FIRST FIRE / LAST FIRE

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First Fire / Last Fire

Any firefighter’s first real fire
Is faced with anticipation
On the one hand there’s excitement
On the other, trepidation

For this is what he trained to do
During countless hours of drills
Old-timers recount their war stories
As he imagines the thrill

Not many can imagine the genuine rush
‘til immersed in heat, smoke and fire
Physically fighting every urge to run
As the flames grow ever higher

I’m sure this was the case last Sunday
As Jaimie Dickman climbed on the truck
Ready and willing to dance with the Devil
Even before the alarm was struck

Told to stay close to one of the vets
And not wander from his sight
Steve Machcinski was the senior man
That Jaimie would shadow this night

Just another job, all were thinking
As they rolled toward the smoke
None could foresee the impending doom
That would come in one horrible stroke

This fire took two of Toledo’s bravest
Knocked their brothers to their knees
Jaimie believed that he’d see many fires
But in life there are no guarantees

God bless Stephen and James
God bless their brothers
God bless Toledo Fire Department
And watch out for each other

Capt. Tom Kenney
Providence (RI) Fire Department

ANGEL OF DEATH

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Angel of Death

Many times throughout the years
We’ve battled in a tug of war
While he wins most, I do win some
But neither keeping score

An old familiar foe, I’ve come to respect
Though the consequences be immense
I’ll do my best to keep him at bay
Even as I question, at what expense

They take their toll, these constant struggles
Wearing me down little by little
Making me seam hard and unaffected
While my spirit turns ever so brittle

The sad fact of the matter is
Some sting more than others
This is especially true at those times
He comes to take away my brothers

All these years I’ve tried to hold it together
While witnessing so much pain
But my heart can only take so much
Before breaking from the strain

For the Angel of Death knows no mercy
He’s forever on patrol
He recruits the good as well as the bad
Stripping them bare to their soul

I will continue to wage war against him
Until he finally captures me
Protecting especially those whom I love
‘til my spirit is set free

Fire Expert in RI?

Since "Commissioner" & "Fire Chief" Pare opened the issue of raising the PFD mandatory retirement age (which forced me off the job) I just wanted to share that when I first retired I was looking for another career. My first thought was weatherman because I could be wrong 50% of the time and still be as good as my peers.

I've since re-evaluated my career choice. I'd like a career that allows me to be wrong almost every time and still be as good or better than my peers. I now want to be a Fire Service expert in RI. I'm just not sure how to go about getting myself certified as one as these fine gentlemen have. If anyone sees them can you ask them how they did it? For some reason they won't answer my inquiries. 35+ years fire service experience is not enough it seems. Ask them where the 1 day class is?

The Gloves Come Off

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Jorge Elorza vs Providence Firefighters – The Gloves Come Off - GoLocalProv.com 10/15/15

I think it’s time to take the gloves off in our (Providence firefighters) battle with the so-called mayor of the City of Providence. In Sunday’s 10 News Conference this poor excuse for a human being states that the Providence firefighters have been on the overtime gravy train and he’s going to put a stop to it. He calls us greedy.

Now I understand that some of the general public, especially union haters, might agree with him, but I’d like to think that the reasonable people who may agree with him are not totally aware of the facts.

He continues to portray our battle as the union fighting to maintain grossly exaggerated overtime. Fact: Our battle has absolutely nothing to do with overtime. Our battle has everything to do with forcing us to work an additional 14 hours per week with only a day and 1Ž2 off between work weeks. We are not looking to maintain the recent overtime. We would like to see him cut out overtime by hiring enough firefighters. Working these exaggerated hours only makes our jobs unsafe for us and for the general public.

He complains about excessive overtime and states that his new scheduling will eliminate it. Fact: Overtime costs have risen in the first two months of his plan. Fact: The overtime is, and always has been, a direct result of understaffing. Presently the PFD is about 130 firefighters short of its normal staffing levels – approximately 1Ž4 of the department is unstaffed.

He states that the City is going to beat the union in court. Fact: It’s very unlikely that the City will prevail in court as the judge has already ruled that we go to binding arbitration, which is what we petitioned the court for. If the City does not win in court they will end up having to return to the previous shift schedule and will owe Providence firefighters somewhere between $9-16 million.

