Shallow Hal

Investigate for yourself. Call and ask about the staffing. Then compare that to the standard. Simple math, shouldn't be that tough for you. Sounds like you've made your choice. Not your problem if you turn a blind eye, huh.

I'm making you aware. You can chose to care or not. With awareness one can then chose to contact their commissioner if they feel it is important.

My expectation is the chief is or should be well aware of the deficiencies. After all, he is the chief with years of experience according to his cronies. Some suggestions - Chief to visit other departments; but he has to truly want change and recognize the issues Form a real committee (citizens and FFs) to determine areas of opportunity. Immediately recruit volunteers to supplement the stations as well as admin type positions. Increase staffing to meet NFPA guidelines. Ladder Truck north and south (I'd go with quints) and also outfit and run them as heavy rescues. Each should als

I stand by my comment. Honestly, I don't know PEPPERHEAD. This topic is something I had been thinking about after talking to multiple Paulding firefighters on different occasions, and as a citizen was concerned. Kind of funny many on here want to defend the chief but don't want to acknowledge or discuss the safety issues. Many seem to have a very limited and sheltered version of how the fire service should operate. Open your eyes.

If you read the entire post you would see the concerns. No one is saying anything bad about the firefighters of the county. We know they do an excellent job with what they have. The problem is the staffing levels are not safe and the overall services could be improved by a better budget. Our firefighters deserve better. They can only do so much with a limited budget. Just ask the guys in the stations. Posting on here hopefully allows the citizens to better understand the challenges our firefighters face.

The FFs I've talked to seem to think that is the reason. As a tax paying citizen who else am I supposed to believe is responsible for an underfunded department?

And yet you can't point out the wrong information?

And the Fire Chief was ok with that? Someone needs to grow a pair and stand up for his FFs.

So does the fire tax money not go to the fire department? Seemingly the mil rate would adjust to keep the services constant.

Ok, Cheech.

In addition to the lack of a charged line, there is minimal extrication equipment and no preconnection of hydraulic tools. This far away from a trauma center, and the lack of manpower and equipment makes it tough on the trapped patient as well as the responders. Pubby, to your point, grants cannot be the only funding for a department.

That's not my experience. I've personally worked on grants for apparatus replacement and been very successful. I would say 6 months to a year depending on the grant. I've also had good results acquiring equipment through govt reutilization programs.

I would imagine the NAPA portion of the post was due to auto correct. Can you cite specific examples in the post that were not correct?

That already happens. You missed the bus. This is an awareness issue.

Grants alone won't fix the issue. The department needs more funding for the safety of the FFs. With that comes expanded services in which we all benefit.

Correct. I can't imagine Paulding meets NFPA 1710. And if not, it means we are asking our FFs to work in an unsafe conditions

You are missing the whole point. Dangerous drugs are already delivered in a variety of forms. Point is with this type of delivery method it may be harder to detect children are using. Some are going to choose to experiment with harsher drugs and some will just stick with pot. No question other more dangerous drugs can be delivered in a similar method. Hiding in plain sight is the part to understand.

According to the article only THC is used. The 'danger' is it is easy to conceal and children could be using and not easily noticed.

Not even sure why this is news. It's not a new drug, just pot in a different form; much like what is found legally in other states.

Honestly Pubby, none of what you stated is relevant to the comments posted, other than the possible out of county experience. I don't know his experience, I was told it was a military background. EMTs responding to accidents is a big difference from ALS first response to life threatening emergencies. To put it in perspective, the technology/capabilities from the 1970s show Emergency is more advanced than what we have in Paulding in 2014. No joke.

Paulding needs someone more progressive. I believe Sandy Springs did a good job finding an innovator to create a premier service. I think there is some sort of citizen advisory committee for the fire department.

The Fire Department should absorb EMS, or the county should create a public utility model to handle EMS. Either way a lot more control of performance and QA. Current I can't imagine there is a lot of input or oversight by the county related to EMS.

The department is way underfunded. You can't safely or effectively fight fire with this kind of staffing. No ALS first response. Minimal rescue equipment. I feel bad for the guys in the department. They do a great job with what they've got. From what I've heard the department doesn't apply for grants, etc. There is a lot of money out there. Those little rescue trucks don't have pumps/water, so if they are already out and get an actual fire call they are SOL. At a minimum they should be running a combination (paid/vol) dept. There are a lot of career FFs in Paulding probably will

We already have a way, they drive around with blue light bars on the roofs of their cars.

Rolling coal is LOTS of fun!