KIDDE RECALLS DUAL SENSOR SMOKE ALARMS; CAN FAIL TO WARN OF A FIRE
WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 9, 2009 - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Kidde Model PI2000 Dual Sensor Smoke Alarms
Units: About 94,000
Manufacturer: Walter Kidde Portable Equipment Inc., of Mebane, N.C.
Hazard: An electrostatic discharge can damage the unit, causing it not to warn consumers of a fire.
Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received two reported incidents of smoke alarm malfunctions involving electrostatic discharge during installation. No injuries have been reported.
Description: This recall involves Kidde dual sensor smoke alarms model PI2000. The alarms can be identified by two buttons, “HUSH” and “PUSH AND HOLD TO TEST WEEKLY,” which are located on the front/center of the alarm. The model number and date code are on the back of the smoke alarm. Only date codes 2008 Aug.01 through 2009 May 04 are included in this recall.
Sold at: Retail, department, and hardware stores and through electrical distributors nationwide from August 2008 through May 2009 for between $30 and $40.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should contact Kidde immediately to receive a free replacement smoke alarm.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Kidde toll-free at (877) 524-2086 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.kidde.com
Click here for more details.
LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS TEAM UP FOR MDA
WEST WINDSOR - May 11, 2009 - Professional firefighters from West Windsor IAFF Local 3610 and Robbinsville IAFF Local 3786 teamed up to fill the for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
Members of both locals were at the Princeton Junction Train Station during the early morning commuter rush. Over $1,300 was collected.
The International Association of Firefighters is the single largest national supporter of the MDA. Individual IAFF Locals have cumulatively raised over $300 million for the MDA since 1954 through their annual Fill the Boot campaign.
MDA is a national voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services and far-reaching professional and public health education. The Association programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.
For more information on the IAFF/MDA partnership see: http://www.iaff.org/mda/index.asp
 |
 |
ROBBINSVILLE AND HAMILTON FIREFIGHTERS SHAVE HEADS FOR ST. BALDRICK'S
COLLINGSWOOD - March 29, 2009 – A nine member team of firefighters from Robbinsville Township IAFF Local 3786 and Hamilton Township FMBA Local 84 shaved their heads while participating in the 2009 “Collingswood Firefighters for a Kid’s Cure” event. The event supported the St. Baldrick’s foundation. Funds raised through St. Baldrick's events are helping some of the world's finest researchers find cures for childhood cancer.
This is the second year that Robbinsville Professional Firefighters have participated in the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser. Firefighters solicit donations from friends, family and local residents then shave their heads (and the occasional moustache) as a show of solidarity toward children who are battling various forms of cancer.
Over the past two years, Robbinsville Firefighters have raised over $10,000 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Even though the event has passed, it is not too late to donate to the Robbinsville-Hamilton Fire team. For more information on the foundation and how to donate please see:
http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/team_info.php?TeamKey=2009-4256
 |
 |
DOBLIN: WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, BLAME THE ARBITRATOR
NORTH JERSEY.COM - February 6, 2009 - There's a new game in town. It's called "Blame the Arbitrator." Arbitrators are the sole reason municipalities are being saddled with costly public employee contracts – well, not so fast.
A few weeks ago, officials in Closter were outraged when an arbitrator awarded borough police more than a 16 percent wage increase over a four-year period. It was outrageous, said local officials. Not surprisingly, the union representing police was satisfied with the raises.
On Thursday, Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich wrote an opinion piece published in The Record. Sokolich also has a bone to pick with the arbitrator who awarded a similarly generous contract to Fort Lee police.
"The recent arbitrator's award concerning the Fort Lee police contract disregarded economic conditions, the government's fair and, by more accounts, generous offer to settle and the significant burden placed on our taxpayers," Sokolich wrote.
In other words, "Damn, that arbitrator."
The mayor continued: "I cannot blame our local police representatives. It is human nature to ask for as much as possible and achieve the most for their organization. Were it not for the economic turmoil, I would have enthusiastically supported a generous contract. I can, however, blame the arbitrator for the complete disregard of the current economic climate."
Save that paragraph. Frame it. Within those four sentences lies all that is wrong with local government and public employee contracts in the great State of New Jersey.
Binding arbitration is a last resort for workers who are legally barred from striking to achieve an acceptable contract. To reach that stage, both sides have to be incapable of forging an agreement on their own. Sokolich wrote that it was perfectly reasonable for the police union to disregard the current economic crisis, but it was unforgivable that the arbitrator did the same thing.
"It is human nature to ask for as much as possible and achieve the most for their organization," is an absurd excuse for greed. Public employee unions live in the same world with the rest of us. Millions of people are losing their jobs. Now is not the time for raises.
Contract negotiations are games of hard ball. It would seem that Sokolich was pitching with a Wiffle. The mayor writes: "Were it not for the economic turmoil, I would have enthusiastically supported a generous contract." That logic, folks, is how you end up with sweetheart deals across the state.
The mayor should not enthusiastically support a "generous" contract. He is not negotiating with his money. He should be seeking a "fair" contract. Fort Lee doesn't make anything. It is not a corporation producing cars or sweaters or packaged hams. It collects taxes. In good times, ratables increase. That should not be a license to increase salaries and benefits, because in lean times, all the residents of Fort Lee will be stuck paying a tab they cannot afford.