He states that he and his legal team are on top of the situation. Fact: His legal team has made one stupid mistake after another in this battle. They first attempted to petition the court to have our contract labeled null and void – until they realized (after our union stated such in the news) that all concessions given back to the City by firefighters in the past 5 years or so ($20-30 million) would have to be repaid to the members and that pension concessions that active and retired members agreed to a few years ago (which are saving millions of dollars) would also be rescinded. That’s a lot more than a small mistake.

His legal team also asked the judge to throw out our case after the judge had ruled in our favor regarding arbitration. That sounds good until you realize that such a motion is to be filed prior to the judge rendering a verdict – just another small mistake by his boys.

The City council voted to hire a lawyer on their own (an unprecedented move) to watch over the City’s lawyers in this case. That’s how much the council is worried about the competence of his crack team.

He states that he gave us an 8% pay raise to compensate for the additional 33% workload. Fact: He is paying each firefighter about $6 per hour for the extra 14 hours of work.

He testified to the RI General Assembly that “There’s no question that they should be paid for the extra hours they will work. The only question is whether that pay will be at the overtime rate or at straight time”. $6 per hour is not straight pay. He lied in his testimony!!

He told a group of firefighters that he would definitely not implement a change in the platoon system unilaterally before sitting down with the union. About an hour later he “notified” the union that he was announcing the change the next morning at a news conference that had already been called. Absolute liar!

If you go back in this story and read every article from the beginning you’ll see that every time the union and the City stated different views on an issue the union ended up being correct. This should give Providence taxpayers a very uneasy feeling going forward as this incompetent boob continues to guarantee victory. The financial ramifications are too large and too real to be ignored.

Fact: This little man continues to live in his parents’ basement – now that’s a real confidence builder!

Fact: This man visited Guatemala to visit a leader who resigned under protest as being involved in civil rights violations including attempted genocide on his own citizens. Mr. Elorza claimed to have not known anything about this. This gives me no confidence about him being an intelligent and informed leader of an American city or anyone with morals.

Fact: He also visited China while the City faces enormous legal and financial decisions daily at City Hall.

He states that his parents were (are?) illegal immigrants and supports illegals being given driver’s licenses. Apparently he believes in being fair to those who come to this country illegally and enjoy entitlements from the taxpayers but thinks that the greedy firefighters, who already worked more than 40 hours per week, deserve to be forced to work an additional 33% more hours for a token payment. Not to mention the dangerous conditions of our work.

He complains that one Rescue Captain made $116,000 in overtime last year, but he acknowledges that this Captain worked about 84 hours per week on average. That’s more hours than 2 full time employees at City Hall put in per week combined. This is actually something our union has been trying to eliminate by attempting to force the City to hire an adequate number of firefighters. Working understaffed is something the fire department has been doing since Cianci was mayor. Paying a bit of overtime is cheaper than hiring full time firefighters – up until a certain amount. This practice has been getting out of hand under the last three mayors (including Elorza), but then they blame the overtime on the firefighters. Liars!

He and his Commissioner of Public Safety, Steven Pare, are now insulting the integrity of our members and calling us liars and greedy. They are the ones who are liars – both of them! I hate to have to be so mean spirited while discussing his actions but he has proven to be an outright liar – even in his testimony to the General Assembly. You can’t fight someone with no moral character by being polite. Unfortunately I need to call him out.

If he is asked any questions on what I’ve posted he will most certainly re-state that the overtime is excessive…they’ve been on an overtime gravy train and I’m going to stop it…one Rescue Captain made over $100K in overtime…etc. If anyone attempts to ask him direct questions about how he lied to the General Assembly or what basis does he and his crack legal team have for expecting victory, he’ll probably run back to his office in a fit!

My "View Block's data skeptically" followed by Ken Block's attack piece on me

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View Block's data skeptically
By Tom Kenney

Posted Jul. 25, 2015 at 2:01 AM


When it comes to fire service experts in Rhode Island, there are many men who could qualify.

And then there’s Ken Block and Watchdog RI. He has amassed quite a bit of raw data regarding Rhode Island fire departments, including contracts, budgets and pension systems. He is, simply put, the self-appointed Rhode Island fire-service guru. In the search for a true fire service expert, talk-radio hosts and The Providence Journal acquiesce to his expertise on the subject.

