Portage Fire Chief Tom Fieffer spoke to the Portage Exchange Club at the August 13 breakfast meeting at Miller’s Assisted Living.
Fieffer began with some sobering statistics. Inspired by the recent suicide of actor/entertainer Robin Williams, Fieffer investigated the incidences of suicides among firefighters. Nationally, an average of 100 firefighters die by their own hand each year.
“Firefighters and police officers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the same as military personnel,” he said. “We have lost 506 firefighters in the past four years in this nation.
“It happens in big cities and small towns and everything in between. Chicago and Phoenix seem to have the highest incidences.
“The average citizen needs to know that this job takes a much bigger toll on us than people realize. A big event like the Beta Steel explosion of 1997 is very traumatic. It was 17 years ago, but if I close my eyes I can still see the horror of the scene when we arrived. We have debriefing on things like that.
“But it’s the daily events that really wear people down – especially when they involve infant death or injury. These are part of our job. We don’t have debriefings on those, but we probably need them.
“(Pastor) Tim Engel, the chaplain for the police and fire departments, is a good counselor. He helps us out. And I have to commend Portage for supporting the EAP, Employee Assistance Program. We have the best, hands down. The city has never skimped on that, and we are very grateful for that.
“Please ask people to pray for their firefighters and police. We need it!”
Turning from this serious topic, Fieffer said, “Now, let me tell you about a great thing going on! I’ve brought the plans for the new proposed fire station that would be located near the downtown water tower!
“The living conditions at the old station that was built as part of City Hall in 1967 or 68 are so small that you literally have to plan which way you’re going to roll out of bed, so you don’t knock heads with the people next to you. Going back to our previous subject, we have to worry about the comfort of our firefighters to help relieve some of the stress when they are not on call.
“Besides that, the work areas are very antiquated. This new station will allow us to have our tower more centrally located and move the Marine 3 to Station 2, so it’s closer to other marine vehicles. We NEED a new fire station both for the safety of our citizens and the comfort of our guys.”
“We are also looking to replace our Ladder #1 truck that’s 15 years old. It makes 160 -180 calls each month and has a lot of miles on it. We have been planning for this for a while and hope to go for bids in January. It’s going to run around $700,000. That will come out of the Capital Culmulative Development Fund. By the time the new one is ready, the old one will have served the city for 18 years.
Fieffer shared the plans for the new station with the members of the Exchange Club. Among other features, it includes rest rooms that would be open to the public who attend activities at the proposed band shell and park area.
“We felt people would feel safer using permanent facilities that are connected to the fire station. There would be less chance of vandalism of the facilities, too.
“The average person may not think too much about the fire stations, but it’s the only building that incorporates a garage for our ladder, rescue and engines; a gas station; an office building; and a home all in one. In planning this, we had to take into consideration local building codes as well as those of the National Fire Protection Association.
“We are attempting to save the city money in the long run by installing industrial quality stoves and washing machines. Because of OSHA, all the uniforms must be washed at the station. Two of my biggest expenses are replacing washing machines and stoves.
“If people come in and see a big TV, they have to understand that the fire fighters bought that with their own money. The city doesn’t pay for things like that. It’s the same thing with the food. I get calls about the fire trucks being parked at Town and Country. They drive there to buy food for themselves to cook at the station. When they are on for 24 hour shifts, it’s much more economic and healthy for them to buy food and prepare it rather than buy fast food all the time. And, of course, they have to drive the truck there in case they get a call. If that happens, the food stays where it is, and they have to go immediately. Emergencies always come first!”