Responsible government would shrink taxes when revenues are high and increase them only when needed when revenues dip. Good times are not an excuse for larded public employee contracts. Fort Lee, Closter, the dysfunctional government in Trenton – these are not for-profit enterprises.
Blaming the arbitrator for overly generous contracts is nothing more than using a convenient target as a scapegoat. Yes, arbitrators, as the last resort, should look at current economic trends before contracts. Yes, arbitrators can be too cozy with union interests. But to some extent, arbitrators' hands are tied by judgments previously awarded in neighboring communities. The only way to effectively break this cycle is for municipal leaders to stand tough and not excuse union officials for fear of the backlash at election time.
No public official should give union leaders a pass. Hold their feet to the fire. Instead, Sokolich laments the possibility of layoffs to offset the costs of the new police contract. He wants the reader to feel sorry for his dilemma, a dilemma of his own making.
You cannot be the nice guy who wants to give everyone a big fat raise and be the mayor. You cannot be the nice guy who does not expect union leaders to make concessions in hard times, but expects an arbitrator, with no real stake in the community, to be the only person of reason.
We should not be fooled by this emotional ploy. Do not blame the people of last resort for the failure of the people of first resort.
Fort Lee and its police union should have negotiated a fair contract without an arbitrator. So should have Closter officials and their police union. If it's all the fault of "greedy unions," then have the guts to say that. If it's the fault of weak public officials, then own up to that.
All across New Jersey, public officials and union leaders have learned that by letting arbitrators do the deed, neither side is cast as anti-union or greedy. The trouble with this arrangement is that New Jerseyans are forced to shell out more and more money. They are being financially mugged by the very people they pay to serve and protect them.
Someone should call the police.
NIOSH RESPIRATOR APPROVALS TO BE REVOKED
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is issuing this notice to inform respirator users that Global Secure Safety Products., Inc. is no longer producing NIOSH- approved respirators or replacement parts and is not planning to resume production in the future. Global Secure Safety Products, Inc. stopped production of respirators in April 2008 and has ceased doing business.
Global Secure Safety Products, Inc. (formerly CairnsAir Inc. or Neoterik) Respirators will be listed on CEL as Obsolete and Certificates of Approval will be Revoked
NIOSH will revoke the approvals of these respirators on December 31, 2009. Revoked status means that the respirators in question will no longer be listed as NIOSH-approved respirators. Once revoked, respirators bearing these approval numbers may no longer be manufactured, assembled, sold, or distributed as NIOSH-approved respirators. Furthermore, they may not be used where NIOSH-approved respirators are required regardless of the current state of maintenance.
LESSON OF CHELSEA APARTMENT FIRE: TRUST SMOKE DETECTOR
NY DAILY NEWS - October 11, 2008 - The fire was just inside the front door, but Firefighter Chris Pirrone of Ladder 12 was able to knock it back with his extinguisher just enough for his lieutenant and another member of their company to press into the apartment.
Lt. Peter Cooney and Firefighter Kevin Neenan continued past the burning kitchen and down the smoke-choked hallway, knowing they could become as trapped as the family they hoped to save.
"There's only one way out," Deputy Chief James Daly observed. "And they had no way of knowing if they're coming back out."
The firefighters also knew that moments could make the difference between life and death. These two undeniably brave and noble souls continued on into the blinding blackness, feeling their way into a bedroom.
They broke a window to release some of the smoke. A man and two children were lying on the floor. Cooney took up the smallest figure, a 15-month-old Ruth Joa Balbuena, and carried her to safety. Neenan began pulling 40-year-old Maschay Valdez toward the door.
Cooney made his way back to the bedroom and got the second child, 10-year-old Jonzan Joa Balbuena. Cooney got the boy to safety and hurried back yet again to help Neenan with the man.
Engine 3 under the command of Lt. Roy Cotignola was on the scene to douse the fire, and the extinguisher was exhausted, so Pirrone made his way down the hallway. He turned into a bathroom and discovered a woman, 34-year-old Delkin Balbuena, lying in a partly filled tub.
Firefighter Tom Corrado of Ladder 12 had been assigned to vent the fire from the outside, but he had come running on hearing the radio report of "10-45s" - FDNY code for victims. He helped Pirrone carry out the woman.
Other units had arrived and Firefighter Rich Miranda of Rescue 1 discovered an 8-year-old girl, Nanny Joa Balbuena, who had been seeking refuge with her mother in the tub. Lt. Jason Goldsmith of Ladder 24 discovered a 2-year-old girl, Bet-el Joa Balbuena, under the bathroom sink.
Outside the apartment, firefighters joined EMS paramedics in trying to revive the six victims. Five were pronounced dead on arrival at St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan. One, the 10-year-old boy, was still fighting for life and was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. Jacobi has a hyperbaric chamber that treats victims of smoke poisoning by supersaturating the blood with oxygen.
Back at the building, residents said they had seen one firefighter go onto his knees in the street to pray as the last of the soot-blackened victims was rushed away in an ambulance. Several of the residents gathered in a circle with a priest later in the morning to offer their own prayers.
WITHIN HARSH REPORT ON FIRE, A NOD TO FIREFIGHTERS' 'CAN-DO ATTITUDE'
NEW YORK TIMES - August 22, 2008 - Here is the Halligan tool: a lightweight crowbar-like device used by firefighters to pry open locked doors, smash windows and punch holes in walls.
