“I happened to be in the neighborhood, and I stopped and was watching some of it,” Second Ward Councilman Rich Saddler said. “The only concern I had with that is that they did have to call in back-up from New Boston and Sciotoville, and that did leave those two communities vulnerable, because of the amount of people that we have, and the funding, and these sorts for our city departments. That’s why I encourage everybody to vote for our city income tax.”
President of City Council John Haas echoed Saddler’s sentiments.
“I was hoping the (Fire) Chief would have been here tonight because I wanted to ask him what would have happened. I know they were out on that call for quite a while, and I wondered what would have happened if there had been a fire out in Sciotoville or New Boston, for that matter, or another part of Portsmouth,” Haas said. “What would have happened? It goes back to funding and manpower, being short on both counts here in town.”
Portsmouth Fire Chief Bill Raison did not hesitate to answer Haas’ question in a call on Tuesday afternoon.
“Depending on the extent of the fire, that is what dictates what response we’re going to have,” Raison said. “We had a pretty good size fire, so we needed the extra manpower. So if the same thing happened in Sciotoville, then we’re going to drain downtown. You have to take care of the emergency that you have. At some point, if you have a general alarm fire, you’re going to exhaust all of your resources. The potential always exists for you to have some part of the city that is not covered. But it is worse now because we are short-staffed. We have fewer people on the crews. We have no money to cover the overtime.”
Raison said if the fire had gone on longer, he would have been forced to call people in and run the department’s budget into negative numbers, because of overtime.
“At some point you have to get the coverage or you are taking too big of a risk,” Raison said.
In recent months First Ward Councilman Kevin Johnson has mounted an effort to repeal sections 87 and 89 of the City Charter, dealing with staffing minimums in both the Fire and Police departments. According to those sections, each department now must maintain a staffing level of 44.
“That’s another thing that aggravates me,” Raison said. “If the email that I was given is correct, and it was really what Kevin Johnson sent out, and I am told that it was, he says in there, one, that there hasn’t been any cuts to the Fire Department and the Police Department. That is not even true. We are cut. I’ve had three guys retire this year and they haven’t been replaced. And a few years ago we had a guy retire that wasn’t replaced. So from the 39 guys that we had when I came to the Fire Department, I’m down to 35. So we have been cut. So that was just blatantly wrong.”
Raison also criticized Johnson’s premise that minimum staffing is flawed.
“He said the minimum staffing idea is a stupid idea,” Raison said. “My challenge to you is to go out to hospital and ask how many people they have to have to start that Cardiac Cath Lab. Because I guarantee you there’s a minimum number.”
Fourth Ward Councilman Jerrold Albrecht said this was not the first time the house in the 500 block of Market Street has been an issue.
“I would like to make a statement that the House that was burnt on Market Street, I had turned that in several years ago,” Albrecht said. “I wish we would have had the money to have torn it down then and saved ourselves a lot of problems.”
The Friday night fire destroyed the Market Street house.
FRANK LEWIS may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 232, or flewis@heartlandpublications.com.
What about the place where you work at in Portsmouth? A little insurance paid that they will come and help put out the fire quickly or it could burn down and be without a job. Different ways of looking at it sir. The small time things like city or county we gripe. We should be out rage at state and federal there the ones that really shorten my pay check.
Lets not forget that the City of Portsmouth also adopted these fires laws due to the evolving dangers that are known today, that weren't known or available 80 years ago. Just because that's the way it's been done in the past, sure as heck doesn't make it right or safe. Did firefighters even wear air tanks back then? Not in any pictures I've seen.
Was the the Hilltop closed due to utilities? From the articles I've read the Hilltop was closed due to the not filling retirement positions. I do know that where I work people are hired for a job and position and if you just take three or four of them away, you can't operate the same way anymore. Somethings got to give.
Fitness memberships and health insurance cost. Isn't that a negotiated contractual issue. Are you guys just spreading filth or do you know if those items were negotiated in good faith. I don't remember reading about the police or fire department going to arbitration over those items. Maybe they gave something else up for that.
Have any of you even tried to sit down with a police or firemen and talk about the issues you just threw out there. I did.
And Fred..How did you get to work? Did you flush the toilet at work, was your trash collected from your building? Did the street lights work? ALL CITY SERVICES YOU USED.
"How is it fair that I, who live in the county but work in the city". Great point Fred, your welcome for using our city for your income location. I live here and work here.
