Manassas Fire and Rescue Chief Mike Wood has resigned and not as a happy man. He has been at his post for 2 years. According to News and Messenger:
However, by his own admission, Wood is resigning a disappointed man. He said the current fire and rescue department gave him a lot of liability and little authority. It’s also a system that he feels makes residents of Manassas less safe than they should be
“[Public safety] is an essential service and an essential service needs a strategic vision, a strategic plan,” Wood said. “Some two years into my appointment, we’ve not been able to develop a strategic plan. There are too many diverse and opposing views on what could be done, should be done and what may need to be done.”
Manassas City established a system that was a six-person public safety committee comprised of volunteer and career staff. Additionally, there was a 5 person appeals committee. City Councilman Andy Harrover helped create this Manassas Fire and Rescue set-up that was organized to prevent problems. Obviously it didn’t. Other officials weighed in on the subject in the N & M:
Manassas Volunteer Rescue Squad president Mike Enright was a little more blunt, stating the Manassas Volunteer Fire Company “disrespected” Wood.
“I am surprised he lasted this long,” Enright said.
Manassas Mayor Harry J. “Hal” Parrish II said it was tough for all parties involved, including City Council. Set up in January, the system established a six-person public safety committee made up of volunteer and career staffers and a five-person appeals committee made up of Manassasresidents and run by city manager Lawrence Hughes. Councilman Marc T. Aveni chaired the public safety committee.
“I can’t help but think that a great system can come together when people decide they both need and want to work together cooperatively as a team, that is the key,” Parrish said.
Woods departure is seen by many as a real set back to City Fire and Rescue.
Assistant Fire & Rescue Chief Mike Rohs said he could’ve retired a few years ago but chose to stick around to see what Wood could do. Both Rohs and Enright praised Wood for his professionalism, open-door policy and his ability to obtain grants for the betterment of the department.
How do volunteers and paid staff work side by side? It never made sense to me how this works. Obviously someone or several someones didn’t like taking orders from the paid professionals. They probably thought they were volunteers and didn’t have to go by the same rules as those on a pay check. Yet, the volunteers help already stretched municipal budgets and provide a great service to the community. Regardless of what has transpired, Mike Woods seems to have the respect of most city folks.
Prince William County has certainly had its ups and downs with this issue also. Regardless, the next Chief needs to have a great deal more authority over all fire and rescue. The people of Manassas deserve no less. City of Manassas people also need to be willing to dump a few of their tax pennies into the public jar to ensure that they have the most up to date equipment. Word on the street is, they rely a little too much on other jurisdictions to make up their equipment deficiencies. Hopefully, city folks will help fill in the blanks here.
The City Council created a managing system for the Fire Department that looks just like they do; a committee that discusses, debates, sends down to a sub-committee, orders consultants to study the issue and then either postpones a decision waiting for more info or ,finally, takes action. That is a great system as the Mayor says for running a City. However, a fire department isn’t like a city. It is more like a professional football team. The football team and a fire department need to act with precision and as a coordinated unit. House fires don’t wait for committee decisions, gas leaks won’t stop while an appeal is discussed, and an explosion at the gas storage place will not be less catastrophic if everyone calls “time-out” to read and consider the consultant’s study. The Council would do well now to hire a chief, provide that chief with all the managerial authority that is needed to operate a modern fire and rescue department and tell the volunteers that they are a valuable and welcome part of the unified fire and rescue department. The volunteer company needs to honor their own heritage by doing what’s best for Manassas and support the new department and the new chief. The frat house stuff has to stop now.
Thanks very much for your input, BS in VA. It sounds like you have some real words of wisdom for the council and for the fire and rescue folks.
I’ll reword some of what I said in the other, open thread. Basically every fire department in the metro area has had the same growing pains as they’ve moved toward more paid professional staff. It isn’t just the fire department that has a hard time attracting volunteers. I’ve noticed a drop off in volunteers for civic associations and numerous other clubs – particularly in the number of people willing to shoulder officer positions or committee chairmanships. Wolverine noticed a drop in volunteerism in his NW program. I think many people are tired of the commute and want to relax at the end of their days – and that doesn’t mean running off after supper to volunteer.
However, we expect to have performing fire departments. It’s one of those public safety features that is not a luxury. We have smoke detectors, home owners’ insurance, fire extinguishers in our homes in hope that we can do a small part if a problem arises. But we mainly rely on our local firehouses. We want them to run smoothly. Several local ones have been little fiefdoms with little oversight. PWC’s change to a more professional, paid staff has brought more fiscal accountability, more training, more oversight. I think this was a good move.
The City started a transition and then balked. If it wants to stay with a volunteer staff, it should ensure that the station is covered. It should work with the surrounding jurisdictions to make sure that equipment is compatible as well as suited to the jurisdiction’s physical terrain. Contracts should be bid competitively and openly. The FD is currently being run by committee – a committee stacked against the paid Chief. It seems to me that the Council wants someone to be in charge (Chief Wood) but wants to tie his hands. There’s an appearance of having done something but not the reality.
Moon, to answer your question on how career and volunteer work together, the career normally staff during the daytime as that is when volunteers may be at their day job – especially those Fire or Rescue folks who are full-timers in PWC, Fairfax or elsewhere. Over at the Rescue Squad, they are having a tough time recruiting, so for the RS, more career have been covering runs.
You recognized the issues in PWC, and one of the end results of the shakeup (especially Gainesville) was Chief McGee – at least what is heard on the street – takes a hard nose approach to volunteers. Basically it is get with the program or get out.
Someone has to be in charge. Obviously the money has been spent to hire Chief McGee and Chief Woods. They have to be the boss. The volunteers have to comply.
If someone volunteered anywhere else, you have to go by the established rules. Maybe I have a bad attitude but if something goes wrong–who owns the problem?
To Censored’s comment:
I think comments like “PWC’s change to a more professional, paid staff…” don’t help in attracting volunteers to anything whether it’s fire/rescue, service in the state militia or helping out with an HOA or NW.
I don’t think the comment was meant like that but it can’t help recruitment for any civic activity when people think volunteers aren’t worthy or needed for the sacrifice in time and money.
Personally, I sleep well at night knowing there are people out there that will put on boots and come into my house and save me regardless of the title Professional or Volunteer.
Hell, I’d even accept a union firefighters help if my life was on the line. 😉
Moon, I volunteer on two boards the City appointed me too. Each are government boards, and there are bylaws. But both also have basis in Federal law, so have to comply with that too.
I am covered under Risk Management Insurance if something accidental happens to me while I am serving/representing/doing things in those appointed duties. If I cause something to happen when may jepordize the government, that is where the good ole “soverreign immunity” comes into play, and the government is held harmless, so I get the penalty for whatever it was I done – plus my appointment yanked.
Years ago when I ran as a volunteer Fireman & EMT up in a Pennsylvania Township, it was made very clear I abide by the Company’s charter and bylaws. And since we were the local government’s “Fire Department”, we had to play by the Township’s rules or else.
Marinm, you’re making an assumption that there is always adequate staff to provide that safety net.
I don’t have a problem with volunteers. They should, however, meet the standards expected of them. Many of the volunteers are paid staff from other departments and they’re trained. When paid positions open up, often these are the people hired.
Some volunteers will not meet the physical demands of the job. There are other ways they can help the department – through fund raising, office work, PR campaigns, cooking, bookkeeping, etc. There are tough physical demands which paid firefighters have to meet. The volunteers should accept that they should try to do the same.
Often when you examine the problems in some of these troubled departments, you’ll find the faults don’t lie so much with the actual firefighters as with the officers which control the department.