It hangs on a truck's side at the headquarters of Ladder Company 1 and Engine Company 7, on Duane Street in Lower Manhattan. And as Firefighter John McConnachie pulls it from the rig on Friday and lifts its 8 ½ pounds up to the height of his chest - like an extension of his arm - he explains its place in the city's long history of firefighting ingenuity.
"Anytime something happens, we try to do something to make it safer and better," said Firefighter McConnachie, 46, who has 15 years on the job. "It's always a hairy situation - if it's an explosion, a man under a train, there's a gas leak, there's a woman in a wheelchair with a broken elevator and we carry her up."
The Halligan, a combination adze, pick and fork, is made for improvisation. Named for its inventor, Hugh A. Halligan, who joined the Fire Department in 1916, it is well-suited to the men and women who are expected to think fast in a crisis, even if they have to cut corners sometimes.
"Every fire, there's screwed-up things," Firefighter McConnachie said. "You try to go by the guidelines and the regulations, but things get screwed up. You have to take risks and you have to break rules to get the job done."
Firefighters' tendency to improvise at fires and other catastrophes was highlighted in a Fire Department report released this week about a fire at the former Deutsche Bank building last August that killed two firefighters.
The report, a 176-page lesson plan on firefighting failures, cited several ways in which firefighters broke rules or flouted procedures in the face of overwhelming hazards.
In battling the blaze, high up in the tower, which was being dismantled in Lower Manhattan, they pushed their air packs beyond the 45-minute limit, removed their masks in an effort to save air, and ignored warnings of danger. One firefighter rode atop a freight elevator.
But while the tone was scolding, the subtext was admiring. The report said the firefighters' risky actions embodied a culture of positive thinking. "The 'can-do attitude' has enabled the F.D.N.Y. to protect life and property at a superior level of excellence since the Fire Department's inception," it states.
Glenn P. Corbett, an associate professor of fire science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said city firefighters were known for fearlessness and innovation. Each fire is unique, he said. Conditions can change in a heartbeat. But a question remains: When is it appropriate to deviate from standard operating procedures?
"There is a balance between advocating unsafe or inappropriate actions under normal circumstances versus a situation where extraordinary effort, experience, creativity, innovation, taking higher risks and pushing equipment beyond its limits is necessary," said Professor Corbett, a former assistant chief of a volunteer fire department in New Jersey. "When someone is dying, firefighters are going to push themselves to the limit," he said.
Sometimes that can get firefighters into trouble. But they invariably show up.
On Sept. 11, 2001, the alarm came in just before the 9 a.m. shift change, so the outgoing and incoming platoons were at firehouses at the same time.
The alarms kept coming.
"They rode heavy, as we say," said Francis X. Gribbon, the department's chief spokesman, describing how additional men jumped on the trucks headed to the World Trade Center. Of the 343 firefighters killed that day, roughly 60 were working in this volunteer capacity, he said.
Since then, the Fire Department has banned the practice, said Salvatore Cassano, the chief of department. "Believe me, if I can do anything in my tenure, it is to improve safety," Chief Cassano said. "I am tired of going to funerals. I am tired of visiting people in the hospital. I am tired of telling a wife that her husband is dead or a mother that her son is dead."
Some firefighters said it sometimes takes more guts to back off than to push ahead, even at fires where the possibility of trapped victims is low, at places like abandoned buildings or junkyards. It goes against instinct. They are usually not supposed to go to floors above the flames, but if someone is trapped up there, they might.
Not following the rules is dangerous, many agree.
"You can't take off your mask if you're in a fire,"
said one firefighter outside a firehouse in central Brooklyn.
But three firefighters on Flushing Avenue in Brooklyn, who had just helped extinguish
a two-alarm blaze in a building under renovation, said they sometimes took their
masks off.
"Do we take it off?" asked one firefighter, dressed in bunker gear. "Yes, maybe to get a better view of the situation so we don't have to look through that scratched-up mask all the time. We're not supposed to, but we do."
A lieutenant from another company standing with the men disagreed. "I would never take my mask off," he said. "Not in a large smoke situation, not even in a light smoke situation. There could be PCBs or anything else in the air. When we put it on, it stays on. We keep it on until the fire is over."
At the headquarters of Engine 34 and Ladder 21, on West 38th Street in Midtown, one firefighter conceded that he and his colleagues broke from standard rules sometimes, usually when lives were at stake. "It's like anything in life: there's the ideal situation and then there's what you're confronted with," said the firefighter, Pat Skiba, 28, who joined the force five years ago. "It's a dangerous profession; you can only make it so safe."
At Engine 54 and Ladder 4, on Eighth Avenue off West 47th Street, a 28-year-old firefighter summed up the feelings of many colleagues: "You got to do what you got to do to save lives, to save your fellow firefighters."
CLEARING THE SMOKE OBSCURING THE REAL PUBLIC PENSION VILLAINS
HOME NEWS TRIBUNE - January 13, 2008 - For almost a decade, public employees have continually had their pensions under attack by the very same politicians who have disregarded their pension obligations and used our retirement money as their personal slush fund to help cover up financial mismanagement and the lining of their own pockets. In doing so, they have completely destroyed the overall health and condition of our pension fund.
