BTVFC President finally speaks up!

I’ve been waiting quite a while for this guy to say something. Even if it was the same ol’ bull shit we could have printed from some sort of template for fire prevention. Anyone notice he doesn’t say a word about all the calls they hand off to rural metro? Or even a word about paying out hefty settlements to former members for defamation. He just spews the same old BS we expected.

I believe my questions to Jeff were these:

1.)     Why did you buy the property?

2.)     What are you doing with the property?

3.)     How many actual fire calls your department respond to each year?

4.)     How many of those require you to pull and charge hoses?

5.)     How many EMT calls your department take each week, month and year?

6.)     How many calls Rural Metro take in comparison to your department for the same time frame?

7.)     How much money does your department have in the bank?

8.)     If you are a non-profit, why do you have so much money in the bank?

9.)     As a non-profit who is supposed to get your extra money?

10.)  Why have you not reported your intentions on this new property to the Town Council?

 

How about some truth Jeff, that would be fresh. You did answer a couple questions but why in the Sun? Why did you run from this publication for so long? ANSWER: Because you know what I said was true!

Anyway here is his response in the Hamburg Sun.

 

President of Big Tree Fire Company Addresses Recent CriticismEditor, The Sun:
With respect to the letter to the editor published in a recent issue of The Sun, permit me to respond on behalf of the Big Tree Volunteer Fire Company and all of its members.

The citizens of our community are generally aware of the reality that fire companies and departments similar to Big Tree find it increasingly difficult to recruit volunteers. That difficulty results from the degree of training, the time commitment that volunteerism requires, and the ongoing educational and training requirements for all volunteer firefighters. In our complex society, composed of two income families, it is becoming more and more difficult to recruit men and women who have time and motivation to undergo the extensive training and on the job requirements that being a volunteer firefighter today requires.

With this backdrop let me address our community in the following manner:
• The Big Tree Volunteer Fire Company has recently purchased a parcel of vacant land which is centrally located within our district. This purchase is in anticipation of the possible construction of a new fire hall. The purchase price was $315,000. The clean up and beautification project put forth this year on this property is being completed by the volunteers of Big Tree, with the exception of prisoners used from the Gowanda Correctional facility work release program, which was at no cost to the taxpayers.

To date, members of Big Tree have completed over 1,200 hours of volunteer work on this site, saving the taxpayers in excess of $10,000. These savings are based on estimates quoted to us for the same work to be performed.

All work being performed at this time has been discussed with and approved by the local building inspections department and members of the planning board and this clean up project has been discussed in meetings with the town supervisor as well. We have kept in close contact with all town departments and will continue to do so in the future and file any permits if and when required by state and local codes.

Comments made stating otherwise are false and unfounded. The Fire Company has not purchased equipment to clear this land but has rented equipment on a short term rental basis to keep overall costs of this clean up and preparation down.

There are no plans on the books to construct a new facility. The suggestion that such a facility would cost $4 million is literally plucked from thin air, given the fact that we have not hired an architect, prepared plans, sought necessary permits, nor have we taken any other action to construct a new facility.

In the even that a new facility was someday constructed on the land approximating 13.5 acres, Big Tree would market for sale its two existing fire halls. A full study must be undertaken as to whether the construction of a new facility would be financially justifiable in light of a potential sale of existing facilities.

A study must be undertaken to determine whether response time to over 1.100 calls per year could be reduced by virtue of having one centrally located facility as opposed to two.

Our primary facility on South Park Avenue is over 60 years old. It has been difficult to house modern fire fighting equipment at this facility, and to safely depart from the various truck bays at the front of the building onto South Park. We at Big Tree will continue to work closely with the town supervisor and the appropriate town departments as we progress with our internal studies designed to determine the service and financial feasibility off construction one modern central facility that can meet the needs of our community and district residents.

• The Big Tree Volunteer Fire Company fortunately answers few fire calls per year where we actually pull hose and fight fires in our district, although mutual aid fire responses are much greater and our members train week after week to be prepared for any emergency that may arise. Our fire prevention program is very comprehensive and aggressive.

Every year, the members spend hundreds of hours promoting fire prevention in schools and senior citizen complexes in and around our district, many of them taking time off from their paying jobs to perform these tasks for the residents we so proudly serve. Fires have been drastically reduced in our district because of this dedication by our members and their education outreach efforts.

In Big Tree, however, we continue to be the one of the busiest companies within the Town of Hamburg, averaging over 1,100 calls per year. Approximately 75 percent of those are EMS calls. We answer calls 24/7. Our response times have historically been excellent. Our dedicated volunteers are well trained and well equipped.

While it is true that the Town of Hamburg contracts with Rural Metro, it should also be obvious that Rural Metro can not absorb the thousands of town- wide calls per year given its own staffing limitations. This contract is provided as a back up system for times when members of our company are not available to answer calls.

Certain EMS calls require a higher level of care for people who may be severely injure or gravely ill. The Rural metro back up contract is to provide such care when this higher level of care is not available from the members our company.

Although we do provide paramedic level care, it’s almost impossible to provide this level of care for the increasing number of calls for this type of response. This is a reality that persists in our district, the Town of Hamburg and almost every other town across the nation protected by volunteer agencies.
• We are a not-for-profit corporation. We submit and annual budge to the Town of Hamburg which outlines projected expenses, projected sources of revenue from the consistent fund raising efforts of our volunteers. We maintain a fund balance for the replacement of equipment, turn out gear and apparatus as well as capital projects and other major expenses that do not occur annually. This is done to avoid the need for financing of such projects and equipment. This is good fiscal sense and common practice for all fiscally prudent corporations.

The town reviews our budget annually. We also submit our books and records to an accounting firm on a voluntary basis for an annual audit. The corporation’s tax returns are posted on the state’s Web site for public scrutiny. Our books and records are open. We have nothing to hide. We comply with the law as it relates to the public’s right to know.

• Ford Beckwith wants the town to take steps to reform its dealings with fire companies. Please understand, however, that the fire companies and departments are always trying to consolidate financial burdens through town wide bidding procedures, and other cost containment initiatives.
Fire equipment purchased by Big Tree and other fire companies are owned by the companies that purchase such equipment. In the even of consolidation, excessive equipment can be sold, and the proceeds of any sale would be used to fund ongoing operations and long term needs. Such a result would lessen the reliance upon the town for funding for these purposes.

To suggest that the paramedic/ambulance services should be terminated for each fire company with the town is a ridiculous idea. As previously noted, Rural metro cannot absorb all the EMS calls townwide. Certain injuries or illnesses can be more expediently responded to by volunteer firefighters. Rural Metro provides a safety net for the public on occasions when the severity of injuries or illness becomes life threatening.

We live in times that make volunteering very difficult. Volunteer firefighters take on a strenuous public responsibility. They do so at no cost. They do so at considerable sacrifice and they ask precious little in return for the good work they do.

Beckwith’s ill founded accusations assume that Big Tree volunteers have little regard for the taxpayers of our community, members of our community who happen to include those very same volunteers.
For all the years of our existence, we have been scrupulous in accounting for monies received and expended. We have been exemplary in terms of the level of service we extend to people throughout our service area.

This is our record for which we are justifiably proud.
Jeff Roth
President,
Big Tree Fire Company