THE FIRE
Over the course of the last two years there has been a lot of controversy in both Margate and Ventnor concerning their Fire Depts. In Margate it's mainly concerned the living Qtrs. for the town's full time Fire squad and in Ventnor of late over the idea of using a Volunteer Fire dept. instead of a Full time dept. as in Margate and AC. One of the KEY elements however in all of this discussion has been the idea of RESPONSE time in a suburban environment. This is the time it takes for a fire team to get from it's stations to a reported fire or possible fire. In the middle of all of this however a tragic and deadly fire has occurred in Margate not even a mile from the main Fire station and at night. Interestingly, but not surprisingly this fire went unreported it's thought at this time for over an hour before Margate, Ventnor and even one offshore Fire Dept. was called to the scene. Unfortunately, by that time both of the elderly inhabitants had perished. So, what happened? Why did this happen? We'll know more of the facts as the investigation of this event goes forward, but we do know this, RESPONSE time is some what meaningless isn't it, if nobody reports the fire? Or is it?
DENSITY
One of the reasons given for maintaining full time fire fighting teams in Margate and Ventnor is the density of the housing in both towns and particularly in Ventnor where for most of the town housing lots are packed very closely together. In Margate lots are bigger and this was evident in the recent fire that reportedly burned for an hour and never threatened the neighboring homes, or at least at this juncture nobody is saying it did. So, why did nobody report the fire?
DOWNBEACH & ITS PART-TIME RESIDENTS
Maybe one of the reasons ( besides the late hr.) the tragic recent Margate fire went unreported for at least an hr., is because at this time in Margate's history more then half of the homes are owned by people that are ONLY part-time residents and some areas of the town ( like the beach blocks) are virtually empty of people 8 mos. of the year. Let's remember in Longport where 90% of the population is absent 8 mos. of the yr. they have a Vol. Fire force. Now what does all of this mean? Does such a fire negate the idea that RESPONSE time is as big a deal as the local fire authorities say it is? Maybe, and maybe not? It certainly points to some interesting questions about this and related topics going forward.
REMOTE SENSING NEEDED ?
Nowadays almost every structure has smoke detectors and some commercial and residential homes and businesses have elaborate fire sprinkler systems with very sophisticated smoke and fire systems that are tied directly to the Fire stations. When I had my business years ago, we had just such a system and it worked very well and even on one occasion IMO saved the building when a fire started in an external doorway sign and spread into the building. However, such systems are very expensive and only cover a small no. of the structures in any given town. Maybe, what's needed is some kind of more diffuse sensing system for wide areas of towns where large segments of the population aren't around? I can see in the future the possibility of fires in Longport burning unreported and in Margate and Ventnor's beach blocks. But, that leads to another question, which is is that really so important? If these areas are devoid of people and ONLY buildings are threatened then why do we need full-time fire teams for those areas? Couldn't we use combined teams or a mix of Vol. and full teams for Margate and Ventnor?
LONGPORT - Property Vs. People
Longport's situation certainly points to such a solution going forward. Longport with a tiny yr. round population and fairly dense zoning hasn't ever seen the need for a full time force and my guess is precisely because so few people are at risk if a fire does burn unreported in most of the town. The same thing is true for areas where houses stand on acre lots or larger offshore. I doubt that in the next 20 yrs. the numbers of full time residents will increase in any of these towns. Atlantic City's full time population as an example, peaked in the early 1930's and today is half of what it was back then. Yet, I bet AC has twice as many Police and Fire fighters today as it had back then and these people are being paid fairly hefty amounts of $$ when you add up all their pay and benefits. Is this necessary today with steadily declining full time populations? Again, maybe and maybe not. I do know this as we go forward in time these questions will continue to surface if the population, tax and employment dynamics of this Island stay the same. Anyway it will be for the rest of the full time voting residents to decide the answers and solutions going forward.
