NOFD’s reorganization plan sparks outcry, concern from public

29th July 2013   ·   0 Comments

By Kelly Parker
Contributing Writer

The news of the New Orleans Fire Department’s plan to redeploy some of its assets in order to become more efficient was met with concern by an uptown neighborhood group, despite the NOFD’s word that changes would not affect service or safety to the area.

The plan, as stated by former Superintendent Charles Parent, will “put more personnel per engine company on a daily basis, meaning that four firefighters will be on each engine, which is a best practice for firefighter safety.”

All current firehouses are slated to remain open and the number of fire trucks that provide pumping capability will remain the same and response times should not be affected.

The redeployment was cause for the Hurstville Neighborhood As­sociation to take notice. Ladder 5, housed at their area Arabella fire station was be decommissioned as a result of the reform.

Also lost is Ladder 3, from the East New Orleans firehouse; which is closest to the Pontchartrain Park/­Gentilly Woods area.

Additionally, the NOFD states the redeployment plan will inc­rease the NOFD’s ability to res­pond to accidents by adding a light rescue and extrication components (i.e. Jaws of Life) to two trucks. The plan also increases the number of HazMat Specialists department-wide from nine to 27 in the first year and to 51 by the end of year two. This expansion in the NOFD’s ability to respond to light rescue and extrication situations will be especially critical when incidence response is high, such as holidays and special events. None of the changes are expected to impact insurance ratings.

The communication between the NOFD and the uptown group has been constant; including a presentation of a plan to retain Ladder 5 on July 11. The plan provides for multiple layers of ladder truck coverage in the ‘historically fire-prone areas of New Orleans and keeps Ladder 5 at Arabella station to provide ladder and firefighting manpower to the densely populated, historic Uptown New Orleans.’

On July 13, the Hurstville Neighborhood Association issued a press release stating Mayor Mitch Landrieu and newly appointed Fire Department Superintendent Tim McConnell rejected the neighborhood group’s plan to retain Ladder 5 at Arabella Station.

“His (Chief McConnell’s) plan is only based on the incidence of fire,” uptown resident Mary Margaret Gorman told The Loui­siana Weekly. “What wasn’t taken into account was the density of the population. We have many streets under construction; and what about the many two-or-more-story structures that house the elderly, the sick and children. We still have one truck that’s there, but it’s a pumper truck and not a ladder truck that can possibly reach someone in a second or third story of a building; so this is a major concern.”

As a result, the Save Ladder 5 campaign has been launched through social media, urging neighbors to let their voices be heard regarding the potential safety risks of these changes.

According to the group, Chief McConnell’s plan also takes away more than one-third of the firefighting manpower and the only ladder truck serving a large portion of Uptown New Orleans. The plan also leaves multiple layers of redundant ladder truck coverage in a large portion of the city.

“It is unfortunate that the city has chosen to reject our proposed solution to paint the city map with ladder truck fire protection,” said resident Susan Krantz, “Even as New Orleans is named America’s fastest growing city in 2013, why does its leadership shrink city services, especially life-safety services?”

Mary Margaret Gorman states that group is basically looking out for the best interest of their residents.

“The Landrieu administration says that safety in security is their number one priority, and we’re asking-’is it the number one priority for all neighborhoods or for some?’” she says. “I’m on the Hurstville Neighborhood Assoc­iation Board; and of course I want this for all of the city, but it’s our job to advocate and get safety and security that we need in our specific area. We’re really trying to offer solutions and help; we want to partner with the city to get the Ladder truck back and get the manpower that we feel is adequate to make us feel safe.”

In a letter sent to the Hurstville Neighborhood Association, Mayor Mitch Landrieu stated:

“As your Mayor, the most important part of my job is public safety. I make safety decisions based on the data and what is in the best interest of the entire city. I cannot make these tough decisions based on political pressure. The redeployment plan, which calls for the decommissioning of Ladder 5 was developed as part of our ongoing effort to ensure we are using our assets in the most effective way to keep our city safe. This plan is squarely based on the data and was peer reviewed by third party fire experts.

“Although this is not the outcome you hoped for, it is my sincere hope that we can continue to work together for the betterment of the City we all love.”

