" Four ambulances and a rescue truck, wow. How many firefighters are on duty every day anyway? With everyone out providing advanced life support who's left to fight a fire? Oops, I forgot about Lincoln Fire Protection District. "

" Our Heroes! "

" Old Grumpy wrote on Nov 17, 2009 1:31 PM:
" Four ambulances and a rescue truck, wow. How many firefighters are on duty every day anyway? With everyone out providing advanced life support who's left to fight a fire? Oops, I forgot about Lincoln Fire Protection District. "


So now you don't think the firefighters should help in saving lives, just fight fires. Also now their are to many workers in Charleston too. Soon you will want us to just go back to bucket brigades. "

" The old saying is, "Nothing is certain but death and taxes". I believe they can add, "jrhendren jumping to the defense of firefighters."

Your are as dependable as the rising sun. Now dig into your bag of facts and tell me how many firefighters are on duty in Charleston on any given day? Let's use the minimum number. Now tell me how many personnel are required to run an advanced life support ambulance? Allowing for one firefighter to drive the rescue truck how many personnel would be needed to run (properly) three advanced life support ambulances and the rescue truck. Subtract that number from the minimum number of personnel on duty and tell me how many firefighters are left to respond to a fire call?

I did not say anything about there being too many firefighters, nor did I say anything about not responding to medical emergencies. My point, that you seem to have missed completely, is the fact that CFD is spread way too thin. In fact they are spread so thin they depend on LFPD for assistance with almost all fires.

You seem to have a fairly solid grasp on fire department operations and response times. What is the difference in having a volunteer fire department responding from around the city and a full-time department that has to call firefighters in on their day off because all on-duty personnel are occupied running an ambulance? I'll give you a hint, NONE.

One of the biggest advantages of having a full-time fire department is the fact they can respond instantly to a call. When they are routinely occupied on other duties the call must be covered by off-duty personnel called in from elsewhere. The advantages of having a full-time department are negated. "

" Nearly 80% of all calls ran from a Fire Station across The United States are EMS Calls. EMS saves lives everyday! This Statistic is true in both Mattoon and Charleston and in fact lives are saved through EMS everyday, Week, Month and Year in Coles County. this is also true of national trends in EMS as well. Since 1973 Fires have actully decreased across the country. Better Education, the Smoke Detector, Sprinklers, and updated Codes and standards have created a safer fire environment. That is not to say that fire will not happen, merely that there is a decrease in size and number of fires. Mutual Aid has also taken significant strides in the fire service. Volunteers are better trained and tasked with more asistance in aiding other departments. Lincoln Fire Protection District is a very good Volunteer Fire Department, with a history of always being involved even before Mutual Aid systems such as MABAS (Mutual Aid Box Alarm System) developed in the area. The Communities of Mattoon and Charleston need Volunteer Fire Departments such as Lincoln, Wabash, Hutton, 7 Hickory, Cooks Mill, Humboldt, Oakland, and Ashmore, much more than they need the Full Time Fire Departments. Recently the International Assn. of Fire Chiefs and the International Assn. of Fire Fighters agreed that EMS was what will maintain and keep Firefighting positions alive and well. So they had better adapt or be long gone as every dollar that the public is taxed for is being scrutinized for excess. Many career departments are laying off personnel. There are very, very few times that personnel must risk entry to a structure fire where someone is trapped inside. On the flip side of that coin, EMS is saving lives daily. Thounds of lives have been saved in Coles county over the years with EMS. How many have been save by entering a structure on fire and pulling someone out? I would venture to say that Public Education and stricter Code enforcement along with the requirement of Residential sprinklers would save many, many more lives. Kudos to CFD for the additional life saving tools and training! "

" Old Grumpy I think the CFD do just fine. They cover things very well. And I happen to know that when there was anything big they called in volunteer districts to help. Do you recall how and why Lincoln VFP was started.? I do. It was when a house just south of the drive in caught fire. It was out of city limits so the city firemen was not allowed to fight the fire outside of city limits. All they could do was go in and help the family get what they could out. Very hard on those firefighters. Charleston Fire Department is one of the best around. Yeah, they do have some pretty big ego's lol but they are quite a Department. "

" Old Grumpy wrote on Nov 18, 2009 8:50 AM:"In fact they are spread so thin they depend on LFPD for assistance with almost all fires."