Did the house have working smoke detectors? Was the apartment or leasing of the rooms legal? If they were working, how did the fire burn for an hour and not wake anyone up? If the apartment or leasing of rooms was legal, doesn't Margate have laws requiring smoke detectors and some type of fire escape (ladders or steps) from the second and third floors? Maybe the existing laws need to be enforced or changed.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading somewhere that there are over 80 full time firemen between Ventnor and Margate. Couldn't Ventnor and Margate consolidate to reduce costs?
80 seems a bit high. As for code enforcement regarding homes in Margate, I'm not sure what the laws or codes are , in regards to fire devices , smoke detectors etc.?
ReplyDeleteVentnor website states:
ReplyDeleteThe Department is a civil service department and is under the command of Deputy Chief of Department John Hazlett. The VCFD has 41 sworn personnel including the Chief. Of the 41 personnel, two are staff personnel consisting of the Chief, and one Fire Official. In 2009, the VCFD responded to 3,585 calls. Medical emergencies accounted for 1,847 of these runs. The on-duty shift runs from two stations with two engines, a tillered ladder truck and ambulance. The minimum number of personnel on duty is eight.
The four department platoons work on a 24 hour shift. Change of shifts is at 0800. Salaries for firefighters range from $34,940 to $72,831. Starting salary to top salary takes six years. Approximately two thirds of the personnel reside in the city of Ventnor City with 4 more within one half mile.
I assume Margate has a similar complement of paid firefighters.
Thanks for the info! So I believe I've heard Margate has 33 reg. Firemen/women, if that's right 33 + 41 is a combined total of 74 full time fire fighters in the two communities. However, no offense but I don't believe the pay scales you've presented here really reflect actual compensation, add the health benefits alone and I'd wager the a starting fire person makes over 53K a yr. in Ventnor. Then add in the pension and any other benefits and it soars higher. The average non-public worker makes about 36K with NO benefits or pension anymore. This is what has many people upset with the public sector in NJ and other states these days. NJ's tax structure provides a pretty sweet living for anyone lucky enough to get a public job and before the Great Recession you could also add in fantastic job security. If the private economy doesn't recover, by which I mean creating jobs that are comparable to these public pay scales and benefits, we can expect to see even more pressure to cut these jobs or lower compensation, in the very near future. I don't find that unreasonable and I'm generally a Progressive that has no real qualms about the need for Gov't. Nevertheless, I was also a Manager of a private business much of my life and I can tell you the present budget numbers and staffing numbers on this Island, in all four cities and towns is way way out of line from NJ's norm, which is way way out of line for the rest of the nation. Atlantic City's nos. could even be construed as absurd by some standards. Also, considering the wage cuts and job losses suffered by the Islands private workforce the cuts in public sector jobs is laughable.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it Margate is a premier community with some part time beach front residents probably paying $20-30,000 per year in taxes. These residents expect certain services and amenities. Our tax rate relative to communities off shore is low. I was paying double the taxes for a house worth 1/3 less. The elementary schools are good and these are all reasons I live here. We enjoy a wonderful protected lifestyle. However, I do believe Margate is a bit "piggy" with the way they give out jobs and spend money. I am sure there are ways to tighten our belts without hurting our premier status or laying off people. Consolidating the Ventnor, Margate and Longport police and fire departments may be one way to do it.
ReplyDeleteIf Margate continues to lose students, we may one day be merged with the Ventnor school district too. There were only two Kindergartens this year!
You would be surprised that poverty actually exists in Margate and many of the parents who send their kids to Margate schools can barely afford to live here anymore. We will shortly become a mostly part time community which will be the death knell for the area businesses. There are some vocal Margate residents who regularly write editorials in local newspapers who wish the entire community was over 50 and not sending any kids to our schools to save tax money. We need diversity to remain a economically strong community. Sorry this is so long and windy. Needed to vent.
"Needed to vent." That's what this blog is about. As long as you follow our rules and there are only a few vent away.
ReplyDelete