IF COPS HAVE RIDE ALONGS, DO FIRE HEROES HAVE SLEEP OVERS?
For over a year Fullerton “Fire” Heroes have been pressing for Fullerton’s admission into the ranks of the OC Fire Authority, an agency that will give them more of what they crave: our money. We, as always pick-up the check.
Tuesday night, the Orange County Fire Authority proposal and the rebuttal were presented to Fullerton’s City Council, and the fire Heroes brought out the entire circus: wives, children, retired firefighters, Anaheim firefighters, Ahmad Zahra’s strange sycophant Bernard, and Ahmad permanent Plus One, Egleth Nuncci.
He tells me what to say and I say it…
Of the OCFA, the Voice of OC recently wrote: “(They are) wrestling with some big issues right now, including a drop in staffing, stalled contract negotiations, along with an ever expanding wildfire season and a revolving door of fire chiefs over the past decade.”
Is Orange County’s Fire Authority on Fire?
Judging by the public comments from the fire Heroes and their supporters, this article aptly describes Fullerton.
Fullerton’s budget currently allocates an astounding $21.5 million dollars for fire Hero salaries. That is $21.5 million dollars more than as ever been allocated in general fund money for streets, roads, sidewalks or streetlights. It’s no wonder the city if falling apart. If the OCFA comes in it’s going to cost even more.
Of course, this enormous expense is humped by Fullerton taxpayers, who get the best EMT service $21.5 million dollars can buy because over 80% of all Fullerton “fire” calls are not fire calls. They are medical calls!
In the meeting, OCFA Chief Brian Fennessy says Fullerton fire is a department in crisis because they are losing so many fire Heroes to other departments.
According to Voice of OC reporting, in their last fire academy, OCFA wanted to recruit 50 fire heroes to help boost their staffing levels.
Why? Because staffing levels have “dropped to the point that firefighters are being regularly forced to pick up extra shifts.”
Sounds familiar Fullerton? Same complaints our Fullerton fire Heroes cry about their very own department.
“They (OCFA) got 19 firefighters, two of which quit within the first month to return to their old fire departments in the Inland Empire that were offering better pay and benefits.
“With that lack of new personnel, it’s putting stress on the existing staff, with many reporting they’re being forced to work dozens of hours of extra shifts against their will.”
A Fullerton fire Hero’s wife said the exact same thing at the Council meeting about the department that issues overtime to her “overworked” husband with such regularity, it is widely known in fire circles that overtime for fire heroes is a part of the salary.
There are a few certainties in life. Death. Taxes. And the pressure terrorism campaign from the Fullerton fire heroes will most certainly begin in earnest.
Zahra is bought and paid for by the Fullerton fire union, so he can’t say yes fast enough to the OCFA move. His fundraiser was dutifully attended by Fullerton Fire Union President Dan Lancaster, who snagged over $60,000 in overtime pay alone in 2020.
The fire union will definitely contribute on behalf of Ahmad’s campaign in the form of independent expenditures, of which for some reason they are always absolved.
The hypocrisy in criticizing a candidate taking donations from Tony Bushala or a John Saunders as being in the pocket of developers, but taking money from the fire heroes is beyond reproach.
Also, Fullerton’s fire union and its fearless leader Lancaster need to learn to count. Supporting Zahra gets you to 1 vote. Unless you can count to 3 Dan, you have nothing.
So support Zahra at your own peril or get better union representation that will get you better results.
Silva, Jung, Dunlap, and Whitaker can use the facts presented to see that the problems Fullerton’s department faces are the problems all departments countywide are facing. Even the glorious OCFA, when considering their sexual discrimination lawsuits, and recruiting issues, isn’t the shining city on the hill it claims to be.
The four will be the target of text, phone, and mail campaigns urging citizens to support their fire Heroes because the near 90% of their department that makes in excess of $100,000 (not counting overtime) they are not adequately compensated.
Where’s the Fire, the Orange County Grand Jury report asks.
The answer: Fullerton’s budget trying to placate its fire Heroes, who after Tuesday’s Council whine session look less like Heroes and more like entitled welfare recipients.
That Egleth is a real piece of stoogery. She follows Zahra around like a lost puppy. Leaves Bernard in the dust.
The heroes won’t quit while you still have money in the bank. Heroes Deserve.
Help me out here. The picture of Jabba the Hutt is Egleth??? Forgive me for not recognizing Akmads fag hags…Thought it might be Shana Charles or Elizabeth Hansberg.
Johnny,
Great observation, you’re killing me!