Ironically, now that their free ride is coming to an end and they must start making restitution, they are blaming the same public employees for the increase in their budgets. In short, these unscrupulous politicians have saved billions of dollars on the backs of public employees and now they are attacking and threatening the jobs of these same proud employees.
While there are several different public employee pension funds, the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) seems to always be one of the funds in the spotlight when these unethical politicians start pointing fingers. As to be expected, they blame most financial problems on our pension fund but forget to inform the public of some very important details. Police and firefighters are not eligible for Social Security when they retire. With that being said, municipalities save millions of dollars by not contributing to Social Security on our behalf.
In addition, despite what some people would like for you to believe, police and firefighters have never expected a free ride. Besides the supposed employer contributions, we also contribute a large percentage to our pension fund. Furthermore, unlike those in the private sector who may be eligible for Social Security, a company pension, yearly bonuses, stock options and a company-matched 401(k), policemen and firefighters have only our PFRS pension to rely on for retirement.
So we ask, when you hear elected officials attacking public pensions, think of the policemen, firefighters and other municipal workers who unselfishly give of themselves in the dangerous professions that most people choose not to enter and put the blame where it belongs — in the laps of the lawmakers.
Scott Law
Second vice president
Professional Firefighters Association
EDISON
FEMA URGES CAUTION WHEN USING PORTABLE GENERATORS
FEMA - WASHINGTON D.C. - The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has joined with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in issuing a warning to consumers confronted by the recent winter weather. When there's a power outage, exercise caution when using portable generators.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an invisible killer. You can't see or smell it. A generator's exhaust contains poisonous CO which can kill you in a matter of minutes.
Last year, at least 65 people died from generator-related CO poisoning. Many of the deaths occurred after winter storms knocked out power.
Follow these important generator safety tips:
Never use a portable generator inside a home, garage, shed or other partially enclosed space, even if doors and windows are open.
Place portable generators outside only, far away from the home. And keep the generator away from openings to the home, including doors, windows and vents.
Read the label on the generator and the owner's manual, and follow the instructions.
Install CO alarms with battery backup in the home outside each sleeping area.
Get to fresh air immediately if you start to feel sick, weak or dizzy. CO poisoning from exposure to generator exhaust can quickly lead to incapacitation and death.
Last year, CPSC mandated a new danger label on generators manufactured after May 14, 2007. The label states that, "Using a generator indoors CAN KILL YOU IN MINUTES."
FEMA and CPSC also caution people to never use charcoal for cooking in the home. Every year individuals lose their lives attempting to cook with charcoal when power is out. Charcoal fires should only be used outside of the home.
For more information, please visit these pages on the CPSC and U.S. Fire Administration Web sites:
SUIT CLAIMS TOWNSHIP VILOATED OPRA RULES
THE MESSENGER-PRESS - September 20, 2007 - WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (Mercer County) - An open government advocate has filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court in Trenton against Washington, claiming the township has violated the Open Public Records Act.
John Paff, chairman of the state Libertarian Party’s Open Government Task Force, filed the lawsuit Aug. 28, claiming that minutes he requested from the Oct. 26, 2006 executive session meeting held by the Township Council were, at first, “redacted too heavily.”
He also claimed that upon seeing the unredacted minutes of that meeting, that the discussion held in private should have been held publicly.
During the executive session meeting, the township met with Joseph DiBella of Commerce Insurance — and mayor in Howell — where Mr. DiBella spoke about his company’s insurance services and what could be provided to the township if it were to sign a contract with the company.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Paff claims that the Open Public Meetings Act’s “pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiation” exception “does not allow for a public body to discuss contractual or litigation matters behind closed doors when the adverse party to the contract or litigation is also present at the meeting.”
Further, he claims that township officials should have only met regarding the litigation or contractual matter for the purposes of developing a negotiation or litigation strategy and Mr. DiBella’s proposal should have been made in public.
”It’s totally opposite of what the Open Public Meetings Act intends,” Mr. Paff said in a phone interview last week. “Both sides ... know what’s going on and the only people being left in the dark is the public. It’s almost a perversion of the OPRA exception.”
He also claimed the resolution the council passed to go into that executive session did not give sufficient explanation as to what topics were going to be discussed privately in that meeting.
Mr. Paff said that he first requested the executive session meeting minutes in April and received a copy of those minutes with much of the information obscured.
In a letter to Mr. Paff in April, Township Clerk Michele Auletta explained that “since a party involved in the contract negotiations is the subject of potential litigation with the township and includes matters discussed with the municipal attorney constituting attorney client privilege” pursuant to state law, the minutes she sent him for the meeting were redacted.
But Mr. Paff said he pushed for the unredacted version of the meeting and an explanation for the redactions.
According to documentation provided by Mr. Paff, Ms. Auletta wrote that they were redacted because the township had not made a decision regarding the health benefits broker at that time. However, since the matter had been resolved, she sent a copy of the unredacted minutes to him in July.
Township Attorney Mark Roselli said last week that the township had not yet been served with the lawsuit papers, but that he expected them soon.
He said he disagrees with Mr. Paff’s claims.
