Home»County firefighters canvass Rory Reid's district
County firefighters canvass Rory Reid's district
Page Last Updated: Thursday July 29, 2010 7:02pm PDT
Expect longer response times. That’s the message Clark County firefighters are repeating to the public after county leaders disbanded their Heavy Rescue Unit to save millions.
Firefighters hit the streets Friday morning with fliers and signs to gather support for reinstating the unit. Currently, city firefighters are handling these emergency services.
They walked in the sweltering heat armed with fliers, posters and the message that getting rid of the county’s Heavy Rescue Unit is harmful to public safety.
“If they want to talk about consolidation, we’ll talk about consolidation,” says county firefighter Thomas Touchstone. “We actually recommended to the County Commission that consolidation is a good idea for the fire department, but not critical services like Heavy Rescue and HAZMAT.”
County firefighters walked door to door in Commissioner Rory Reid’s district. Reid supports consolidation.
Union firefighters say this is not a referendum on Rory Reid, who is running for governor. Rather, they say it is about public safety. Rory Reid thinks otherwise.
“This isn’t about public safety. It’s about a firefighters’ union trying to get what they want. They’re trying to bully me to get it and I’m not going to respond favorably to those tactics.”
Reid says the county must balance its budget. And with county firefighters in the Heavy Rescue Unit making an average annual salary of $156,000, consolidating those services with the city will save $4.5 million.
“We’re talking about emergency services,” Touchstone responds. “Somebody picks up the phone and calls 911 – they need somebody there fast. Getting to the hospital – getting transported to the hospital is critical.”
The union has filed a grievance with the county and reps say they are not giving up.
None of the 30 members of the county’s Heavy Rescue Unit have been laid off. Instead, they were rolled into other units.
COMMENTS
Oh my sounds like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Like father, like son.
Remember to take out the trash on November 2
The public needs to do their research on why firefighters are making this amount of money. It's funny how ff were thought of as heroes after 9-11, and now they are being talked badly about. Getting the haz mat and heavy rescue back is about the citizens in the las vegas valley, not about salary. Do the citizens know that the city fire department will not run calls south of Tropicana? I guess if you are in a severe accident on the way to California, you will be out of luck and the response time will be longer. What about the trucks carrying hazardous materials through the las vegas valley freeways? Oh, out of luck again. Is it going to take a terrible accident or a flash flood to realize that we need these services? Heavy Rescue and Haz Mat is a necessity in our Valley.
The salary may seem out of line until you research the amount of hours worked to earn that kind of salary. Before overtime (which is mandatory) every firefighter works a 56 hour work week. Compared to the average 40 hour work week. Every shift after that is typically 24 hours. Firefighters work up to 72 hours straight. Let's make sure that we compare apples to apples. The average hourly wage of a firefighter is $22.76/hour.
clint w. how much of that time is actualy spent saving lives and how much is spent polishing the fire truck?i have never heard of a 56 hour work week with 60%of that spent waiting for a call .if you want to compare apples to apples you should look at response times to see if its a necesity,and why wont fire and rescue go south of tropicana?the only people that want this pay rate usualy is the people who are getting it not the taxpayers who are being shook down. cops only average 38 to 56,000 per year and they get there lives threatened every day,shot at dont know how a traffic stop is going to go.so yea i think these guys are being payed to much.
I'm so sick of these blood sucking fireleaches threatening us. Come to my house and I'll spit on you.
Ever since 9-11-01 everyone thought firefighters were Heroes.. well they are, but what you done lately Sparky?Well, you bitched about money.
Why don't you go to a small community and be a volunteer firefighter? Ooops.. you wouldn't be making around $100 K a year. Better yet, why doesn't Clark County downsize the fire department and set up a program for a volunteer firefighters and get rid of some of those lard asses at the top and those ego-maniacs I see at the grocery store.
Trim some fat and get some Egos under control all at the same time.
What is all of this talk about saving lives? THEY SQUIRT WATER !!!!!They hang around the firespa!!!!They go shopping at Albertsons !!!!They work out at the health club !!!!They all should be FIRED !!!! Until recently they were getting paid overtime collecting charity money with THE BOOT DRIVE ! The overtime pay was more then they collected in donations !!! Worthless OVERPAID firesquirters are HOSEING US !!!! Their actual productive hours of working are minimal !!!I am tired of hearing them cry !! Get rid of them and the UNION !!! Privatize the whole department !!
I particularly liked the story of them being affected by the heat ! 15 min.squirting the water and relieved to sit in a air conditioned bus and being checked by a doctor ! GIVE ME A BREAK !! THEY ARE AT A FIRE !!! IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE HOT !!GET RID OF THEM AND THE UNION !!!
okay... so they have to "polish" the trucks, as you say (clifford b.), but firefighters need to "polish"trucks on a daily basis and check out their equipment before the day begins. firetrucks cost a lot of money and i think it is great that they take pride in their equipment. now let me ask you this... how many times are they awaken from sleep and sent on a blaring fire engine at 2 in the morning to help a car accident, drunk person in the casino, heart attack victim, stroke victim, stabbing, gun shot, diabetic shock. these are every day realities and i believe they don't squirt water, most of fire dept. calls are medical (90%?) How many of you know that a firefighters life is cut more than 10 years than an average person due to stress, cancer, and other diseases?
So these fire leeches work up to 72 hrs straight, eh? How many of those hours are they in bed sleeping? We are not stupid. $156,000.00 a year is way too much for whatever you do. We need firefighters, but at wages that equal over $3,000 a week, can we afford them? It's time the County stopped this. I supported a family just fine & put 2 children through college on 1/5th the salary these bozo's are getting. It's time somebody turns the hoses on them.
The solution is SIMPLE; FILE BANKRUPTSY, FIRE all cops and FF, offer to re-hire at the national average 50K,
THIS BTW IS 1/3 OF WHAT THESE CROOKS GET NOW
THIS IS SALARY-NO OVERTIME-work what is needed or THANKS and gooodbye...AND NATIONAL AVERAGE means they get the same sort of pensions private sector on average gets, same insurance, contribute the same to their retirement and THEN MOVE ONTO to all other government employees
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ROBERT H.
July 29, 2010 6:32pm PDT
Mark as Offensive
$156,000 annual salary?
$156,000??
Really?