That is funny. If I recall they have had three fires in the last month none of which LFPD was called to the scene. "

" can you all please please stop? It is sad I couldn't even allow my children to read this article online "

" I for one am glad that they have this new equipment. Should I need it, they will be there to help me. Do you realize that there is a tiny window of time that you have to help save brain function when having a stroke. Alot of people do not even realize they are having one until it is almost too late. If this equipment helps even 1-2 people, I feel that it has payed for itself. I guess Grumpy thinks he will never need any life saving from the CFD. So Grumpy go ahead and give the good folks at CFD a call and let them know not to bother coming by if you ever call. THANK YOU CFD for keeping mine and my families safety your first mission! "

" Mr. MacDonald, don't take any of these comment boards too seriously, take it all with a grain of salt.

Most of what is posted here on a daily basis, is loads & loads of crappola, myself included.

Mr. MacDonald, keep up the great work, thank you very much for your service, & be safe out there!

(When a man becomes a fireman his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work. ~Edward F. Croker) "

" Old Grumpy tell me how many ambulance and rescue calls they have vs fires. You want statistics. Do the math. Find something else to grump about. Your bucket don't hold water on this one. "

" Old grumpy-what are you going to say or do when CFD comes to your house to save you? or what are you going to do when LFPD comes to your house to help save YOUR personal items or what ever it may be. Atleast the city of charleston is a caring city and willing to spend money to ADD more equipment to their rigs to protect or help your well being ? just sit there and think. "

" Old grumpy-- what are you going to say or dowhen CFD comes to your house to save you? or what are you going to do when LFPD comes to your house to save YOUR personal items or what ever it may be. Atleast the city of charleston is willing to spend money to ADD more equipment to their rigs to protect or help your well being? just sit there and think. "

" Old Grumpy wrote on Nov 18, 2009 8:50 AM:
" The old saying is, "Nothing is certain but death and taxes". I believe they can add, "jrhendren jumping to the defense of firefighters."

You are darn right!!! These men and women put their lives on the line all the time and don't get the credit they deserve. As long as their are people tearing them down I will continue to build them up.
________________________________________


Your are as dependable as the rising sun. Now dig into your bag of facts and tell me how many firefighters are on duty in Charleston on any given day? Let's use the minimum number. Now tell me how many personnel are required to run an advanced life support ambulance? Allowing for one firefighter to drive the rescue truck how many personnel would be needed to run (properly) three advanced life support ambulances and the rescue truck. Subtract that number from the minimum number of personnel on duty and tell me how many firefighters are left to respond to a fire call?

I did not say anything about there being too many firefighters, nor did I say anything about not responding to medical emergencies. My point, that you seem to have missed completely, is the fact that CFD is spread way too thin. In fact they are spread so thin they depend on LFPD for assistance with almost all fires.

You seem to have a fairly solid grasp on fire department operations and response times. What is the difference in having a volunteer fire department responding from around the city and a full-time department that has to call firefighters in on their day off because all on-duty personnel are occupied running an ambulance? I'll give you a hint, NONE.

One of the biggest advantages of having a full-time fire department is the fact they can respond instantly to a call. When they are routinely occupied on other duties the call must be covered by off-duty personnel called in from elsewhere. The advantages of having a full-time department are negated. "


So then if people are injured like in an accident if no fire no fire department. Until the 1970's there were no paramedics. There was no help for those in accidents until they reached the hospital. Which of course made for a higher fatality rate. I for one am quite glad that the fire departments are trained as they are. In fact, it was not that long ago a family friend had a heart attack and luckily was close to the Charleston Fire Department. He would not have made it to the hospital.

