Defending local firefighters

In response to your June 16 editorial, "Flame on!"
Recently the misleading reporting surrounding Clark County firefighter negotiations with county officials has "gone viral." Your editorial was based on misleading assumptions spoon-fed by county officials.

One of the cartoon-like characterizations is that firefighters don't do much. Clark County firefighters responded to more than 123,000 calls last year, 337 calls every day. More than 90 percent of those calls aren't fire related, they are medical emergencies -- cutting people out of crushed cars with the "jaws of life" and restarting hearts.

There were 11,137 cardiac emergencies last year alone.

In 2009, there were 59 drowning incidents and the majority of those occurred in the summer months of June, July and August. Because of rapid response we were able to save 49 people from drowning deaths, 95 percent of whom were children under the age of 4.

As the basis for your editorial, you claim we are trying to protect our "ridiculous wages." What you fail to report is that the average Clark County firefighter makes $22.87 an hour.

Have some firefighters made $200,000? Some have, mostly from overtime. In order to make $200,000 a year a firefighter has to work 97 hours every single week.

The most important point you constantly fail to address is that we don't make overtime policy. These incredible overtime bills are the fault of commissioners who have been balancing their books on the backs of firefighters. That's why we are working these ridiculous overtime hours. They then make us out to be the bad guy. It is the height of hypocrisy. Taxpayers deserve better. The Review-Journal, intentionally or unintentionally, goes along with the ruse.

Perhaps your editorial is aimed at urging a reduction in the $22.87 per hour we make. If the Review-Journal considers $22.87 an hour in base pay to be too high, we simply agree to disagree.

You also make the claim that we believe firefighters should "remain immune from sacrifice." We took this job knowing about sacrifice. We knew going in that a firefighter's average life expectancy is less than 61 years. By and large, firefighters die in bed. Firefighters suffer thyroid and prostate cancer deaths in higher numbers than civilian populations. We aren't whining. We knew exactly what we were getting into. We know all about sacrifice.

You state, as fact, that the Heavy Rescue Team is "rarely used." They went on 996 calls last year. These are some of the most harrowing, complex rescues in Southern Nevada. Tell us how this equates to being rarely used? Heavy Rescue is the team that cuts victims out of horribly crushed cars. They are experts in treating people while they are still trapped, before the jaws of life have even opened the car up to extricate the victim.

This is the beginning of flood season, the Heavy Rescue experts are our swift water rescue experts. Maybe County Commissioner Rory Reid will get lucky and it won't flood this election season. We sincerely hope that is the case because if it does, there will be only one team in the entire valley.

Heavy Rescue responders available to the Strip will be cut in half.

The point was made that the Heavy Rescue Team aren't the first responders. While that may be true in some situations, assessment of emergencies may begin immediately but rescue work doesn't begin until Heavy Rescue arrives. They are the experts and they are now three times as far away from the Strip. According to the Reid plan, casinos south of Tropicana will be handled by Henderson firefighters. As late as last week, that Henderson team, which is part of Reid's own district, had not even been notified.

Is the Hazardous Material Team rarely used? Yes, but when their skills are needed they are critically needed. Hazmat emergencies can be huge and carry the threat of killing hundreds or thousands. To their credit, County officials asked in a $250,000 study they commissioned from Deloitte and Touche whether their Haz Mat and Heavy Rescue operations were adequate. That study concluded Clark County should hire more Heavy Rescue and Hazmat experts. But under the direction of Rory Reid, the number of experts will be cut in half.

It doesn't take a terrorist attack for hazardous chemicals to kill thousands. A single railroad car can carry enough chlorine to kill thousands of people. Chlorine is manufactured in Southern Nevada and is transported through Rory Reid's commission district every single day and night.

Finally, you mention that Mr. Reid can wear this issue as a badge and we are sure that he will. We never wanted to go down this path.

Mr. Reid has been the one person who is in a position to guide a mature discussion of the problems and to lead us to answers. Instead it has been a blame game to make us look as if we are profiting.

We are sure Mr. Reid will wear this issue as a badge. But if the worst happens in this, the beginning of the drowning season, the beginning of the flash flood season, and we pray it doesn't, someone will ask how this happened.

For our part, we pledge to work harder, faster than ever before. But if the worst does happen, Rory Reid is going to wear that badge as well.

Ryan Beaman is president of Clark County IAFF Local 1908.