I'm done with this debate with men like you that have such closed and negative minds and are still living in the past. Whats worse is that I agree with some of your points, but what I think about is that everyone I know or see around now has a smart phone. Not cheap, I know. Even the low income being supported by the government have smart phones (and this is just one example of spending). No matter what we all still pay for these luxury items, but we debate about safety. My neighbors house burned last year, before that I'd never had a conversation with her about safety, I just assumed it was there. The Hilltop men were there quickly and she thanked them for saving her house that her little boy had set on fire in the closet.
Bottom line...I live in a city where I pay taxes and expect safety services. When my car gets broken into, purse stolen, drug dealers on the corner, I'm scared...I want a policeman there. And, when I get in a wreck, house on fire, MY KIDS NEED RESCUED,...I want a fireman. NOW!!
Nobody thinks they need these guys until the day they do. I hope they are there for me, my kids, and YOU. There are some times we need to separate life protection and politics....
On the Mercy Life Center, they can not afford to pay for their own membership ? How about the FREE Exercise Equiptment they have at the Fire Station, they cant use that ?
Maybe if the city wasnt paying $350 a year x 39 firemen's membership at the Life Center, they could use that $13,650 to open the Hilltop Station back up ?
These guys pay $50 a month for Health Insurance for the whole family, thats what it cost at Empire Detroit Steel in 1971, 40 years ago. The City Taxpayer picks up the rest of the millions for their Insurance. Find any business anywhere that employees get off that cheap !
Plus where is money being saved by closing the Hilltop STation down ? Lets see, the water,sewer,garbage is free. They still pay insurance on the building. The electric is still on over there. They have to keep heat in it in the winter. They still employee the Firemen who worked there, they just report to another station. It doesnt take an accountant to see there is no savings. Its all a big scare to get you to vote for another tax levy.
They call it the Fire and Police Levy. Then the money thats being used now for the Fire and Police, can be shifted back to the Cities others accounts to buy,
1.more Martings Buildings (Empty)
2.more Adelphia Cable Buildings on Washington St.(Empty)
3.more $40,000 SUV's for the Auditors Office
4. more $9 million dollars worth of Water Meters.
5. to put roofs on empty Martings building annex when they let their city building rot.
6. Christmas Lights were bought last year to decorate downtown at around $14,000
7. Remember the Murals painted on the sides of the garbage trucks a few years ago ?
8. Oh dont forget when they had the Stars repainted on the Floodwall.
9. How about the $150,000 traffic light installed for a private business.
The list goes on and on, thats why your city is broke. They spend until they are broke, without any fore thought of the future.
City residents also pay $5 more for license tags than residents of the county. This money is supposed to be used for streets. They dont even paint the yellow lines in the center of the streets or patch holes. They cant handle money.
Most cities generate tax money via Industry. When was the last time you heard anyone at city hall or a council meeting talk about recruiting industry which will pay taxes ? Then these industries hire employees who will also pay taxes. Then when you have people in a city with jobs, then here comes Sears, JC Penny, Menards, Macys to do business with these people who have jobs and money, then the businesses pay taxes and hire more employees to pay taxes.
This city has no clue how it all works.
Why Do surrounding cities of Ashland, Huntington, Chillicothe have jobs, industry, business, malls ? Read above for your answers.
Didnt the courts rule the Martings Building purchase null and void, then didnt your Portsmouth City Government turn right around and buy it back a second time ? You want to trust these people with a tax increase ?
Or maybe if they didnt buy 2 million dollar Martings buildings that appraise for $400,000 they would have the money they need.
Maybe if they didnt buy 9 million dollars worth of new water meters so the meter reader doesnt have to get out of the truck to read them anymore they would have money.
But yes, they want you to pass another tax levy, because you are all rich and you can all afford it.
Not that you arent already paying a levy for new schools, a library levy, Star work shop levy and many more.
Plus they want you to pass another Star work shop levy, a new drug levy, and an income tax levy.
You people in Portsmouth all have high paying jobs and make great money so be sure to pass them all.
I really hate to beat a dead horse but if the city had not blown $2,000,000 on the Martings building several years ago then perhaps the city would have had the money to tear the house down before it burnt. However, then the city would not have their example of how they need more firefighters that they cannot afford due to blowing $2,000,000 on the Martings building.