Also you say Charleston "spread way too thin", yet you say Mattoon is overstaffed, and were all for the closing of Station 2. Yet they get help from Lincoln and Wabash for fires. So why is Charleston understaffed, but Mattoon who goes to the same kind of calls everyday overstaffed? Charleston does not go to Interstate calls, calls to Humbolt, assist Cooks Mills, and Gays. So again why the difference in opinions? Could it be a personal grudge against Mattoon Fire Department. I mean look how quick you were to defend the letter putting down the fire department. One must wonder why? "

" Here's a novel idea, have Firefighters at the Station on Madison Ave. actually be there. There was a boy hit on his bicycle there a while back, there was not ONE person in the firehouse, and yes, all the trucks were there. They were across town at a meeting. INEXCUSABLE! Luckily, the boy was not seriously injured. "

" jrhendren, My how you can read so much into a few words. Please point out where I claimed Mattoon was "over staffed". Mattoon has one ambulance and only transports occasionally. Mattoon does not take transfers or non-emergency calls but CFD does.
Paramedics save lives and today's Emergency Medical Services are far better than they were 40-years ago. No argument there.
EMS is the way the fire service is going.
It looks like everyone assumes I'm knocking CFD but I'm not. The fire department does not make the decision on how many firefighters they will hire, the City Council does. The City wants to do the most with the least. Mattoon does the same thing. Performing EMS duties has retained several positions on the department.
All these issues aside, they are still spread very thin. As long as they dodge the bullet the City will continue this course. "

" medic57 wrote on Nov 19, 2009 7:26 AM:
" Here's a novel idea, have Firefighters at the Station on Madison Ave. actually be there. There was a boy hit on his bicycle there a while back, there was not ONE person in the firehouse, and yes, all the trucks were there. They were across town at a meeting. INEXCUSABLE! Luckily, the boy was not seriously injured. "

Medic you MUST be mistaken. I have been around that fire Department for over 40 years. I have relatives on the department. I have NEVER known at any time the firemen to drive their personal vehicles and leave all the equipment there without personnel to man them. There may have been a fire truck there but NEVER do they go anywhere without 2 men in an ambulance. There are times that the station is empty. When on calls or training but they never leave that ambulance there without anyone to man it. I think you have your information very wrong. In fact it is ridiculous. The more comments you make (such as not knowing where Paramedics are licensed through) really makes me question your name "Medic" lets face it, you couldn't possibly be a Medic and be so unaware of procedures and where your license comes from. (Not the DOT but the Illinois Public Health Department) If you were truly a Medic you would know these things. Most licensed Medics in this area are familiar with Mr. MacDonald and how the CFD operates. "

" Sorry if I offended you or your relatives, would you like the names of people who went to the fire department across the street and could not find one person? All of the trucks were there, just NO people at all, it was about 3 years ago, I was in Sign Appeal at the time it happened. Go there and ask the people who work there. "

" I would say there are many times that there is no one at a Fire Station in any given community at certain times. However there are items that would need attended to such as training, inspections, Public Education, and many, many other items not to mention responses to EMS calls and Fire Calls, False alarms, and checking the well being of residents. This is what 911 is for and why 911 is so important. It is a rare occasion that someone walks into a Fire Station for Advanced Life Support, not to say that it does not happen, but it would be a rarity. It is certainly fortunate that it turned out in favor of the person who needed help, but they still would have had an ambulance or fire truck within three minutes had they called 911. In a worse case scenarion, the time that it would have taken for Mutual Aid to arrive from Mattoon, but there would have been an engine or Chief's car there with equipment readily available and the transport would have been performed by the Mutual Aid Ambulance. It seems to me that a Medic would know that. "

" Slap63

This examination has been developed in collaboration with Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and representatives of the 11 Illinois Emergency Medical Services regions. EMT licensure is granted ONLY to candidates who demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the U.S. Department of Transportation Nation Standard Curriculum for EMT-B as adapted and approved by IDPH.

Course Completion Requirements

Didactic / class skill labs consist of a minimum of 110 hours per U.S. D.O.T. National Standard Curriculum.
Average classroom grade above 76% is required to pass & be eligible for the Illinois or National Registry exam.
Clinical emergency department 24 hours.
Clinical ambulance 24 hours.
Ten patient assessments.