Placentia has shown the way. Contract EMS to the private sector and field fire trucks with 3 heroes instead of 4. Placentia’s EMS response times are the lowest in the County because they send ambulances and not 70,000 pound fire trucks to medical calls. Placentia’s private paramedics were credited with 14 cardiac saves in their first year of operation. Placentia’s service model saves lives. The fire-based EMS system is built on waste and it literally costs people’s lives. It’s built entirely on waste.
The fire heroes fight tooth and nail to maintain their monopoly over EMS because without it, the heroes can’t justify their budgets and staffing levels. It’s a complete fucking farce and dishonest overpaid leeches like Chief Hero Adam Loser continue to perpetuate the big LIE and swindle tax payers.
Restructure the Fullerton Fire Department, privatize EMS, and the city will save millions of dollars every year. It’s really that simple. Placentia has shown the way. They have shown their model is superior in every way shape and form.
Damian, you so funny. Thanks for self proclaiming how good your city is. It’s always a treat to see your “paramedics” parked at the hospitals for hours on end. Check those wall times. Your numbers are pulled outta your ass…
There, there fire hero. It’s gonna be ok. We’ll find you a new job as a Walmart greeter when your greed, fraud and waste finally bankrupts Fullerton. It’s so funny to see how the fire heroes react when they’re called out on their lies and obfuscation.
Why don’t you publish Fullerton Fire Heroes response times? That information is easy to obtain from Metro Cities CAD. Let’s see the true value of the shitty service Fullerton residents overpay for every year. A simple public records request should put to rest just how good and valuable the fire heroes really are. Maybe you can pull yourself out of the recliner in the fire station long enough to make the request yourself.
Lets post Placentia times. Thats right, no CAD to even know, they make them up.
Placentia is an absolute joke. The numbers are a complete lie….14 saves my ass….how about the gentlemen who died in the city hall parking lot waiting for someone to save him. Yet finally a cop walked out there and found him after 15 min. Is that the amazing EMS system you tout Damien? Your Placentia Firefighters have tried to expose the truth of the new model going on, but Damien threatens them anytime they start to talk to the public about their concerns.
Another GED fire union goon heard from.
I’m not going to profess to have knowledge about FFD policies and who responds to medical calls. All I can do is talk about my own experiences.
My old agency also had a policy that an engine would respond to all medical aid calls (along with a PD unit). At first I didn’t understand it. Eventually I learned that the ambulance crews are only EMTs, and the paramedics were firemen. An EMT is not equipped to do much more than provide really basic emergency care and transport. The real work is done by the paramedics. The engine responded because the paramedic was assigned to an engine, and needed to be able to respond directly to real fire calls directly from a medical call if necessary. If the paramedic responds alone from the station, then the fire crew is down one person and unable to respond to fire calls. So paramedics do double duty as firefighters and medical specialists. If you have a paramedic dedicated to only responding to medical calls, then you need to hire another firefighter, and now you’re paying more. As for the PD responding….you have no idea how many medical aid calls turn into something physical and an arrest results, especially with unconscious people (and especially transients). Firefighters fight fires, not transients. I don’t think FPD responds to all medical aid calls here, not sure. I always used to clear medical aids as soon as it became clear I wasn’t needed.
Salaries and benefits are a function of supply and demand. If Fullerton is down on firefighters, police, etc., as compared to other agencies, odds are they aren’t paying enough. If you don’t pay enough, you don’t get applicants through the door, and the ones you do get are the ones with background and competency issues you’d rather not be working for you. Get enough of those people working and then the quality people will not come to work for you even if the salary is brought up to a competitive level.
It used to be that every firefighter job had hundreds of applicants. It’s not that way anymore. If there is a lack of applicants and a bunch of openings at FPD (and I have no idea whether there are or not), then that is indicative of a problem with salary and benefits, and possibly leadership as well.
I get it….we all want the roads fixed, parks and landscape maintained, etc. I do, too. But you also need to address public safety, which is more important to me than the other stuff. Too many years of the city council kicking the financial can down the road and we’re left with no good options.
I will add that my old agency was toxic as hell. They pay a competitive salary and benefits, a bit above average, but they are down 20% of their officers because the word is out about how toxic the agency is and the only way to get promoted is if you are willing to be an expert at kissing ass. Qualifications, performance and experience don’t matter in promotions. Word of mouth counts for a lot in attracting applicants…..and no officer at my old agency would ever recommend to a friend that they work there. SO money isn’t everything, working conditions and a fair promotional process count for a lot.
hmm. simple solution. Put the paramedics on the ambulance and respond to medical calls with an ambulance only, potentially with a fly car (paramedic on board) as a backup. And use the ambulance for emergencies, not bogus.
