The necessary disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are my own. I do not represent the Patch in any way, nor am I paid by Patch. I usually try to inject a bit of humor in my blogs, but not this one. There is nothing funny about this blog. This is serious business. Lives are at stake, and maybe careers are at stake.
I have always felt that the number one priority of any municipal government was public safety. Public safety should be the very first priority, and if there is money to do things after that, well that's fine, but public safety should be the #1 concern of any municipality. I do not see that happening in Plymouth Township.
There are very serious problems within the Plymouth Township Fire Department, and it has come to light that Supervisor Richard Reaume has made an effort to cover them up. Mr. Reaume has exerted pressure on Fire Chief Mark Wendel to keep reports about the preparedness of the fire department quiet.
Why would you not want official communications about your Fire Department to be discoverable? Why would you direct your Fire Chief to literally cover up any official reports as to the readiness of the Fire Department? Does that seem legal to you? It seems very illegal to me. If not a violation of the law, It most assuredly is a violation of the public trust.
This brings us to a very disturbing letter that Fire Chief Wendel wrote to Plymouth Township Supervisor Richard Reaume. Chief Wendel wrote this letter on July 19, 2013, and it hasn't seen the light of day until now. It is my understanding that Mr. Reaume chose not to share it with any of the Trustees that were elected to represent us on the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees.
He chose to cover it up. He chose to cover it up from the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees, and he chose to cover it up from the residents and taxpayers of Plymouth Township. If you think that is bad, you're right.
You see that letter didn't stay covered up. That letter has finally seen the sunlight, thanks to The Associated Newspapers of Michigan, which publishes The Plymouth Eagle. Associated Newspapers obtained the letter through a Freedom Of Information Act request.
The letter was written on Plymouth Township stationary and was dated July 19, 2013 and was addressed to Plymouth Township Supervisor, Richard Reaume.
Here are the first two paragraphs word for word.
"Dear Supervisor Reaume,
I am writing this letter to express concerns I have regarding the direction the Fire Department has been headed for the last two years. Verbal discussions between you and me during this period of time leave little direction for this department. You have directed me not to contact any Board members with department issues and you have further instructed me not to create written documents that may be FOIA-able, however, how am I to protect myself from scrutiny without creating a written document and expressing my concerns to you as my direct supervisor. The old adage ‘If it wasn't written, it didn't happen’ comes to mind.”
Chief Wendel had concerns about manpower, EMS response, equipment replacement and "the general lack of support from those making critical decisions as it pertains to the general safety of the firefighters and the public we serve."
When I read those first two paragraphs, my first thought was that Supervisor Reaume should be put in jail. Mr. Reaume told his Fire Chief not to create any written documents concerning Fire Department issues that could be discovered under the Freedom Of Information Act.
This is an issue that has been brewing for over two years now. The whole thing started in 2011, when out of frustration and anger the City of Plymouth opted out of a joint agreement they had with Plymouth Township to provide fire and EMS services.
In response to this, Supervisor Reaume and Treasurer Edwards devised a clever plan that would radically downsize Plymouth Township's fire department. Many residents thought that was a bad idea and came up with the idea to present a one mill bond to the voters to fund the fire and EMS services and keep the full time, fully-trained staff of paramedics.
The Plymouth Township Board of Trustees were hell bent on downsizing, and fought in court to stop the bond proposal and deny the residents a chance to vote their choice. They actually went four separate times to court, but lost.
In a successful effort to thwart the bond proposal, the Board of Trustees unilaterally turned the one mill bond into a ten mill bond, knowing fully well that a bond that high would never pass, and it didn't.
On the first day of March, in 2012, within a week of the bond proposal going down, Mr. Reaume called a special meeting of the Board of Trustees and the layoffs came, and the fire station in the most populated area was closed.
This brings us to today. In February of 2012 we had 21 full time firefighters, and today we have 12. Almost half the force is now gone.
For one minute, think about the position that Mr. Reaume put Chief Wendel in. Mr. Reaume is Chief Wendel's boss. The safety of the firefighters and the Plymouth Township residents are Chief Wendel's responsibility. What the heck is the guy supposed to do? How is he supposed to choose between his boss, and the safety of his firefighters, and Plymouth Township's residents?
Mr. Reaume basically instructed Chief Wendel to violate the trust that his firefighters, and the residents of his community put in him. Worst-case scenario, Mr. Reaume instructed Chief Wendel to violate the law, and to violate the Freedom of Information Act. I don't know. That just seems illegal, but somebody smarter than me will most likely have to make that decision.
