By Karen Sloan
Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Copyright 2007 Omaha World - Herald
OMAHA, Neb. — When it comes to the number of firefighters manning a firetruck, is more better?
Absolutely, those who fight fires say, citing the adage “There’s safety in numbers.”
But more firefighters on each truck means more firefighters overall, and that translates into higher costs for taxpayers.
A new study of the Omaha Fire Department is raising questions about how much city officials and residents are willing to pay for top-notch service.
The study also looks at how many firefighters are really needed, especially since the vast majority of calls are for medical emergencies, not for fires.
Police and Fire Department budgets have outpaced the growth of other parts of city government in recent years, and City Council President Dan Welch wants to rein in spending.
Omaha could save millions by cutting firefighter positions without significantly reducing the level of fire services, the study concluded. That’s because the department exceeds most national fire response standards.
The key to the projected $5.1 million annual savings is reducing the number of firefighters assigned to each truck from four to three, which would eliminate 105 firefighter jobs.
That suggestion has ignited the anger of many firefighters. They say the change would compromise their safety and hamper their ability to fight fires quickly.
“It’s just not true that we can do the same things with three on a truck that we do with four,” said Omaha Firefighters Union President Darren Bates. “This is a dirty, physical job, and the more people you have, the faster it gets done.”
Mayor Mike Fahey also has opposed the proposal, saying he puts a premium on public safety and won’t advocate reducing the number of firefighters or police.
But Welch said that reducing firetruck staffing isn’t only about saving the city money; it recognizes the realities of modern fire departments.
With stringent building codes and the increased use of sprinkler systems, major fires are a small percentage of calls, he noted.
In fact, the department responded to only 12 multiple-alarm fires last year, Welch said. Those are major structure fires that require the department to call in backup. About 70 percent of the Fire Ddepartment’s calls are for emergency medical assistance, according to the 2005 figures used in the study.
The city would be best served by a smaller-staffed, more flexible department that emphasizes medical response, Welch said.
“What is the most efficient way to handle these medical issues while still being ready to fight a fire?” he asked. “The answer, to me, is to have three people on a firetruck.”
Omaha is not the only city to grapple with the question of firetruck manning. Across the country, cash-strapped city officials have butted heads with firefighters unions over so-called “minimum manning.”
The Omaha fire union contract and an ordinance passed by the City Council in 2000 each requires Omaha to have four firefighters per truck.
There are no nationwide staffing requirements, but the National Fire Protection Association has voluntary standards for fire response. Those guidelines call for four people on each fire apparatus, but make some exceptions.
Omaha could conceivably meet the standards with three firefighters per truck, except at the five stations that house only one firetruck, said Carl Peterson, director of the National Fire Protection Association’s fire protection division. Omaha has 24 stations.
The association’s standards look at not only how many firefighters respond to emergency calls, but also at how quickly they get there.
Within four minutes, at least four firefighters should be on the scene for 90 percent of calls, according to the standards. Within eight minutes, at least 14 firefighters should be on the scene 90 percent of the time.
Departments are in compliance if they meet either response time standard.
The response rules are important because of how quickly fires can spread. Structure fires typically reach the “flashover” point in eight minutes, meaning the fire is fully developed and rescuing someone would be difficult.
Omaha meets the four-minute standard in 88 percent of the calls, but that falls just short of the 90 percent goal. It meets the eight-minute standard 97 percent of the time, and thus is in compliance.
Richard Brady, president of Matrix Consulting Group and the author of the study, said Omaha is able to comply with the eight-minute standard because of the stations’ good layouts. It also helps that most stations have more than one truck.
Thus, the department can quickly deliver a large number of firefighters to most fire scenes, he said.
If the city were to reduce the number of firefighters per truck from four to three, compliance with the eight-minute standard would drop to 93 percent -- which is still above the desired 90 percent threshold.
Council President Welch called the difference in projected response times “negligible.” But some local firefighters have a different take.
Bates said he thinks the study underestimates how much response times would be slowed. Fire Chief Robert Dahlquist said his firefighters would be in the unenviable position of having to wait for backup before they could enter a burning building where people might be trapped inside.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration maintains a “two in, two out” rule, meaning two firefighters must be outside a burning building to support every two inside. Thus, a three-person truck could make preparations at the scene, but would need to await more responders before going in.
“Who wants to be the firefighter making that decision?” Dahlquist asked.
Lincoln Interim Fire Chief Danny Wright said some of his firefighters have had to make that very choice.
Lincoln has a goal of four firefighters per truck, but tight budgets in recent years have meant about seven of the department’s 18 firetrucks run with three people.
OSHA gives firefighters some latitude with the rule -- and Wright said firefighters have had to take advantage of that latitude three times in the past year. They entered buildings without the required four people because lives were on the line, he said.
“We don’t do it a lot, but we do it when the benefits outweigh the risks,” Wright said.
But Brady said backup would never be far behind in Omaha. It’s already the policy to respond to fire calls with multiple units, he said.
For example, one firetruck and an ambulance respond to most medical calls, Dahlquist said. Fire calls typically trigger a minimum of three pumper trucks, one ladder truck, an ambulance and a fire officer to manage the scene.
Dahlquist raised several other concerns about reducing truck staffing, including the fact that four-person trucks allow firefighters to consistently work in teams of two, with clearly defined roles.
Additionally, trucks with fewer firefighters on board mean more apparatus must be sent to scenes, leaving fewer pieces of equipment available to cover other parts of the city, he said.
Brady countered that Omaha rarely gets serious emergencies simultaneously, and that loss of coverage should not be a concern.
Three-person trucks are not uncommon. The Matrix study compared Omaha with other Midwestern cities.
In addition to Lincoln, the study noted that Tulsa, Okla., and Wichita, Kan., operate with three firefighters per truck.
Arlington, Texas, and Minneapolis have a combination of three and four firefighters per truck, while Kansas City, Mo., like Omaha, requires four.
“Somebody needs to explain to me how this is not reasonable in Omaha when all these other communities across the country have three people on a truck and maintain high levels of public safety,” Welch said.
Since the mid-1980s, Wichita has had three firefighters on a fire truck, but also typically sends out a “squad,” which is a modified pickup truck with pump capabilities. The squad has two firefighters, which means five people get to the scene initially, said Wichita Fire Battalion Chief Mike Gonzalez.
“The more people the better, but it’s a matter of funding,” Gonzalez said. “Like many places, the budget is tight here.”
When the subject of firetruck staffing is broached nationwide, firefighter safety is often the first thing opponents of three-per-truck mention.
Omaha Firefighters Union officials have said the proposed staffing change could lead to more firefighter injuries or even deaths. Few studies have been conducted on the topic since the early 1990s, but those that have been done largely support more firefighters per truck.
A 1991 national analysis of firefighter injuries, by the International Association of Fire Fighters, concluded that departments with four firefighters to a truck have fewer injuries.
Dahlquist, Bates and Lincoln Chief Wright could not cite specific local examples when firefighters or residents have been injured because of understaffing. But Dahlquist noted that staffing was upped in Houston in 2001 after several recent firefighter deaths were linked, in part, to three-person firetrucks.
In one case, a three-person firetruck was the first to arrive at a high-rise apartment fire, and two firefighters decided to enter the building before backup arrived. One of them was killed.
Welch said he hopes emotions won’t prevent a rational debate of the financial realities of the Fire Department. “I’m trying to do the right thing and educate people on the issues.”
Dahlquist said the Matrix study has led to an outpouring of support that reminds him of the community’s response after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
“I can’t tell you how many compliments I’ve received from people supporting the firefighters and the department,” he said.