St. Louis Metro

[firechief14]

I don't want to step out of line here, but you need to hear the whole story (not implying anything has been left out on purpose but it was a short synopsis)

My understanding was that St Louis was running three guys on ladders and  pumps. With the quint concept they went to every company having four members, new rigs all around, jaws on all rigs, stations rebuilt and renovated.(please, please correct me if wrong...) I don't know what the economy was like at the time, but three on a rig in a city enviroment scares me.

Hands down, I believe the best option is separate Engines and ladders, but desperate fiscal times sometimes means our leaders make hard decisions (and sometimes those decisions go completely against everything firefighters have been taught and hold dear)

 

However, I don't think it will ever change that firefighters want more/same number of trucks and men and city managers are told to save money so taxes don't go up. But I don't think the chiefs and managers are morons....they are just doing their job just like us blue shirts. Its just that we see the human repercussions of their decisions and it's brutally hard for us to take....

Let me correct somethings here. I fully agree with the stlfd and have many friends that are active on the stlfd and some that have retired. This being said St louis city and county is a very happening area as far as public safety. Cutting police,fire.ems is the dumbest thing that can be done. In a way to save money park the damn street sweepers or have public works take furlough days. The town that i used to live in had a 76 Pierce ladder that was rehabed in the late 90's and was set to be replaced in the late 90's. The truck was still in service in 2003 because the then mayor used the money that was being saved up through med runs into a fund for equipment the mayor decided to put in retaining walls and flower pots instead of buying a new ladder truck for a city of 26,000 people. The poloticians need to open their eyes and realize that people who die in fires cant vote.