Girard Fire Department News & Information

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From the Tribune Chronicle on 3/2/2006...

Girard plans to test for fire, police recruits
By JENNIFER KOVACS Tribune Chronicle

GIRARD - The city's Civil Service Commission voted Wednesday to administer a test this month for entry-level positions in both the police and fire departments in order to create a list of possible recruits.

But Mayor James J. Melfi said the positions held by two upcoming retirees may not be filled right away because of financial restraints.

"We will have to wait until about June to see where we are financially. We certainly are going to lose one fire and one policeman,'' Melfi said.

The commission decided in a regular meeting to make applications available Monday in the mayor's office for a test to be offered the week of March 17.

Fire Chief Kenneth Bornemiss said he will lose a firefighter later this month, and police Chief Frank Bigowsky said he will lose an officer in May.

Melfi said the severance packages those two will take may impact how soon replacements can be brought on board.

"It certainly does put a strain on the budget when you're talking about $100,000 for two people,'' he said.

Despite Melfi's call for financial caution, he did ask the commission to offer the test in order to replace the city's expired list of potential employees.

"We currently do not have a list that is within the two-year time period,'' said commission chairman Kurt Latell.

According to state law, the city must not only allow enough time for job seekers to fill out and return applications, but also provide 60 days to study, the commission discussed. So even if the fiscal cloud hanging over the city lifts sometime soon, new hirings can't be made until as early as May.

With the police department already short-staffed and the fire department facing months of a shift one man down, both chiefs said overtime is a point of concern.

Last year alone, the police department racked up about $160,000 in overtime, Bigowsky said. And, though his ideal would be for the city to hire three new officers and one dispatcher, he said he'd be happy with seeing two patrolmen hired for salaries of about $55,000.

"That's what $160,000 in overtime means to me.'' Bigowsky said.

Admitting a point of contention could be that those salaries would go up over time, Bigowsky said he's optimistic about Girard's financial future and that continuing overtime at this rate is a "wasted effort.''

"We could have more people, less overtime,'' he said.

jkovacs@tribune-chronicle.com

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Published in the Youngstown Vindicator on Wednesday, March 1, 2006...

Official seeks to improve emergency response time

The councilman said he would like the issue to be addressed soon.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

GIRARD — A complaint of slow ambulance service has one city council member questioning the fire department's role as first responders.

John DeCianno of McDonald said he and his wife, Joann, came to the city Jan. 23 to pick up prescription medication from Brine Pharmacy on North State Street. What should have been a routine trip nearly turned disastrous, DeCianno said.

While waiting in line, DeCianno turned to see his wife's fists tightening and recognized the early signs of a seizure. With the help of an off-duty Weathersfield Township police officer he managed to lay his wife on the floor inside the store.

"Fortunately, she was standing behind me or she would have hit the floor and cracked her head," he said.

According to DeCianno, the pharmacist at the store called for a paramedic immediately, but after 20 minutes no ambulance had arrived. He said three calls for an ambulance were made in the half-hour before an ambulance arrived at the pharmacy.

Mrs. DeCianno was eventually transported to an area hospital, and is now recovering at home.

Wants return of city service

DeCianno, who said he was a paramedic for five years in the 1970s and a longtime firefighter, called the time elapsed from the first call to the arrival of the ambulance unacceptable. He said the city needs to again start offering ambulance service.

"I want [the city] to get back in there and get their own service where they can get an ambulance to people on time," he said. "I was so disappointed."

The city had once operated ambulance service, but that ended at the close of 2003.

Jerry Lambert, city safety service director, said the city now contracts all its ambulance calls through Rural Metro Ambulance Service. He said any complaints about service are directed to his office and followed up with Rural Metro. He is looking into DeCianno's claim of a slow response time.

Firefighter paramedics

Councilman Dan Moadus said the city could be doing more in the way of acting as first responders even without the ambulance service. He said firefighters here are paid an additional $1.32 per hour to have paramedic training.

"We are paying for paramedic service and they are not doing it. They are not even doing EMS services. It just infuriates me," he said.

Moadus said firefighter response along with traditional ambulatory response to emergencies will likely result in an emergency responder's making it to the scene of an emergency faster because firefighters are more likely to know how to navigate lesser-known areas of the city.

