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Grand Rapids Fire Fighters Union

 

 

 

City Manager Sundstrom's Apology...

 

Open Letter to the Grand Rapids City Manager

 

Mr. City Manager,

In reference to your comments in the paper I must take the time to reply.

 

I appreciate your email to me; however you did not address your statements directly. That being said, I feel it is imperative that you understand how demoralizing the statements attributed to you actually are.

 

It is completely false that the average Grand Rapids fire fighter only fights one fire a year. Especially with our low staffing more and more apparatus respond to fires. Numerous times a year the average Grand Rapids fire fighter fights multiple fires in a day. I do not know where these facts attributed to you came from but they are utterly wrong and miss characterized.

 

One hundred year old technology. As I told you on the phone the other day, we are using 2000+ year old technology and modern day. Fire goes out with water. It takes manpower to get that water to the fire. No water on fire, fire continues till the fuel is gone. There is no other way. Additionally, we are using breathing apparatus that meet 2005 standards. Thermal imaging devices developed over the last 20 years. Our job is a highly skilled, yet labor intensive. People have tried to reinvent the wheel for fire; only to find that there is very little to change.

 

In reference to 9-11, I don’t know if there could have been a worse more digging comment that one could level to a fire fighter. On that day we lost 343 of our brothers, a few weeks prior we lost 4 brothers in Keokuk, Iowa, a year prior we lost 6 brothers in Worcester, MA. , every line of duty death affects a fire fighter.

 

Grand Rapids has not lost a fire fighter since 1961, Edwin Evans. One of the reasons we have not lost anyone is because, for many years, we were able to show up to a house fire with adequate staffing and with an aggressive fire attack. Due to cuts made by our city leaders, the Grand Rapids Fire Department no longer arrives with adequate staffing in a timely manner. That being said, every fire fighter shows up to a fire to do his or her best with the obstacles that are constantly put in our way. While we may have not lost anyone in quite some time, our close calls and mayday calls are on the rise. It does not take a 9-11 to devastate a fire service; it takes indifference to your employees.

 

I offer to you a chance to come to our training center with the Union and the Department and learn what it takes to fight what we call a standard first alarm house fire, in fact I beg you too. Once you see what this truly entails, I doubt Jim Harger will be able to twist anything you say as you will be well educated in your employees struggles and tasks.

 

I also ask that you bring either me or the Chief of the Department to the transformation committee to refute your attributed statements.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Joe Dubay

President, Local 366