”(There were) contract negotiations going on, and the idea was that they were listening to a vendor, and the reason why you do that in closed session is so that you don’t allow other vendors to know what this other vendor’s giving because that gives them an unfair competition,” Mr. Roselli said. “I liken it to a public bid. When you solicit bids, they’re sealed bids and nobody knows what the other person’s doing, an that’s how they get the best competition.”
Further, Mr. Roselli said that at the appropriate time, the municipality discloses the name of the successful bidder. In this case, the vendor in the closed session didn’t even get the contract, he added.
He said the township will be filing an answer as soon as it is served with the lawsuit.
Mr. Paff said he filed the lawsuit because there is widespread noncompliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.
”Corruption is more likely to occur behind closed doors and that’s why it’s important all this stuff should be done in public,” he said.
However, while Mr. Roselli said he can appreciate what he is trying to accomplish, “I don’t know this is the best method in doing it when you’re utilizing precious resources for the municipality, especially in this one where we try to be as open as possible.”
Click here for a copy of the original complaint filed by Mr. Paff.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP FACES LAWSUIT
TRENTON TIMES - September 12, 2007 - Washington Township has been hit with a lawsuit over its open public records policies.
John Paff, an open government advocate for the New Jersey Libertarian Party, recently sued the township council in Superior Court claiming it violated the Open Pub lic Records Act by failing to properly comply with his request for the minutes of an executive session held on Oct. 26.
Paff claimed the minutes the township clerk sent in response to his request were so heavily edited as to be meaningless.
Later, after a letter and another OPRA request, Paff received a copy of the minutes of that meeting which were not blacked out.
But Paff also claimed in his suit that the council met with Joseph DiBella, a vice president for Cherry Hill-based Commerce Bank Insurance Services, behind closed doors concerning health insurance coverage for township employees when that meeting should have been open to the public.
"I haven't seen such a clear example of apparently using the contract exception of OPRA so the only people being kept in the dark are the public," Paff said. "DiBella is the mayor of Howell Township (in addition to working for the insurer). He's a public official. He ought to know you are supposed to meet for contract negotiations as a huddle to figure out your strategy, not to sit in the room with a contractor. The idea is to keep this se cret from your adversary not to keep the public in the dark."
DiBella said he spoke to the council on "matters of negotiation which needed to be conducted in a confidential matter so as not to compromise the position of the municipality. The township is represented by counsel. It would be the township attorney's responsibility to determine that, not its benefit adviser. The township has a municipal attorney who is well versed in what should or should not take place in closed session."
Mark Roselli, the township lawyer, said parts of minutes had been redacted because they concerned potential litigation. Once it was determined there would not be litigation, "Whatever information we had was released (to Paff)," Roselli said. And "as to the open session versus closed session, we have a disagreement.
Roselli said the township has not yet been served with the lawsuit and he does not remember the specific incident regarding DiBella but believes it involved contract negotiations.
Paff, meanwhile, has sued several other municipalities over open public records issues, including Key Point Borough, Medford and Toms River.
Paff said he performs random checks to ensure OPRA is being upheld
"Most (municipalities) are not doing what they are supposed to do," Paff said.
Regarding the heavily blacked out minutes he was first given by Washington Township, Paff said, "I don't know why they redacted everything out. Why in the world are they redacting this stuff?"
Paff said his main reason for filing the lawsuit is to obtain a court ruling to put Washington Township and other municipal governments in Mercer County on notice that they must follow OPRA.
"Just basically a declaration (by a judge) is the most important thing," he said. "It helps provide guidance to everyone else in Mercer County. All the people in the surrounding towns are going to say, 'My council does the same thing.' It helps ensure there is better compliance."
FIREFIGHTER FACES PROBE IN REQUEST FOR RECORDS
TRENTON TIMES - February 18, 2007 - The township is investigating whether a firefighter disobeyed township rules when he made contact with the state's Records Committee.
Last month, the township gained approval from the state's Records Committee to destroy 12 documents dated from 1996 to 2006, including two records that firefighter Ed Haemmerle had requested last year through the Open Public Records Act.
The two documents were e-mails written by Township Administrator Mary Caffrey from her home computer and sent to Mayor David Fried. Saying the records were protected by the First Amendment, the township refused to release the e-mails. Since then, the Government Records Council has made a preliminary ruling the e-mails are public, and a final hearing is scheduled for Feb. 28.
When Karl Niederer, secretary for the Records Committee, found out last week that the records were the subject of pending litigation, he revoked the township's permission to destroy the documents because the request was "under an apparently false certification."
Concerned that Haemmerle may have contacted the Records Committee about the documents, instead of handling the matter solely with the township, Fire Chief Kevin Brink said he met with township administrators and is conducting an investigation to determine whether Haemmerle should be disciplined.
"We're making sure that he followed the guidelines and chain of command," Brink said. The township's biggest concern, Brink said, is that Haemmerle allegedly falsely accused the municipal clerk Michelle Auletta of acting illegally.
"Clearly, a false inference was made that Michelle was doing something wrong," said township attorney Mark Roselli. "Mr. Haemmerle is a township employee. And like all township employees who don't follow the rules and regulations, the township is obligated to investigate and discipline if necessary."
If Haemmerle is disciplined, he will have the right to appeal to both Caffrey and Fried. Because they might have to make a decision on Haemmerle's actions, both declined comment.