Moadus said if nothing is done to address the problem soon he will push for removal of the additional $1.32-per-hour firefighters receive for certification as paramedics.

jgoodwin@vindy.com

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Published in the Youngstown Vindicator on Sunday, March 19, 2006

Exam to fill police, firefighter vacancies

GIRARD — The Girard Civil Service Commission will be conducting an examination for entry-level police officers and firefighters April 25.

Applications can be picked up at the city administration building between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. from Monday until March 31. All applications must be returned no later than 3 p.m. March 31.

Applicants will be required to pay a $25 nonrefundable fee upon returning the application.

The city has not had a civil service exam in more than three years, making the last test results invalid. Civil service commission members had been waiting on a residency decision from council before administering the civil service exam. A new state law made the change in legislation necessary.

Council could have allowed employees to live anywhere in the state, within Trumbull County and its four adjacent counties, or strictly within Trumbull County.

Action taken

Council members rescinded an ordinance requiring city employees to live in the city and approved new legislation requiring city employees to live in Trumbull County.

Applicants for the fire department must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, able to pass a physical fitness test and have a valid driver's license. Applicants for the police department must be a U.S. citizen, at least 21 years old, pass a physical exam, able to meet background qualifications and have a valid driver's license.

Members of the civil service commission could not say whether more police and firefighters will be hired. Mayor James Melfi said a viable list is needed in case additions need to be made to either department, however, a police officer is scheduled to retire in May and a firefighter has retired in the last two weeks.

[TCHM77103]

Maybe I'm wrong, but wouldn't the simple and obvious solution to this problem be to restore the ambulance in Girard with GFD personnel and be done with the whole ordeal?

[daysleeper47]

Well, the program needs to be managed better. They got rid of it because it wasn't making them any money. They need to get their billing down pat.

[TCHM77103]

I agree that they need to get the billing issue handled. The trip volume is definitely there to make a pretty profit if they would do things right.......( third parrty billing ).
 My whole bone of contention is that, some of the political talking heads in the city are grumbling that the firefighter's aren't providing first response, With what equipment?? I'd rather you not show op on a scene than have you show up with no equipment.
 If you've ever seen the movie Tommy Boy...........this whole ordeal equates to the "what'd you do?" line.

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Published in the Youngstown Vindicator on Tuesday, March 28, 2006...

New ambulance service is set

Lane LifeTrans will begin April 5.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

GIRARD — Starting next month, city residents will be provided ambulance services by a different company.

According to Mayor James Melfi, Lane LifeTrans will supply ambulance service to the city beginning April 5.

The city had once operated ambulance service, but that ended at the close of 2003. The city had been under contract with Rural Metro to provide ambulance services.

Under the contract between Lane and the city, which has yet to be signed, the ambulance provider would station an ambulance and crew in the city 24 hours a day, seven days a week in a building near Kline Street.

"This will provide a very fast response for our citizens," said Melfi. "They will be here around the clock, and we are happy about that."

City officials had been looking into ambulance response times in the city after a complaint by a McDonald man after his wife suffered a seizure in a city pharmacy. The man said ambulance response time was too slow.

Jerry Lambert, safety services director, said the time from call to arrival in that situation was about 11 minutes. That, he said, is a little longer than officials like to see for emergency service.

Lambert said the national standard for ambulance response time is nine minutes, but officials are hoping to beat that time.

"The national response time is nine minutes, but Lane's goal it to keep all responses within five minutes. As soon as they get the call they will know if they need the assistance of the fire department," Lambert said.

Fire crew

Firefighters, according to Lambert, will respond to calls that Lane cannot make it to within the five-minute period or when Lane request additional help. Fire Chief Ken Bornemiss said response time will be a collaborative effort between the ambulance company and the fire department, with firefighters responding when Lane is busy with multiple calls.

Bornemiss said firefighters will be responding to calls using one of the fire engines and will not be transporting individuals to the hospital. He said firefighters, in the event of multiple calls for an ambulance, will be able to stabilize victims until Lane is able to get an ambulance to the scene.

Lambert said the city will be looking for a vehicle that can be used by firefighters for both ambulance and fire calls.

Melfi said another good aspect of the contract is that residents will be able to pay a low fee and guarantee an unspecified number of ambulance rides at no additional costs.

Single individuals can pay $15, the elderly can pay $20, and families can pay $35 annually for the prepaid ambulance coverage. Those buying the coverage will not be charged anything above what their insurance will cover.

