Raise the Hammer

I would challenge your assertion that this article is airing the dirty laundry of the fire department in public. Internal disciplinary issues, labour management issues, sure. The article I wrote is about decision the Fire Chief made that affects thousands of people/taxpayers in this community as well as the firefighters of that are bound to protect it. That's not dirty laundry. That is firmly in the domain of public policy and we have a right to question it, scrutinize it and challenge it.

You however seem to want to make this about me. Can you point to an instance where I "boasted" about my private business that I conduct on my own time, that has nothing to do with nor affects my chosen profession of firefighting? If you're a dues paying member of the IAFF then you will also know that in an effort to make life easier for members who volunteer in communities that really need their help, the International has amended it's by laws with respect to "two hatters". That is to say they only pursue instances where members "volunteer" work impacts an IAFF job and there is a complaint generated. This is clearly what is happening in Hamilton. I'm not sure why you would not be in support of any effort to bolster the complement of HFD and bring it up to acceptable standards.

If you want to cite the Fire Prevention and Protection Act then you also need to acknowledge best and past practices and the fact that the insurance industry in Ontario pretty much requires that municipalities maintain fire departments to adequate levels. Further they use actuarial , claims and loss data combined with NFPA data to build the models that those protection levels should be maintained at.

I haven't given a pass to anyone. I made inquiries of my city councillor, Mr Morelli responded with what information he could and forwarded it on to Chief Simonds. Further Bernie indicated to me that he was not aware of this change. Nothing I have been able to find out since would contradict this.

So it would seem that the Fire Chief, is not keeping his boss (Council) aprised of everything that is going on in his department, which is the point of the article. If you would like to extrapolate that means that Council...who works for US isn't getting the true picture of what is going on with the Fire Department. That's not acceptable. I don't work for the City of Hamilton and I am a taxpayer here. Further the issue in question directly affects me and my neighborhood. I have no intention of letting this issue lie.

Whether you like my cliche or not, if it fits it fits.  Here's another one.  You can't polish a turd.  This issue is a great big turd, and one the Chief can't make look shiny no matter how hard he tries.

It truly is a priveledge to serve the public, and I also love my job, which is another reason why this issue brings me to a boil. I also agree that RTH is a good place to keep up with what's going on in the city good or bad. I'm in the book and my website is linked here. In case you haven't figured it out I'm not afraid of a good argument. They are usually better over beer.

Comment edited by Shempatolla on 2012-08-31 09:40:09