Hazel Park, Madison Heights

Fire departments assess their workloads

By Andy Kozlowski
C & G Staff Writer

sirens. Sometimes it seems to happen with alarming frequency. But by the end of the year, how many were there really?

The fire chiefs weigh in.

Madison Heights
“It’s been very busy for the past couple years,” said Madison Heights Fire Chief Gregory Lelito, who early last month took over from former Fire Chief Kevin Scheid.

He noted that in Madison Heights, runs were up in all categories from 2010 to 2011, with runs totaling 3,785, a roughly 14 percent increase from the year prior.

These include increases in fire incidents, from 124 runs in 2010 to 134 runs in 2011, and increases in rescue and EMS incidents, from 2,284 runs in 2010 to 2,548 in 2011.

“What I was surprised about was it’s all in proportion,” Lelito said. “Even though we’re up 473 runs from 2010 to 2011, which is very significant, each category is in proportion. For instance, the 300 series, our EMS calls, helping hurt and injured and sick, in 2010, it was nearly 69 percent of our calls; in 2011, it was 67 percent. Since we had so many more runs, I was expecting it all to be on the EMS side, but actually it wasn’t — it went down, even though our run totals went up.”

That being said, in both years, the rescue and EMS calls were the most frequent. The reason, Lelito said, is part of a disheartening trend: More and more people are leaning on EMS for basic medical attention they would’ve visited a doctor for in the past.

“The issue comes with people losing their insurance, their benefits decreasing, their copays rising,” Lelito said. “They wait longer to go to the doctors when there are issues coming up. But in some cases, you can’t wait. If you do, it gets worse.”

Things are starting to look up for the Fire Department itself. Accepting the federal government’s SAFER grant in early 2011 allowed them to bring back two firefighters that had been previously laid off in budget cuts.

Now the department has 24 men in fire suppression, maintaining a six-man minimum, but authorized by budget to have three platoons of nine and a swingman, someone who fills gaps in shifts as needed. This is still down from years past, which requires them to send an engine from Station No. 1 to back up Station No. 2 on any runs where No. 2 has fewer than four men.

That can be taxing for the men who see their run volume rising as a result, but with the department now hiring, there is hope things will stabilize.

Lelito commended them for their hard work.

“The firefighters, with the increased workload, have handled it very professionally, and they have performed to a very high standard,” Lelito said. “Myself and the city are very proud of the way the firefighters handled their higher workload and decreased staffing.”

Hazel Park
While Madison Heights saw a marked increase in runs, Hazel Park’s numbers remained steady.

“We’re no busier than usual,” said Hazel Park Fire Chief Ray DeWalt. “We’ve been steady for the last four years. Nothing’s contributing to anything more than anything else. They’re all about even.”

He points to the numbers, which show that runs for Hazel Park totaled 2,639 in 2011, a mere 5 percent increase from 2010. Fire incidents rose from 456 runs in 2010 to 571 runs in 2011. Rescue and EMS incidents went from 2,054 runs in 2010 to 2,068 runs in 2011.

He shared concern about the way some residents use EMS.

“People tend to look at us as like going to the corner doctor,” DeWalt said. “It does interrupt the emergency service, so to speak, when we have to go help a family give out meds or get them out of the chair. We don’t mind doing it, but it takes away from someone having a heart attack when we’re helping someone else go from a bed to a chair. It’s just not what we’re here for.”

DeWalt said he’s especially alarmed by how about 80 percent of all victims in fire runs don’t have any sort of insurance.

“That’s how they’re doing their budgets, their financial income, what they can do with and what they can do without, and we’re finding with even small fires, everything is being lost,” DeWalt said.

Hazel Park’s automatic mutual aid with Ferndale and Madison Heights proved integral in 2011.

“In my opinion, speaking for my department, we seem to count on it a lot,” DeWalt said. “We seem to have gotten to a point where it’s getting to be a habit with us, so that when we go to Ferndale or Madison Heights, we know what they’re using us for, and same when they come here. Once the alarm comes in, it’s automatic. They will send an engine and three or four men, and we will do the same for them.”

The department itself feels stronger going forward. Thanks to its own SAFER grant the department accepted last October, its staff now numbers 23, the highest it has ever been. Previously the department’s numbers totaled 19.

Last year, it was running three six-man shifts with six-man minimums; this year, it’s running three seven-man shifts with six-man minimums, which should cut overtime drastically.

“They were doing overtime every day, which was really taking a toll on the guys and their families,” DeWalt said. “When you do 24-hour shifts, and you’re gone all the time, you have to explain to your wife and kids why you miss soccer and softball and so on, and it takes a toll on you.”

But now, “we’re totally staffed,” DeWalt said. “The new guys, they’re good kids. The new blood is giving us a little regeneration.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Andy Kozlowski at akozlowski@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1104.