Haemmerle said he could not comment about the documents or the state reversing its decision on whether the records could be destroyed. Fearing he would lose his job, Haemmerle said he also couldn't comment about the investigation.
Destroying records is a routine procedure that occurs about every six months, Auletta said. According to state law NJSA 47:3-15, municipalities have been allowed to destroy certain documents after their "administrative fiscal and legal value" have expired, since 1924.
"Could you imagine how many pieces of paper have been created since 1924? Where would we store it all?" Auletta said. "There's only so much space, and the more documents you have, the more money it costs to keep it all stored."
Municipal clerks must take courses in public records before they can receive certification, and state law also requires acting clerks to take additional records courses each year.
Auletta said the township is now allowed to destroy 10 of the 12 documents, but has agreed to preserve the two e-mails that will be reviewed at the next Government Record's Council meeting Feb. 28.
The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. in the Department of Community Affairs building, 101 S. Broad St. in Trenton.
WASHINGTON TWP. OFFICIAL RELEASES CONTENTIOUS E-MAIL
TRENTON TIMES - February 1, 2007 - Business Administrator Mary Caffrey has relented -- partly -- in her struggle to retain control of two e- mail messages sent during a dispute over control of the town's fire and emergency services.
Yesterday morning Caffrey re leased an e-mail message she for warded to Mayor David Fried and Jodi Stephens, a vice president of the Parent-Teacher Association, on Jan. 28, 2006.
That e-mail was originally from township firefighter Ed Haemmerle and the forwarded copy contained Caffrey's comments written on top. Haemmerle had sought to obtain an uncensored copy of that e-mail with Caffrey's notes.
He also sought to obtain a second e-mail Caffrey sent to Fried on Jan. 27, 2006.
In the released message, Caffrey had written "This makes me so mad! But I shouldn't comment," atop Haemmerle's e-mail titled "Washington Twp: Did You Know?" which the firefighter had originally sent to residents to gain support for the fire district's budget. The e-mail listed facts and figures about the district's staff and services.
Caffrey also had written that a letter by Stephens countering some of the firefighters' arguments should be widely distributed.
Seven months ago, Haemmerle sought access to the two e-mail messages through the Open Public Records Act. Contending the e- mails were protected by the state Constitution and First Amendment, the township denied the request. Haemmerle later filed a complaint with the state Government Records Council, whose executive director has stated the township unlawfully withheld the documents. A final ruling is scheduled for Feb. 28.
Fearing the Records Council's decision could set a precedent causing public officials to lose a measure of privacy in their correspondence, Caffrey released the Jan. 28 message. That message was sent from her home computer.
"I chose to release the e-mail to render the GRC's recommendation moot and to avoid the precedent that all of my personal e-mail is fair game," Caffrey said.
The Records Council has indi cated that the township council should make a determination whether to release the second e- mail message.
FIREMEN ESTABLISH SCHOLARSHIP FUND TO HONOR YOUNG EPILEPTIC
THE TRENTONIAN - June 5, 2006 - Washington Township - Inspired by the courage of a young epileptic, township firemen and medics have established a scholarship in the name of Alexander Arcuri, 13, who died on May 1.
As his seizures worsened over five years, the boy came to be well known by local rescue crewmen, who were always impressed by his calm in the face of high adversity.
His mother, Regina Arcuri, and Jason Belmont of the township firefighters’ association told the story of the aspiring doctor in interviews with The Trentonian last week.
Through all his medical challenges, Arcuri said, her son was brave and often told those around him that everything was going to be okay.
"God gives you what you can handle," she said. "I raised him by myself, and he was a really good kid. He was a great guy."
Said Belmont: "It is a huge honor to do this on Alexander’s behalf. We knew that Alexander wasn’t worried about his illness because he felt taken care of by us, which is a huge part of why we want to put it in his name."
Arcuri said her son never had much recollection of his seizure episodes. "However, he sometimes recalled, with a smile on his face, seeing men in blue helping him with bright lights above. It was a nice memory for him because he knew he was well taken care of."
The men in blue were, of course, the firefighters and medics of the Washington Township Fire Department responding to the mother’s many calls to 911 following a seizure.
"It was on numerous occasions when Alexander was in a life-threatening situation, that I anxiously listened for their sirens, signaling they were closely approaching," said Arcuri.
"As they rushed through my home to desperately reach my son, I was comforted by all the familiar faces. I recognized each one and was comforted knowing he was in the best of care because they showed such passion for what they do, which was obvious in their every move."
The familiar faces were not the only thing that eased Arcuri’s mind, but it was the mere fact that the firefighters were familiar with Alexander’s medical situation.
That’s why, the mother added, she’s opposed to Mayor Dave Fried’s idea about scrapping the current system and opting for medics that would be called in as needed.
It was the collective knowledge that the firefighters had, that helped her son during his seizures, Arcuri said.
"The Washington Township firefighters’ quick response is probably why he was able to survive another five months," she said. "I believe I was given the past five months with my son because of their heroic efforts."
The firefighters always knew Alexander’s name when they walked to the door, which Arcuri said was comforting to both herself and her son.
"When I opened the door, they were the men who rushed to my son’s aid, knowing to look in the kitchen for his medications, who remember where my sneakers were kept, handing them to me so I could go to the hospital and made sure I had his medical history documentation," she said.