I was an EMT for Care before going to medical school and worked in both Fullerton and the rest of OC. Fully 80% of the people that I transported didn’t need an ambulance. Most of them didn’t even need to go to the ER at all. I could fill a book with the stupid things that I transported people for at the behest of the clown posse known as the fire department. Chronic back pain, tummy aches, drunks, flu like symptoms, chronic back pain, extremity pain, criminals the cops didn’t want to deal with… need I go on. It was common practice for businesses to call 911 because a bum was sleeping on their property. We’d take the bum to the ER, they’d leave 15 minutes later, go right back to their sleeping spot, and start the cycle all over again.
And your comment “the real work is done by paramedics” misses the point. The real work is done by doctors. Surgeons for trauma, neurologists for strokes, cardiologists for heart attacks, OB/GYNs for labor, etc. Emergency PHYSICIANS handle stabilization when those services aren’t immediately available (and in metropolitan areas like Fullerton, they always are).
all these professions require 4 years of medical school and at least 3 years of residency and fellowship (3 for emergency med, 4+ for the rest). By comparison, paramedic school is a 10 month certificate. Basic emergency care and transport is all EMTs AND paramedics are qualified to do. For further comparison, in the UK, Israel, Ireland, Australia, and every other sane country with the paramedic model, paramedics need to get a three year university degree in order to work as one. THEY have a treatment model. WE have a transport model. And that’s not going to change as long as we have these thuggish unions that demand that protocol be sending 4-6 paramedics to every 911 call. You ever go to a doctor’s office and get treated by four physicians at the same time?
“Salaries and benefits are a function of supply and demand.”
That’s unadulterated bullshit. The unions elect their stooges who do what they are told. The line for “fire” openings has been stretching around the block for decades. The supply is overwhelming. The demand is static. Ergo, the salaries and benefits should be COMING DOWN, not constantly going up in a never-ending escalation between cities controlled by the union.
Kudos to Josh Ferguson for stepping up to the podium during public comments and hitting the fire Union goons right between the eyes. Happy to see him still fighting for the taxpayers.
Excellent post, Emily only they don’t come off as entitled welfare recipients as much as they come off as entitled, spoiled man-babies. Such is the psyche of your run-of-the-mill fire Union goon.
Ahmad is a criminal and the Fire Department is supporting him, which makes them complicit in his evil and that they empower his bad deeds by donating to him or supporting him.
Is that Egleth Nuncci or Shana Charles?
Or Elizabeth Hansberg? They’re all quite similarly built.
Dan Lancaster is milking you for $60,000 in overtime! He has the balls to send me to carp on and on! I thought being short meant he would be more down to earth.
Why is the Voice of OC the only one reporting? Where is the Register and most importantly, why doesnt the Fullerton Observer stop kissing Zahra’s ass and do some real reporting and not opinion pieces.
This report that the fire Union sponsored was dishonest at best. The Union keeps trotting out this argument that they’re so woefully underpaid that they’re having retention issues and the report’s authors agree and pile on by saying it’s unheard of in the fire industry. Yet they very deceitfully leave out the fact that just a couple years ago the city conducted a recruitment for entry level firefighters for a total of 5 positions and received over 500 applicants. While the entry level firewhiners may pick up and move to greener pastures, the engineers, captains and all the dim witted idiots in white hats end up retiring in place. If Fullerton is so woefully underpaid then why are the highest paid employees always in the fire department?
The secret is out – there is no shortage of people waiting and willing to fill these jobs. You could pay them half of what they currently make and they’d still line up around the block to volunteer.
Fullerton fire department employees don’t give a shit about the community. If they truly did, they wouldn’t be itching to go to the county fire department. These theatrics are all about getting themselves a big payday.
Thanks for a clear assessment. This is an issue of union intimidation – NOT SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
Source of the claim that “just a couple years ago the city conducted a recruitment for entry level firefighters for a total of 5 positions and received over 500 applicants”, please?
Fire Hero Unions are an organized crime syndicate. They use their power and position to extort more and more from innocent victims. We would all be better off in the long run with volunteer fire departments.
Big night coming up for the fire union goons on Tuesday!! Anyone giving odds on whether or not the Fullerton City Council pounds the final nail in the City’s fiscal coffin by rolling over and handing the firewhiners winning lottery tickets as newly minted OCFA millionaires? Bold move bringing this forward just before an election too.
I saw the union’s propaganda land on my doorstep today – perfectly timed.