FIRE CHIEF TO ADDRESS CITY COUNCIL ABOUT COMMAND STAFF SHORTAGE
The Brenham City Council will hold a work session Thursday with Fire Chief Ricky Boeker. In a memo to the council, Chief Boeker says that the department is facing a critical shortage of Command Staff. Several retirements and resignations have left the Brenham Fire Department with fewer command level personal to respond to fires and rescues. With the recent retirements of the Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal and the Deputy Fire Marshal, Boeker says that it is time to reconsider those positions and responsibilities. He says he is planning on hiring a Fire Marshal and separating that position from the Deputy Chief. Chief Boeker plans on creating the position of Assistant Fire Chief and keeping it separate from the Fire Marshals position. He states that the city would be better served by keeping the positions separate. The city council meets Thursday at 1PM on the second floor of City Hall.
Josh, I so agree with you !!!! I volunteer loads of my time to different things and I never want recognition, I get satisfaction in knowing that I did a good deed. The ones making the most noise are probably those that don’t or have NEVER donated their time and efforts except if it is to their benefit. Those of you complaining get off your B**TS and do something for your community. You’d be surprised how regarding that will make you feel.
As a citizen of Brenham, I have always believed that BFD is reliable and the personnel well trained. They take calls which send units to the very boundaries of the county to provide services that the rural departments do not have. City council would be advised to have a few less assistant managers and provide more paid BFD personnel. Certified Active volunteers could be compensated with discounts from the many merchants which benefit from BFD protection. There are creative avenues to improve this situation. Do not know anything about alcohol consumption at fire department meetings, as that certainly would not meet the expectations of an appreciative public.
The most shameless thing about KWHI’s comment board is the fact that they let people anonymously bloviate about things that they may or may not actually know a singular thing about which they speak. I’d be willing to bet that if you made these people shooting off at the mouth identify themselves with their social media account, people would keep their comments a little more civil. Anonymity lets people say whatever they want, with no accountability and I for one think it’s disgusting. On to the issue of the fire department. I’m pretty sure anyone with actual managerial skills would be able to look at turnover statistics of the Brenham Fire Department and see that turnover is much lower at Brenham than the majority of Fire Department’s across the nation. When a fire marshall retires after FOURTY years, it’s really not indicative of a departmental failure. Also, When a deputy fire marshall leaves to accept a position that gives him a state vehicle, huge jurisdiction, and the ability to work from home doing the parts of his job that he loves, thats hardly indicative of departmental issues either. Secondly, I think this is very much a two-sided issue. Volunteerism in our society is falling quickly out of priority. People are all about the dollar, and all about themselves, and this is a universal issue affecting fire departments all over the country. A huge part of the problem is a bunch of people that are bitter and sit around and complain relentlessly without ever doing so in the appropriate audience. People both paid and volunteer, that rather than sit down with the chief and discuss their grievances, sit around with their co-workers or fellow volunteers, or a mix of the two and gripe. If the problem is bad, people can discuss it with the administration, if they don’t react satisfactorily, then go to city administration, and if they don’t react satisfactorily, then go get a different job. But that’s just it, the problems are all relative. The department still functions, and the community is still served, and quite well I might add. The problem is that people are constantly concerning themselves with the appearance of things. The problem is that membership in the Brenham Fire Department is moving more and more towards getting your name written down on a list for attending a call, than actually doing things at said calls. The problem is that people are too da**ed concerned with what everyone else is doing, and not concerned enough with investing personal effort in making their workplace/community a better place. It is after all much easier to complain about a problem than it is to put your skin in the game and try and come up with a solution. For “members” either of the department, or the community, mindlessly bashing a department in a public forum under the shield of anonymity, I hope you learn to stand up for something one day…
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” – Winston Churchill
Mr. Vanderer..,,I completely agree with you. If someone is willing to comment or criticize on a website forum, they should be willing to put their name on it. Unfortunately our website software does not have an option to allow identification of the authors. We try to verify, when possible, the accuracy of statements made by posters. There are many postings that never see the light of day because we can’t verify what was written. Opinions, obviously, are another matter entirely. At this time, our only other option would be to not allow any comments whatsoever.
Tom Whitehead
Pres./GM
KWHI
While that’s a shame, it’s certainly a worthy explanation.
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Josh
Ahh Josh,
Sometimes things need to be said anonymously so the people saying them are not retaliated against. Believe me, if you knew who I was, heads would roll all over town. Perhaps YOU do not know the whole story or have talked to very many in the dept. for that matter. Not all things are made apparent to all those involved and the complaints were made to the “Powers that Be” and nothing has been done. Perhaps you should talk to others to see what exactly is going on. I do not want to call out certain people, because it would definitely cause an uproar. I just know that a change needs to be made and it usually starts at the top.