The group stated Superintendent McConnell assured residents in several meetings that having four firefighters on every pump truck at all times was one of the primary causes for the redeployment plan that took away Ladder 5 and reassigned personnel from the Arabella Station.

On July 15; the first day after Ladder 5 was removed, vigilant neighbors noticed only three firefighters on both shifts at the Arabella Station to man the remaining pump truck.

When the deficiency was questioned by a neighbor in an e-mail to Chief McConnell, a fourth firefighter did arrive at the station within the hour. McConnell expressed his apologies and said it will not happen again, but offered no explanation for the manpower shortage.

“I’ve met with residents in the area since the beginning of the year, and we’ve had press conferences and sent out press releases.” Superintendent McConnell states. “I’ve been to three community meetings uptown and I gave the same explanation. One of the solutions offered by one of the community organizers was to take a ladder from central city station because it overlaps with another ladder there. The truth is; both of those ladders in central city/downtown area are the two busiest ladders, despite the overlap. They’re our busiest companies-they make more than twice the calls, and that’s where the highest volume of fires are.”

The groups state that the plan presented by McConnell and endorsed by the mayor leaves a large portion of the Uptown area outside of the national standard eight-minute response time for a ladder truck to respond to a fire call. The area outside of the eight-minute response zone. The impacted areas include the Port of New Orleans, Children’s Hospital, much of the Magazine Street corridor, Tchoup­itoulas corridor, many historic multi-level homes, Poydras Home and multiple other nursing homes, schools and businesses.

“I’m not saying there will be no difference in (response) time; obviously, a Ladder from the (Arabella) station will get to (Children’s Hospital) faster than one coming from; say, Carrollton and Clai­borne. But it won’t take longer than it takes for a Ladder to get from (for example) Elysian Fields to get out to an area in Gentilly. Still, I have to be concerned with the life safety of every single citizen in the city. There are indeed areas of the city that fall out of the ‘standard’ that’s often quoted. There are larger areas in the city that are further outside that standard. And I have to be concerned about that too.”

According to the group, Chief McConnell’s plan also takes away more than one-third of the firefighting manpower and the only ladder truck serving a large portion of Uptown New Orleans. His deployment plan also leaves multiple layers of redundant ladder truck coverage in a large portion of the city.

“Let me say that I understand their concern,” McConnell told The Louisiana Weekly. “I live right there in that area. We took a good hard look at the resources the fire department has and try to evaluate whether they were deployed in the best manner. We worked with a consultant in 2011 to look at the way we deployed our resources and then invited every member of the fire department to be part of our internal evaluation. And using mapping (GIS) data and our response data—facts on where our fires occur and where our response demand is—we revamped where we deploy our resources.”

Superintendent McConnell stres­sed that the same resources are dispatched before the redeployment; the only difference is that the Ladder comes from a different location. Instead of the Arabella fire house, the Ladder will be dispatched from the firehouse on Martin Luther King Blvd. (near the 6th District police station) or the fire station at Carrollton and Claiborne.

McConnell also stated that the area in which the Arabella station serves still enjoys more coverage than other parts in the city; such as Gentilly and New Orleans East or Lakeview.

“It’s just a matter of making sure you deploy the resources in such a way that everybody in the city has good, even coverage.”

McConnell says he feels validated with this decision.

“The consultant brought on came to the same conclusion and then the International Association of Fire Fighters came in and as a result of their study, said that Ladder 5 should be moved to another place in the city,” he told the Louisiana Weekly. “There is no city in America where every single mile of roadway is covered within that standard-it’s just not realistic.”

Uptown neighbors have continued to voice their opposition to McConnell’s plan. Hundreds of citizens have signed a petition (http://tinyurl.com/SaveLadder5) demanding that the Mayor and City Council not allow this fire fighting apparatus and corresponding manpower to leave Arabella Station permanently.

The sea of red “Save Ladder 5” signs on lawns and in yards in the uptown area is proof that the group will not go down without a fight. For more on the campaign, go to https://www.facebook.com/SaveLadder5.

This article originally published in the July 29, 2013 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.