Is this concession justified? I think not.

You know the old computer adage, “junk in equals junk out?" I contend that this is exactly the case with all these so-called facts about fire department per capita costs that Mr. Block uses as basis for condemning the cost of Rhode Island fire protection.

All the raw data in the world cannot change the facts. They can, however, persuade people if the so-called facts are false, outdated, incorrectly entered or mistakenly interpreted.

Mr. Block has been asked, on many occasions, to share the link to the studies or surveys on which he bases all his conclusions. He has ignored these requests. He has stated that different factors regarding these studies, which have been questioned by people with working knowledge of the fire service, are “immaterial." He did state that one of the statistics he quotes regularly is from a 1999 report -- 16 full years ago!

He compares Rhode Island departments’ costs with the costs of others across the country. What he doesn’t seem to understand is the significance of the effects of population density, the percentage of volunteer departments vs. career departments in the state, square mileage being protected, fire load and, most importantly, the presence or absence of emergency medical with advanced life support services vs. limited or no EMS coverage included in fire department budgets. These are all huge factors in the costs of a department.

Rhode Island has only a small percentage of volunteer departments. Nationwide, 91.8 percent of all fire departments involve volunteers; in fact, 65.9 percent are fully volunteer. This fact alone would place Rhode Island's per capita fire costs in the top 8.2 percent in the country.

Almost all Rhode Island fire departments run with full EMS or ALS. Nationwide only 16.8 percent of all fire departments run to this standard. A full 38.6 percent of fire departments across the country run with no EMS at all connected to their fire department budgets. This would pretty much guarantee that Rhode Island would be in the top 16.8 percent of the most costly per capita. For the 83.2 percent that have limited or no EMS, taxpayers are not really saving money. Those EMS costs are simply budgeted in a different department.

As for population density, fire protection is far more costly in densely populated areas because there is a much higher risk of fire spreading from building to building. Rhode Island is the second most densely populated state, behind only New Jersey. This would suggest that Rhode Island ought to be either the No. 1 or No. 2 most costly state for fire service.

When you combine all these factors, it is not only justified that Rhode Island has the highest per capita costs for fire service in the country but fully expected! So, how can Mr. Block be taken seriously questioning spending on the fire departments of Rhode Island?

Are all of his statistics wrong, incorrect or misleading? Pretty much, in my opinion.

With the lack of anything I consider close to being accurate as the basis of his per capita costs for comparison of fire departments, I have a very strong suspicion that his statement of “fact” that “67 percent of career fire departments used 24-hour shifts -- and the vast majority of those were 3 platoon” -- is nothing more than his wishful assumption.

It is time for the media to stop anointing Ken Block as the fire service expert in Rhode Island. If he is going to continue to claim this himself, let him prove his conclusions by verifying his data and sharing his sources. If he does, I’ll stand down!







Ken Block: 80 percent of firefighters live outside city, explaining disdain for taxpayers




Posted Aug. 28, 2015 at 2:01 AM


The cost of fire protection in Rhode Island has been prominent in the news this year. The debate has been heated (pun fully intended). Firefighter union leaders engaged in campaigns to impugn WatchdogRI’s data and mission. This response of shooting the messenger is predictable, since it is the union’s job to gain the highest compensation and benefits possible for its members.

In a July 25 Commentary piece ("View Block's data skeptically"), one union member, Capt. Tom Kenney of the Providence Fire Department, questioned Watchdog’s data and motivations.

While an open, honest debate is necessary to formulate great public policy, it is difficult to take Captain Kenney’s criticisms seriously. While I have the highest regard for the job of firefighter and the people who perform that job, Captain Kenney’s open disdain for the taxpayers and administrators in the city of Providence provides a necessary backdrop to his opinions.

Captain Kenney’s Facebook cover photograph is a cartoon of the character Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes fame), dressed in the garb of a firefighter with a Providence Fire Department helmet, urinating on Providence City Hall. To complete this picture, Captain Kenney lives not in Providence, but in Warwick.

I believe that this dynamic cuts to one of the cores of the problem. Captain Kenney is not vested in the financial well-being of the city in which he works. He is not exposed to the crushing taxes and uncertain economic future facing Providence as a result of disastrous contract giveaways, such as a 6 percent compounding so-called cost-of-living adjustments for firefighter pensions.

