ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 18, 1997 TAG: 9703180058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY THE ROANOKE TIMES
But it may not be over yet; there were indications that pressure may be applied to change a crucial vote.
Over the objections of firefighters, neighborhood residents and the president of the Roanoke chapter of the NAACP, City Council on Monday narrowly approved the purchase of two controversial fire trucks known as "quints."
The 4-3 council vote came in a packed chamber after more than an hour of discussion punctuated by sustained applause against the quint. Council members did not explain the reasons for their votes.
The combination ladder truck and pumper engine has never been used in Roanoke before. City Manager Bob Herbert calls it the "right equipment in the 1990s for the Roanoke Fire Department." Opponents counter that it's a precursor to fewer fire stations and firefighters.
There remains a slim chance council could change its mind at its next meeting April 7.
Two city fire captains - Richard Sarver, president of the firefighters association, and Ed Crawford, a vice president of the state chapter of the International Association of Firefighters - suggested that efforts to turn one vote would begin shortly.
A quint differs from the Fire Department's 17 other pieces of heavy equipment in that it sports both a large extendable ladder, like a traditional ladder truck, and a water tank and pump, like a traditional pumper. Typical ladder trucks carry no water.
The city needs two new ladder trucks because two of its existing trucks were deemed unsafe after tests last fall.
Fire Chief Jim Grigsby overruled a city employee team that recommended the purchase of a tractor trailer-like "tiller" ladder truck and instead opted for the quint, which requires one less firefighter to operate.
``The bottom line for us is, should the first piece of firefighting apparatus that arrives on the scene of a fire be able to begin putting the fire out?'' Grigsby asked council over and over in his presentation. ``We think the answer is, `Yes.'''
Residents, however, disputed the chief's contention in a news conference last week that the quint has nothing to do with staffing reductions or fire-station consolidations he is planning.
With varying degrees of success, other urban fire departments have used the quint to reduce stations and manpower. And in meetings with neighborhood groups last year, Grigsby mentioned the quint in connection with consolidating stations and reducing personnel.
Based on one meeting with the Edgewood-Morwanda-Summit Hills Neighborhood Organization last year, "We determined that we were going to have less pieces of firefighting equipment housed in a new station that we now have at two stations," Deana Willard told council members.
"We also determined that we were going to have fewer firefighters housed in the new station than we now have in the two stations," she said.
Martin Jeffrey, president of the local NAACP, recommended that council postpone any action for now. That was seconded by Wasena resident Joe Nash, who argued that public confusion over the issue ought to be hashed out in a night meeting, when more people could attend.
"The chief has said we have more firefighters per capita than any other city in Virginia," Nash said. "We also have low [fire] insurance rates and a high safety record. We'd like to keep those."
After the meeting, Jeffrey called Grigsby's contention that the purchase has nothing to do with staffing or stations "ludicrous and insulting."
"I have a real serious problem with what's going on and with the fact that council - four of them, at least - don't seem to be concerned with homeowners," Jeffrey said.
One member of the public spoke in favor of the purchase. That was Daniel "Bud" Oakey, a Southwest resident and vice president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. He criticized firefighters for distributing "misinformation" in an effort to drum up opposition to quints. Oakey's support for quints, however, seemed based on the assumption that future "efficiencies" are in store for the Fire Department.
"As in the private sector, the problem which arises is that any time systems are changed, there are groups of people who resist," Oakey said. "They resist for one basic reason: They are uncomfortable with change."
The decision followed a blitz of pro- and anti-quint public relations maneuvers that began late last week, after simmering in the Fire Department and city administration for months.
Grigsby called a news conference Thursday; over the weekend it was repeated four times on Cox Cable Channel 3, the government access channel.
The Roanoke Professional Firefighters Association called their own news conference Friday. Over the weekend, off-duty firefighters distributed a brochure in neighborhoods titled "Roanoke! Your Public Safety is in Jeopardy!"
The city administration responded by staffing a "Fire Safety Hot Line" to answer citizens questions about the brochure, which a spokeswoman called "very misleading."
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. JANEL RHODA THE ROANOKE TIMES Fire Chief Jim Grigsbyby CNBuses a chart to show City Council how various models of fire trucks
compare. Opponents of the quints fear they're going to mean fewer
fire stations and firefighting jobs. color
2. chart - how they voted.