In other business, council rejected a motion by Councilman Dan Moadus to send a letter to the municipal court asking the judge various questions about the court's special funds and who determines salaries of some court employees. The motion was rejected 5-1.

jgoodwin@vindy.com

[daysleeper47]

Doesn't Girard have a mini-pumper? That would be a great squad vehicle....

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From the WFMJ TV21 Web Site on 3/30/2006...

Residence Feel Safer in the City of Girard

A new ambulance company will serve Girard starting April 5.

Mayor James Melfi says that a crew from Lane Lifetrans will set up living quarters in the city and provide service 24/7.

Lifetrans will also offer ambulance insurance coverage.

The city fire department will also be called to provide additional help in emergencies.

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Girard councilman calls for disbanding Fire Department
Story by BILL RODGERS from the Tribune Chronicle on 9/12/2006.

GIRARD — City Council’s meeting Monday took a wild ride with a family’s concern over a late response to an emergency call last month.

Councilman Daniel Moadus Jr. stirred things up by suggesting the fire department be disbanded in place of the city having its own EMS squad.

‘‘Especially in a town that is financially strapped, to pay $1 million a year for fire service isn’t worth putting out four or five fires,’’ Moadus said.

The comments set off an argument between council members and Fire Department members in the audience. Council President Reynald Paolone had difficulty calling the meeting to order.

The argument was touched off during the residents’ comment part of council’s agenda. Sisters Chris Ford and Kathy Jones talked about an Aug. 15 incident in which their elderly father had fallen outside his Girard home.

The women claim he waited 32 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Sam DePietro, 73, of Park Avenue, had fallen in 80 degree temperatures. Jones told council she had called 911 twice, while Ford said her father has a number of health problems including chronic heart disease, diabetes and a condition that restricts his breathing.

The Girard Fire Department came on the scene first, followed shortly after by an ambulance. Girard contracts for ambulance service and responds if the ambulance service can’t get to all in less than six minutes, according to a contract.

Moadus said he was ‘‘astounded’’ the fire department didn’t hear about the call. He angrily called for the fire department to be ‘‘disbanded’’ and restructured in such a way that the town will be able to have its own EMS.

Councilman-at-large Michael A. Costarella called for city officials and both the police and fire chefs to attend a meeting of the Health and Safety Committee at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 to discuss a process that could counteract human error in dispatching emergency medical services and to find a way to make sure each Girard address is correctly entered into an electronic database.

‘‘I want everyone with a stake in this to come up with a solution,’’ Costarella said after the meeting.

In other business, Mayor James Melfi said he was apprehensive to fill vacancies in the police department until the possibility of an appeal in the funding case for the Municipal Court had passed.

brodgers@tribune-chronicle.com

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Ambulance service brought into question
Story from the Youngstown Vindicator on 9/12/2006.

One woman said her father is now reluctant to leave the house.

GIRARD — Slow response to an emergency call that left one elderly city man lying on the ground for more than 30 minutes may lead to changes in how the city handles calls for ambulance service.

Katherine DePietro-Jones told city council at its Monday meeting that her 73-year-old father, Sam DePietro, who suffers from several medical conditions including breathing problems, fell down the outside steps of his home Aug. 15. DePietro-Jones said she immediately called 911 and was told an ambulance would be sent.

After waiting several minutes, DePietro-Jones said she called 911 a second time then called the fire department, which also instructed her to call 911. The fire department, however, did send two firefighters who gave immediate care to DePietro until the ambulance arrived.

DePietro-Jones said no ambulance arrived until 32 minutes after the first call to 911.

The city had once operated ambulance service, but that ended at the close of 2003. The city had been under contract with Rural Metro to provide ambulance services until Lane LifeTrans began ambulance service in the city April 5.

DePietro-Jones said her father, who once served on council and was a firefighter here, deserved better treatment from the city.

"The city not only owes an apology but restitution to an elderly gentleman and former civil servant of this community," she added.

Explanation

Fire Chief Ken Bornemiss said the slow response time was the result of human error. He said Lane is required to notify the fire department if they will be longer than six or seven minutes in responding to a call, but the fire department, he said, was not notified about the DePietro call.

Councilman Dan Moadus said he would like to see the fire department operate as first responders for medical calls. He said first responder should be added to the firefighters' list of other duties.