In fact, an open records request of Providence firefighters and their addresses shows that about 80 percent of the force lives outside of Providence. Only one of five officers in the firefighter’s union lives in Providence.

Captain Kenney’s claim that Rhode Island’s ranking as the second most densely populated state justifies our high cost of fire protection needs to be challenged. Of course, Rhode Island’s tiny size makes this comparison ridiculous. Only one Rhode Island community, Central Falls, makes the list of the top 132 most densely populated communities in the country.

There are many more densely populated areas of the country with lower costs of fire protection than Rhode Island.

It is difficult to ignore the stark reality of the raw data. When we compared metropolitan Rhode Island with more densely populated places such as Dallas, Phoenix and others, Rhode Island fire protection was anywhere from 33 percent to 100 percent more expensive on a cost-per capita basis.

More shockingly, metropolitan Rhode Island had roughly as many fire engines and fire stations as the Phoenix and Dallas fire departments combined, even though they protect more than 2.5 million people in a total of about 850 square miles.

Captain Kenney argues that few fire departments across the country provide EMS at the level that some Rhode Island departments do, one of the reasons for higher costs here.

Our question is: If most of the fire departments across the country do not provide EMS services, why do many Rhode Island departments do things so differently? If most of the country uses private ambulance services for EMS, should Rhode Island follow suit? How much money could we save?

Are Rhode Island’s fire stations located in places that make sense, given advances in firefighting equipment? Are there redundancies between communities where fire stations sit on either side of a municipal border, too closely together to make any sense but never looked at because of the border?

These are the kinds of questions that our report was designed to encourage. It is not anti-firefighter to ask these questions. Fire protection is a vital public service which should not cost far more here than other places.

We all deserve, and should expect, high-quality fire protection.

Our firefighters deservedly ask for respect, and frankly I believe their job demands it.

Taxpayers also deserve to be respected. We are not, as Captain Kenney depicts in his lowbrow Facebook picture, urinals.

WatchdogRI’s report on the costs of fire protection in Rhode Island can be viewed here: www.watchdogri.org/fire/firedata1.html.

Ken Block is the chairman of WatchdogRI.org.

Being printed in Providence Journal September 8, 2015

Fire critic fails to cite data




By Tom Kenney



It’s funny how predictable a politician can be when asked to prove his
statements. The first lesson in politician school is to redirect any tough
questions and attack the questioner. Apparently Ken Block was paying
attention during that class.

I wrote a July 25 Commentary piece ("View Block's data skeptically"),
questioning the validity of his organization Watchdog RI’s conclusions on
the per capita costs of Rhode Island's fire service vs. the rest of the
United States. On Aug. 28, Mr. Block responded to my piece with his own
("Union shows disdain for taxpayers"). Unfortunately his piece contained
absolutely no response to my inquiries but attempted to redirect the
discussion and attack my character and credibility.

I have no desire to partake in a back and forth character assassination. I
do feel, however, that I first need to correct some of the misinformation
he presented about me.

He claims that I have an “open disdain” for the taxpayers of Providence
because of a satirical drawing of a figure urinating on Providence City
Hall on my personal Facebook page. While I may have an open disdain for the
administrators of the city, I have the utmost respect for the citizens of
Providence.

I have shed blood and broken bones carrying out my duties as a Providence
firefighter. I have been exposed to countless carcinogens, cyanide,
asbestos, HIV, Hep A, B, C, etc., over my 35-year career. I am, and always
have been, a true professional in carrying out my sworn duty, and I take
the attacks on my character very seriously and personally!

He points out that I live in Warwick as an insinuation that I am “not
vested in the financial well-being of the city in which [he] works." This
is completely false. I have a very large personal stake in the financial
well-being of the City of Providence. I love Providence. For 50 years,
including my first 25 years as a firefighter, I was a resident and taxpayer
in the city.

As to the original questions in my article, Mr. Block answers none of them.
I have asked him, as have others on many occasions, for any link or
document to show where he accumulated his “raw data." He has not answered
any of us; in fact he has deleted some of these people from his Facebook
account for continuing to make inquiries.