So putting all this aside, the question that comes to mind is why? Why on Earth would an elected official go to such an extreme measure? Why would the Supervisor instruct his Fire Chief to keep quiet about the preparedness of the Fire Department?
Well, if you read further in the letter you start to understand why.
According to Chief Wendel, manpower hasn't been this low since 1979 when he hired in, and yet the “workload has increased by some 400%. Fifteen part time firefighters were hired to fill the gaps, yet only 7 remain.”
Well there ya go. I can understand why Supervisor Reaume might want this information covered up.
It gets worse.
Chief Wendel goes on to remind Mr. Reaume that on several occasions, the department has operated with only 3 full time firefighters, and only one ambulance in service. There have also been many times when Station 3 has been closed because of manpower issues. Mr. Reaume was made aware of all this and yet nothing was done to remedy the situation.
This is beyond disturbing. This is flat out dangerous.
Three full time firefighters, only one station open, with one ambulance, for 28,000 residents, over an area of 16 square miles. One serious accident on I-275 or M-14, and there is absolutely nobody to help you if your house is on fire. fire. Nobody to help you if you have a heart attack. Take a number, and we'll get to you when we can. We’ll call for our neighboring fire departments or an ambulance company and see if they can come in time.
Maybe this is why Supervisor Reaume wants this information covered up. Maybe that is why Mr. Reaume instructed Chief Wendel "Not to create written documents that may be FOIA'able."
Emergency Medical Service is another important issue that Chief Wendel brought up. Under the township's current policy, all the full-time firefighters are trained paramedics in Advanced Life Support, and that is good, even though there are only 12 of them. The few paid-on-call guys Mr. Reaume hired are not paramedics and a few are in training to become basic EMT’s.
The part that is not working though, is the fact that Huron Valley Ambulance has been instructed to transport all of the patients. This is bad for two reasons. First and foremost is that there is a lack of medical continuity for the patient who has to be handed off when HVA arrives.
Having our EMS transport the patient provides continuation of medical care by a team that has ALS training, something HVA can’t guarantee all the time, if and when they show up.
Furthermore, from a financial standpoint, HVA is the entity that bills for the transport. Plymouth Township provides the resources, and HVA collects the money.
This is the reason that Livonia, Northville, and Canton Township recently served notice that they will no longer be providing mutual aid for EMS calls in Plymouth Township. They simply do not want to subsidize Plymouth Township any longer. You can not blame them.
Chief Wendel went on to warn Mr. Reaume that HVA has become less reliant recently, when responding in Plymouth Township, and a particular concern is confusion when there are multiple incidents within the township.
Chief Wendel brought up a number of equipment issues, and they are really too numerous to examine at any great length.
Bottom line is we have three engines, and they are 13, 20, and 24 years old. According to Chief Wendel, “these fire engines simply do not meet the current safety standards, and are subject to repeated failures with each passing day.”
Our four ambulances are 10 years old or older, and “experience constant mechanical problems, with two out of service at a time, on a continual basis.”
The list goes on as far as vehicles are concerned, with the two pick up trucks both having over 130,000 miles on them, and the sedan being 13 years old, and severely rusting.
The one thing that should alarm folks who own a two story house is the fact that Plymouth Township no longer has no Ladder Truck.
Just think about this. The Plymouth Township Fire Department has no ladder truck, no aerial platform, no capability to fight a fire for a dwelling or business that is above one story.
If you bought a home in Plymouth Township, and the bedrooms are on the second floor, do you feel comfortable knowing that Plymouth Township has no ladder truck? No aerial platform? Do you sleep on the second floor of your home? Do your children?
Do you feel comfortable knowing that if there is a fire in your two-story home, you have to wait for a ladder truck from Canton Township, Livonia, or Northville to arrive at the scene, after a mutual aid request is made?
This is a recipe for disaster, and the Plymouth Township Supervisor instructed the Fire Chief not to create any sort of document that could be discovered by a FOIA request that would reveal this deficiency.
The list goes on and on. There are so many equipment deficiencies that our Plymouth Township firefighters deal with, it's almost unbelievable.
Chief Wendel has requested replacement of the department's Self Contained Breathing Apparatus SCBA's for the last two years, and according to Chief Wendel, each time he has been told "not at this time." The bottles expire at the beginning of 2014, and there is currently no plan in place to replace them.
