men and women on the fire department will crack if nothing is done to increase morale. Dr. Saussy even touched on this issue when she stated, If you keep pushing human limitations to its limits, something will give. Is this truly what the City Council wants for their daily heroes?

It was not a problem to get the police department up to the “southern regional average” so it should not be a problem to do the same for the fire department. In fact, it was told to me that the police department is now getting the 2% pay increases from their third year to their twenty-third year. The NOFD is still fighting to get this corrected after 30 years of litigation and now, it falls flat in the lap of the police department, if it is true. Do you want to kill this department, remind them of this fact.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to act. Time to put promises and words into action. Show the women and men on the fire department that they too are important to New Orleans and this City Council. This decision should not be hard to make simply being, does anyone want an intricate part of the medical and emergency response of this city to be so demoralized it becomes the least efficient city agency. The fire department has already had firefighters give it a black eye by selling drugs out of the firehouse. The city can ill afford to continue to lose good women and men of high moral fiber to other better paying departments. Please, do the right thing. Give the fire department a break!!!

Regards,

NOFD archives on Casa
NOFD archives on TravelingMermaid

Update: Response from Arnie Fielkow:

I will continue to be fully supportive….upon my request from the budget comm, the council unanimously approved a resolution yesterday supporting getting the ffs up to southern average. I promise to keep pushing for this as i believe it is the right thing to do!
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Device