El Hombre

There were Fire Trucks there, there were cars there, there were however, NO people there. None, Notta, Zip. "

" Not that I want to inflame Medic's old worthless arguement, but....

How about the white vehicles, with the City/FD emblem on the sides, that were usually parked outside of the firestation itself, most of the time, were they there?

How many emergency vehicles, exactly, were at firestation two, available & ready to go for emergencies, or was gone & in use?

How do you know they were at a meeting?

And lastly.... have you fully checked out the fire departments, down there in the Sunshine State, & do they meet with your expectations, & white glove tests?

Geesh! LOL! :-P "

" medic57 wrote on Nov 19, 2009 9:10 PM:
" Slap63

This examination has been developed in collaboration with Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and representatives of the 11 Illinois Emergency Medical Services regions. EMT licensure is granted ONLY to candidates who demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the U.S. Department of Transportation Nation Standard Curriculum for EMT-B as adapted and approved by IDPH.

Course Completion Requirements

Didactic / class skill labs consist of a minimum of 110 hours per U.S. D.O.T. National Standard Curriculum.
Average classroom grade above 76% is required to pass & be eligible for the Illinois or National Registry exam.
Clinical emergency department 24 hours.
Clinical ambulance 24 hours.
Ten patient assessments.


LOL glad you could look that up Medic. BUT.... you stated in another post that Medics are licensed through the DOT. That is NOT true. I have one of those said license and it comes from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The DOT sets the standards for the curriculum. They do not license. As you stated previously. And yes, I am well aware of how many clinical hours it takes. I have been through them all. And you are wrong again, 10 medical assessments and 10 Trauma assessments. Anyway that is what I had to take and pass. You are only stating what I told you. You changed your story.
And as far as a fire station with all the equipment there and no personnel. Bull hockey. They must have been in the back. They were close by. I do not believe they were across town at a meeting and all vehicles there. How did they get there? That is just ridiculous. "

" Funny, mine, which I got in 1994 said Illinois Department of Transpotation on it. "

" Old Grumpy wrote on Nov 19, 2009 8:38 AM:
" jrhendren, My how you can read so much into a few words. Please point out where I claimed Mattoon was "over staffed".

You have in the past. You have said that the cut to staff was a good thing.
________________________________________

Mattoon has one ambulance and only transports occasionally. Mattoon does not take transfers or non-emergency calls but CFD does.

The fire department ambulance goes out more then you think it does. Wasn't it that ambulance that was involved in the wreck were the firefighter was injured. The only reason that they do not do transports and non-emergency calls is because we have an ambulance service in Mattoon, unlike Charleston. They do go to non-emergency calls on occasion when MJ and Dunn's are out.
________________________________________

Paramedics save lives and today's Emergency Medical Services are far better than they were 40-years ago. No argument there.
EMS is the way the fire service is going.
It looks like everyone assumes I'm knocking CFD but I'm not. The fire department does not make the decision on how many firefighters they will hire, the City Council does. The City wants to do the most with the least. Mattoon does the same thing. Performing EMS duties has retained several positions on the department.
All these issues aside, they are still spread very thin. As long as they dodge the bullet the City will continue this course. "

That I agree with. As I have said regarding Mattoon's small force. It will take a serious injury on a call before they do something.

I would like to say, I might have got you mixed with someone else. I might be getting our conversation of Villa, and the boundaries of the city mixed into a conversation with someone else. Though I could have sworn it was you that agreed with the smaller fire department? "

" jrhendren, You can look over my past posts and find me "ripping" the different City Councils, FutureGen, TIF districts, and various tax proposals. I may even have made a few comments about eating at Villa, but I've never said the Mattoon or Charleston Fire Departments were "over staffed".

Even though they, the City Councils and Department Heads, set the policies and lay out the course the departments follow they will ignore any facts that do not support their case. When something happens they will look sad, say what a horrible thing, and promise to do something about it. "