Mr. Reaume told the chief "Not at this time."
These units are the difference between life and death for a firefighter. These SCBA's also can, and should, come with a PASS (Personal Alert Safety System) device. This device emits a loud audio alert to notify other firefighters of a firefighter in distress. It activates if it does not detect motion for a short period of time, typically 15-30 seconds.
SCBA's are not something you want to cut corners on. You want the top of the line. You do not wait until the very last day, or week, or even month, to replace your old ones with new advanced models. Our firefighter's lives depend on these SCBA's.
Our lives, and our family's lives depend on our firefighter's ability to get to us in an IDLH (Immediate Danger to Life and Health) atmosphere, and Mr. Reaume said "Not at this time."
The list goes on.
Turnout Gear: Expires in 2014
Communications Equipment: Over 20 years old. Replacement parts are no longer available.
Thermal Imaging Cameras: Over 10 years old, costly to repair. Thermal imaging cameras allow firefighters to find, and rescue victims in an extremely smoky environment.
Lifepak Defibulators: 3 generations of technology behind, and should be replaced with the Lifepak 15 Defibulator.
The next statement in Chief Wendel's letter illustrates the total neglect that our elected officials in Plymouth Township have displayed towards the fire department, and the residents of our community.
Chief Wendel states "Keep in mind there have been no capitol purchases in the fire department over the last four years in trying to maintain a minimum operating budget."
Not one capitol purchase in the last four years. I simply do not understand that. Not one equipment replacement. No program in place to keep the infrastructure of the fire department up to minimum safety standards.
It seems as if the lifespan of every single important piece of equipment is about to expire by the end of the year, or has far outlived its normal life expectancy.
We have no ladder truck. Our fire engines are 13, 20, and 24 years old. Radio equipment is way out of date. Defibulators out-of-date. SCBA's out-of-date. Almost half of the full time firefighters have been laid-off.
Where did all the money go that was saved by the layoffs? Shouldn't some of that money have gone towards normal infrastructure maintenance? Not one capitol expenditure in 4 years.
The Plymouth Township Board of Trustees recently voted by a margin of 4-3 to purchase 2 million dollars in bonds for improvements throughout the Township. There will be money spent at the Hill Top Golf Course, there will be a $625,000.00 air conditioned Pavilion, and a $275,000.00 Amphitheater at the Township Park, and a host of other expenditures.
I have spent a few minutes looking at equipment needs, and have done some math, and here is what I came up with:
For the cost of that bond, we can purchase a ladder truck, a new fire engine, to replace the 24 year old model, an ambulance, and every bit of "soon to expire" safety equipment, along with all new communications equipment to replace the 20 year old radios. We could purchase all of that, and still have money left over.
In this scenario, you would still need to begin a replacement process for the other vehicles, but it's a huge start. This scenario though, does not deal with the serious under staffing issues, and I think it is time to have a serious conversation within our community about the staffing of our fire department.
So the question in my mind is this. Is it more important to have amphitheaters and air-conditioned pavilions, or a ladder truck, a fire engine, an ambulance, and up to date safety equipment for our community?
Fluff or substance?
Mr. Reaume certainly knew of all these deficiencies within the Township Fire Department when he decided to sell bonds to fund his amphitheater, and pavilion. He had received the letter from Chief Wendel when he decided to spend more money at the Hill Top Golf Course. Mr. Reaume knew these serious problems existed. While this letter may have been a surprise, the information contained in it was surely not.
Mr. Reaume had all of this information, and yet he pushed for and approved this two million dollars worth of spending, without one single plan to address the deplorable conditions at our fire department.
I call on our Plymouth Township Board of Trustees to revisit the two million dollar bond issue. I call on them to rethink their priorities as far as the expenditures of these funds. I call for this Board of Trustees to put forth a public plan to address the concerns put forth in Chief Wendel's letter.
The Plymouth Township Fire Department is understaffed, and their equipment is in deplorable condition, and these two issues have to be dealt with immediately.
The Plymouth Township Supervisor has no right to direct the Fire Chief to cover up any information that involves the safety of our firefighters, and the safety of our residents.
I would urge all residents of Plymouth Township to attend the next few meetings of the Board of Trustees to express their opinions on this issue.
Your life may well depend on it...
For more on this story: http://plymouthvoice.com/fire-chief-expresses-safety-concerns/
For more blogs by Bryan Bentley: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bentley-Blog/309509845854563
