I admit that I know nothing about fighting fires. Having said that, it appears that I have the same level of personal experience that Philpott has in operating a fire department — none. He states that his knowledge comes from conversations that he had with retired fire chiefs and from statistical information that he gathered.
I could talk to retired surgeons about operating room procedures and gather statistics on the subject, but that would not qualify me to determine the staffing required for an operating room. That clearly is a job for the medical professionals.
The Fire Department operates in an environment where it must be prepared 24/7 to respond to any emergency. While most of its calls may be relatively routine matters, firefighters are also expected to effectively respond to major incidents, such as brush fires, high-rise building fires or a destructive earthquake. Part of their job is to be instantly available for these calls.
Philpott mentions huge annual savings from his proposal. Does his estimate consider the potential increase in property damage, injuries or death should his staffing proposal prove to be inadequate for one of the major emergencies?
Just like the operating room situation, we need to let the professionals who run fire departments determine the staffing levels. They are the ones who have the experience, training and the working knowledge of the city’s plans on how to respond to a major emergency.