"These were the same men that gently scooped my son off the floor, cradling him safely in their arms as they carried him to their ambulance."
The scholarship fund has already reached $2,200. Belmont said it’s intended to help many students in the future.
The fireman said the help will be directed to students of the Pond Road Middle School and Robbinsville High School, especially any youngsters interested in studying medicine.
"We know that Alexander was interested in being a doctor," said Belmont. "We are leaning towards those who are pursuing a career in health care."
"It is an honor and great privilege to be thought of during Regina’s hard time," said Belmont. "Our condolences go out to the family."
SEX OFFERED AS PARTY PERK AT CONVENTION
ASBURY PARK PRESS - August 6, 2007 - Visitors to Duke Steffer's suite at Bally's Hotel and Casino in
But guests at other private parties held during the annual League of Municipalities Conference were offered spicier "party favors" — sex with women — according to the FBI.
"Were there private parties in rooms where girls were provided?" says FBI Special Agent Bill Waldie. "Yes."
"(The women) were provided by vendors, developers, business professionals with public contracts, and those seeking them. Some (women), the guys asked for. And some just showed up as a surprise," Waldie said.
Waldie says the women engaged in sex with guests, including
"It would shock you," he says. "It was a lot of (Monmouth) officials (with) girls, strippers, hookers, multiple people having sex. Two guys with one girl, three guys with one girl."
And the sexual encounters were not limited to the
Waldie says that, once back in
The agent will not identify the officials who engaged in sexual activities and notes that no charges have been made in connection with the episodes.
"But a lot of them did it," he says. "Not all, but a lot."
THE BEN FRANKLIN DANCE
BY ALAN BRUNACINI
Re-Printed from Fire Engineering Magazine - July, 2007 - We have discussed in the past few issues the subject of managing fireground intelligence. A big part of how we gather and use this intelligence is to act out our basic traditional community conservation-based role. That role was established by our founding fathers (early 1700s) to rescue people and protect their possessions when threatened by a fire. We are still guided by that original mission that directs us to quickly interrupt a damaging problem with a conserving response. The basic deal we make with the customer is short and sweet without a lot of fine print or maybes: Simply, when we become a firefighter, we promise Mrs. Smith that we will physically put our body in between her and the incident problem when she calls us for help. This is the most fundamental way we act out our basic conservation mission. To keep the promise, we must always be ready to take on a full variety of problems that range from very? quiet? situations where we sit with and reassure someone who is scared, upset, confused, or just plain deranged to our directly and very actively engaging an extremely violent fire situation that requires that we quickly create a counteracting amount of violent, tactical firefighting force to control and overpower the fire. These situations that range from supportive presence to battlefield action requires us to be extremely versatile (personally) and highly agile (organizationally) so that we can quickly and effectively connect the appropriate conserving response to whatever is consuming Mrs. Smith?s safety and security.
In the very beginning, our founding fathers (Ben Franklin, et al.) recruited tall, hyperactive young lads who typically had a slight attention deficit and episodic personalities (so they would voluntarily and enthusiastically “run” into burning buildings). The recruiters instructed these young firefighters to respond as quickly as they could, establish a water source, get as physically close to the fire as possible, and immediately apply water directly on whatever was burning-the genesis of “wet stuff on red stuff. ”This beginning routine became (and still is) the “Ben Franklin Dance.” There is a straight, powerful, uninterrupted traditional line from that beginning to this very second. In spite of all the modern, space-age technical improvements, we are still dancing the very same attack-oriented dance step that Ben originally taught us in 1739. Those brave souls who get up in the morning and think they are going to change the “fire service culture” are going to be tired (and probably disappointed) buckaroos by quitting time, because they have attempted in one day to redirect 263 years of the most potent, peer-driven, action-oriented occupational socialization that has ever occurred.
Based on our original conservation-oriented mission, the foundation of our business is harm management: We must prevent harm before it occurs, stop harm that is underway, and assist in recovering from harm that has already occurred (proact/react/rehab). Protecting humans and conserving their physical resources are the reasons we exist as a service. Everything we do must be directed to always being ready and able to physically assist/save the people, places, and things being threatened by some harm-producing hazard, problem, or situation (cops do social threats). How willing and able we are to physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially serve our customers (i.e., fit for duty) becomes the basis for how we then add value to our core service. Core service is what gets us in the door; added value is the “nice” part of our contact with the customers and is what they remember the most (Nice = respect, patience, consideration, kindness/people, pets, pictures, pills).We must always remember that the only thing we produce is service; we don’t manufacture widgets or have a factory full of machines. There is no fire department warehouse full of service. All of our business is retail, so we must deliver help to our customers one call at a time. These timeless fire service conservation efforts create the focus of the where, what, when, how, and why of our tactical operations. Our consistent response and effective performance create the conservation of community confidence that when you have a problem, you know someone from the “government” (us) will respond and actually help you-no forms, applications, or mindless bureaucrats, just one quick, easy, three-number call. We ask you two basic questions: “Where are you?” and “What’s the matter?” and Bingo! we are out the door on Big Red, haulin’ down Main Street to do whatever is required to make your bad day go away. The first rule of life is showing up, and we always show up.