That being said, I am a avid believer in the Brenham Fire Department and have been since I was a teenager and plan to be till I die. I just think that getting people talking and making people aware, even if it is anonymously, is always a good thing.
Firstly, people that spinelessly post complaints about a public safety department that serves or employs them truly disgust me. Secondly the administration of any department has little to do with whether one is a “paid” employee or if they are a volunteer. Over 70% of the fire service in this country is volunteer based, so technically, the preponderance of the examples of how the fire service is ran would actually be the of the non-paid perspective. Also, as a member of the Brenham Fire Department, and as an administrator in a public safety department in a neighboring county, I can say that a turnover of three employees over the period of multiple years is not an incredibly upsetting statistic. When a Fire Mashal retires after what is 2 careers worth of time for most people, and a fire marshal resigns to accept a job as a deputy fire Marshall for the State of Texas, the turnover can hardly be attributed to a lack of leadership. Now, does the fire department have leadership and personnel issues, yes, but so does every public safety department in the country. The greater problem that faces the Brenham Fire Department, and for that matter society as a whole, is people in this world who would rather sit around and complain about their grievances than voice them in appropriate ways and striving to get things fixed.
Reply to the negativity of the chappell hill residents,
I am so diapointed in these comments,
The Brenham Fire dept is the best its ever been, in past years before Chief Boeker became chief the dept was run as a drinking and partying organization. That is not how it needs to be managed when you are dealing with lives.Someone has to take responsibilty and make sure no one gets hurt Most volunteers are exceptional and then they are some that just get by with mimium of runs, meetings and continue to find fault in the dept and they are the ones that complain all the time about management.. Brenham is growing and I’m sure there’s more alarms than ever and not just at BSS. Volunteers are not as avalible as in the past it has nothing to do with the moral but with our fast paced life with jobs, children and sports. We have young volunteers that have family and commentments I know Chief Boeker personally and he is the most dedicated and caring individual.about his department. He is committed to make the Brenham Fire Dept the best it can be.
LTR Love It or Leave it, If YOU Love It, Then Don’t Insult the Fire Department By Calling The Department a Group of Drunks and Claiming That An Intervention By Boeker Saved The Department. That is NOT TRUE. The Department Has ALWAYS BEEN NUMBER ONE; It Has Been For Years.
The management starts at city hall. Nothing will change until all the management changes. City council do your elected job and clean house. Stop giving raises where they are not deserved.
I somewhat agree with what Chappell Hill has to say. But the problem is that the paid chief is still thinking like a volunteer and not taking to heart what his paid guys are telling him. As a volunteer myself, I know how much the fire service has changed and how much more training and knowledge is needed for each call. Some of the BFD volunteers are willing to take the time to take the needed classes, others are not and this puts the paid guys at risk. We all know who will be the next “Deputy Chief” because the chief writes these job descriptions for who he wants under him-not for who is the best qualified. I think a real shake up needs to be done at the BFD, starting at the top. Let’s get someone in there who will fight for the paid guys and will make the requirements for the volunteers more stringent. Brenham used to be “THE” department in the state, now, not so much.
As for the calls to the SSLC, it is a state facility, and funds are limited. They are finally getting in a new alarm system that will hopefully fix some of the problems, but when you have individuals that pull the pull stations and employees that burn popcorn, you are going to have calls……
I agree with Someone That Knows……boots on the ground is what gets the job done and if there are not enough of them, someone is at risk of not going home to their family. The idea of adding more command staff is not the answer. How about adding manpower and working toward improving morale in the ranks? People don’t show up any more because they have re-established their priorities. And why? Because the fire service didn’t make those people a priority. While this is a shame, it is the truth. If memory serves correctly, these issues were never present prior to having paid staff run the Brenham Volunteer Fire Department. Just some thoughts for consideration……
They are not just short on command staff, but personnel as a whole. There are fewer and fewer volunteers that show up for calls anymore, being for whatever reason (family, work, or just don’t have time) leaving the paid staff in danger of getting hurt or someone killed. It requires so many people in certain calls to accomplish the task at hand and if not it’s a danger to all. The city needs to start focusing on the fire service more and get the help and people that is needed.
This has been talked for years, but nothing is getting done. What are we waiting on? A major incident then its to late. Almost everyday the Dept has to respond to the State Supported Living Facility for a false alarm which ties up equipment and personnel. Get this fixed.