In his published response to my article, he compares the state of Rhode
Island to the cities of Dallas and Phoenix. His Watchdog RI’s original
report (the one I have been questioning) states that Rhode Island's per
capita costs for fire service are the highest of any state in the United
States. If he has all the data to support that this claim, then why does he
attempt to defend his position by comparing Rhode Island to two cities out
west?

He questions why fire departments in Rhode Island run the Emergency Medical
System (EMS). He knows full well, or should, that separating the two and
privatizing EMS would cost the same (if the level of care provided was
equal). The cost for EMS service would simply be budgeted to its own
department separate from the fire service, but the end result would be the
same.

Responsible discussions regarding ways to save costs of all municipal and
state services are always a good thing. Sometimes we need to take a fresh
look on how things have always been done. If savings can be achieved
without jeopardizing the quality of services, especially in public safety,
I would be all for it. I’m a taxpayer too. The discussions have to be
fact-based, however, to have any validity. That is why I’ve continued to
question Mr. Block’s conclusions.

In my original opinion piece I closed with the statement: "let him prove
his conclusions by verifying his data and sharing his sources. If he does I
will stand down." I repeat that statement once again, but as of yet there
has been no answers forthcoming.

Exit letter to PFD members...

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Well, here I am just a couple of months away from permanent retirement from the Providence Fire Department…not wanting to face the fact that this part of my journey is over. I guess this is perfectly natural considering this is the greatest profession anyone could ever choose and the PFD is among the best fire departments in the entire country! …and so are the people!

From the moment I joined the department in 1980 my time has been leading toward the reward of my retirement. I’m extremely thankful to have made it this long in the streets. I may be battered but I’m not broken…not completely, anyway. I have to say that the experience has been even greater than I could have ever dreamed. I came from a firefighter family (my father retired as a Lt. on the PFD) and saw second hand the closeness and camaraderie which existed on this job; but no one can actually understand the true connection firefighters everywhere have for each other prior to working side by side with their brother firefighters. It is a singularly unique situation. We fight together side by side, as a team, in life threatening situations where you literally rely on the man next to you to keep you safe and you provide the same measure of unconditional support for him. We live together as a family, sometimes for years at a time. In this manner we are different from the military or police, even though we do share a common goal of “everyone goes home” as our first priority when we begin a shift.

I remember the many firefighters and officers who taught me along the way. Each had their own valuable lessons to bestow on a new firefighter and then a new officer. I listened, I learned and I trained until I was the best firefighter I could be. I owe everything good that I am as a firefighter and officer to those who came before me and shared with me the valuable lessons they had learned via older firefighters or from their own experiences. With this in mind, I hope that I’ve passed on some knowledge over the years to some of the guys I’ve worked with because that’s the ultimate goal of an old firefighter – helping to insure that the young firefighters actually become old firefighters. I urge the young guys to attempt to learn something new every day – what you learn today may end up saving your life tomorrow!

I would also encourage the younger firefighters to get involved with the many aspects of this job outside the station walls. There are so many opportunities to join with your brothers and sisters in a myriad of activities – some social, some athletic and some political. These times will be among the greatest experiences you will enjoy in your life so take full advantage when the opportunities arise. You’ll be surprised how quickly time slips away when you love your job.

Also, let your voice be heard. Don’t be afraid to speak up and voice concern over the direction the department or the union is heading. Remember…you are the department…you are the union! Make sure you attend the union meetings and when differences of opinion may arise, leave those differences in the union hall. Remember, there is strength in unity. No one else has your back except your brothers and sisters in the local. Respect the rank of Chief Officers who are not in the union but be very careful in placing your trust in them, they have other masters. Respect the office of those outside the fire service who are your superiors in the Chain-of Command (Commissioners, Councilpersons & Mayors) but NEVER trust them! They are all political animals, and as such are watching out only for themselves. This has been proven to us time after time.

To my many friends and peers on the PFD, thank you for the greatest experience of my life! I have enjoyed every minute I’ve spent with you both on and off duty. This job takes its toll both physically and emotionally but the rewards far outweigh the cost. Unfortunately all of us will reach this moment of separation from active duty in the fire service. There are many who, like me, are being forced to retire this year…and the next couple of years. As we go, we all hope that the members who remain will keep the tradition and reputation of the Providence Fire Department alive and well. Remember, you (we) are the department! …you (we) are the union!

Stay safe!

Tom Kenney