We typically respond, arrive, and find (i.e., inherit) fire conditions that range on a standard scale (see May column) from minor to severe. We describe these conditions tactically in terms of standard critical fireground factors. Each situation has its own special mixture of critical factors, and this combination creates the basic profile for that incident. Although each incident is made up of its own special (different) combination of factors, the factors themselves are recurrent and standard. The way we learn to evaluate incident conditions and decide how to operate tactically on each situation with its own factors emerges from our basic understanding of the details and dynamics of the critical factors and the conditions they create and, most importantly, how we can effectively respond to those standard conditions. Our basic objective is to convert out-of-control conditions (hot) to under control (cold). A critical fireground factor involves an understanding of the various areas of involvement and how conservation efforts are tactically applied to those areas to rescue people and save their stuff.
ALAN BRUNACINI recently retired as chief of the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department. He and his sons own the fire service Web site bshifter.com.
PFANJ - NJFOP FILE PENSION PROTECTION ACTION IN STATE SUPERIOR COURT
 |
|
President Canzanella with NJ
Fraternal Order |
PFANJ - On Tuesday, October 4, 2005, the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey partnered with the New Jersey State Fraternal Order of Police in the implementation of a lawsuit filed in Superior Court of the State of New Jersey calling into the question the legality of continued underfunding of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System. PFANJ President Tom Canzanella joined NJFOP President Ed Brannigan at a midday news conference conducted at the State House in Trenton for the formal announcement. Below is an excerpt from the press briefing.
The Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey (PFRS) held a surplus of approximately $938,000,000 in FY2000 drawing down to a deficit of approximately $3,574,000,000 for FY2004. This $4.5 billion dollar deterioration is largely the result of legislation (S-2586 of 2003) that permitted municipal employers of law enforcement officers and firefighters to defer and discount employer required contributions to the PFRS, in association with the State of New Jersey's own failure to make required contributions.
During this same time frame, police officers and firefighters continued to make their own statutorily required contributions totaling 8.5% of their base annual salaries, one, if not the highest public safety employee pension contribution rate in the Nation.
The State of New Jersey and its municipalities were first relieved of their obligations to make employer required contributions in 1997, when legislation was enacted that revised the method of accounting and valuing plan assets. Under this new and more creative method of accounting, the value of PFRS assets was purposely and substantially increased, resulting in intended excess or more accurately, inflated assets.
Accordingly, the State and its municipalities used those enhanced assets as a manner in which to relieve themselves of their obligation to match employee contributions for the purpose of tax relief. Despite the "free ride" afforded to both the State and municipalities, police officers and firefighters remained obligated, and so did they continue, to contribute 8.5% of their base annual salaries for which they have neither sought nor been granted any similar relief.
In 2003, with those self-created inflated assets running dry, despite facing a growing PFRS deficit, and in order to provide continued budgetary relief to municipalities who had by their own admission made no provisions whatsoever to resume employer contributions, the State Treasurer proposed, and the Legislature adopted, an initiative (S-2586) permitting municipalities to pay only a discounted fraction of their required pension contributions.
Adding insult to injury, despite the fact that the foregoing legislation in no way extended the State a like ability to skip or discount badly needed pension contributions, they did so nonetheless, paying only a fraction of their required obligation. Again, and to this day as we go forward, police officers and their firefighter counterparts remain obligated to contribute 8.5% of their base annual salaries serving as the sole and sustaining guaranteed plan income.
As a result of the aforementioned legislation, and in association with the States non-legislated failure to required contributions, the PFRS funding ratio, which indicates the financial soundness of the plan, has fallen from 105.65 % for FY2000, to 100.85% for FY2001, to 95.82% for FY2002, to 88.45% for FY2003 and to 83.95% for FY2004.
Enactment of the 2003 legislation, in association with the State's failure to make their own proper contributions absent legal legislative authority, deprives the PFRS of the funds necessary to maintain it on a sound actuarial reserve basis. An undeniable consequence of this failed scheme is the alarmingly significant reduction in plan earnings from investments and interest that would have been derived from skipped and substandard contributions. The foregoing serving to jeopardize the financial soundness of the plan and its ability to make good on earned benefits as they come due in the future. In that regard, the complete and total lack of prudent fiscal judgment demonstrated by the strategy articulated in S-2586, relying upon the exclusive use of employee contributions to either sustain or accordingly grow the plan, that resulted in the type of significant funding losses sustained over the last several years represents an abdication of fiduciary responsibilities in its purest form.
The complaint seeks to declare the 2003 legislation (S-2586) unconstitutional, to end any conflict of interest that would allow the State Treasurer to determine type and variety of contributions aside from statutory law, and to direct defendants to make regular full payments to the PFRS for FY2004, FY2005, and beyond, in accordance with fiscally responsible actuarial calculations.
The plaintiffs, Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey, I.A.F.F.-AFL-CIO, and the New Jersey State Fraternal Order of Police, along with representative active and retired members and widows of members of these two unions who have been affected by this failure to adequately fund the plan, are represented by the law firm of Greenberg, Dauber, Epstein & Tucker of Newark.
The PFANJ/IAFF and NJFOP represent the majority of career professional firefighters and law enforcement officers throughout the State of New Jersey and this Nation.
Named as defendants in this action are the State of New Jersey, John McCormac-Treasurer, the New Jersey State Senate and General Assembly.