"We are spending $1 million in that department, and I feel we are not getting our money's worth for $1 million to put out a few fires every year," he said.

Several firefighters and citizens attending the regular council session took issue with Moadus' comments. The heated discussion led council President Reynald Paolone to end public participation in the meeting.

Councilman Michael Costarella said the fire department should be notified of each call for an ambulance so it can prepare to go out if needed. Costarella said the issue will be discussed at length during a health and safety committee meeting at 7 p.m. Sept. 19.

DePietro-Jones said her father is recuperating since the incident, but he is afraid to leave the house out of fear of falling and not being able to get help in a timely manner.

She said she does not fault the fire department for the mix-up, but she does feel Lane is responsible as well as city leaders for removing the city-operated ambulance service.

"If the city had not taken away the ambulance service, they would not be in this situation," she added.

[Box 2565]

Wow, Councilman Moadus needs his head examined (maybe we should call an ambulance).  How many fires do you have to have in a year before a fire department is needed?  The idea behind a fire department is protection when there is an emergency.  Politicians in general do not understand that......

[TCHM77103]

Does it seem strange to anyone else that Girard is staffed with medics and still has a fully stocked car and council insists on using a private EMS agency?
 Why not just reinstate the EMS service?

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Year later, arson that killed 3 remains unsolved
Story from the Youngstown Vindicator on 9/13/2006.

The family will have a vigil at 6 p.m. today in Tod Memorial Park.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

GIRARD — A young mother and her two small children were found dead in a house that someone set afire; now, one year later, officials are still looking for answers and the woman's family refuses to let her memory die.

Firefighters were called to 413 Dearborn St. in the early hours of Sept. 13, 2005, to battle flames that had engulfed the house. Firefighters quickly learned the family of three was still inside.

Since the front door was deadbolt locked, firefighters entered the rear door and found Mason Cross, 5, and Christian Pizzulo, 2, upstairs, dead in their beds.

Firefighters said Lena Cross, 22, was found lying on a couch in the downstairs front room after the fire had been extinguished.

Ruling

The fire was later ruled an arson, and it was determined that Lena Cross suffered multiple stab wounds before the fire was set. Both children died of smoke inhalation.

No arrest has been made, and police are still investigating.

Karen Booth, Lena Cross' mother, said the year since her daughter and grandchildren's deaths has been difficult. She hardly ever does the recreational things she used to do, especially those things she would do with Lena and the children.

Booth has occupied her time in a completely different way — working with police officers and the various investigators trying to determine who took the lives of Lena and her children. She said it is imperative not to give up on finding the killer and not to allow the community to forget what was done to her daughter and only grandchildren.

Booth and other family members have now placed Cross' picture along with photos of her two children on a billboard along U.S. Route 422 here asking anyone who knows anything about the murders to come forward. The family also is offering a $20,000 reward.

Vigil today

Today, on the one-year anniversary of the murders, the family will have a vigil at 6 p.m. in Tod Memorial Park. Booth said there will be lighting of candles, words from the Rev. John Pratt, words from Lena Cross' grandfather Milton Cross, a song sung by one of Lena Cross' close friends and the playing of bagpipes.

"I am hoping somebody will come forward. Someone out there has to know something," Booth said. "I just want justice to be served."

Police Chief Frank Bigowsky said police are also hopeful that new information will be brought to the attention of investigators working on the case. He said the efforts of the family in keeping the murders in the public eye could help in the investigation.

Bigowsky said he could not comment extensively on the case because it is still under investigation, but he believes an arrest will eventually be made. He said officers are working diligently, but they have had some difficulties.

"What is difficult about this is that any evidence that was there may have been destroyed in the fire. That has been a difficult thing to deal with," the chief said. "It is not that no one has been brought to justice because of a lack of effort, I can tell you that. No stone was left unturned."

jgoodwin@vindy.com

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Girard chemical bombs
Story from the Youngstown Vindicator on 11/25/2006.

GIRARD — City police are trying to determine who is responsible for placing two drain cleaner chemical bombs on the property of an elderly Dravis Street man Thursday.

Police reports say one of the bombs detonated about 10 p.m., causing a loud explosion. The homeowner said unknown people have been knocking on his doors and windows and running for the past month or so. The chemicals for the bomb had been mixed in Pepsi bottles and left on the porch of the home and near the end of the driveway. No injuries or property damage were listed in police reports.