THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 10, 1994 TAG: 9407080300
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JUDY PARKER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
FOR THE NEXT five or six months, emergency fire coverage in the Olde Towne district will be reduced by at least one engine company, Fire Chief Donald Newberry says.
The reduction in coverage is attributable to the unusually large number of firefighters, 34 in all, who took advantage of a revised retirement plan.
Firefighters and police officers now can retire after 20 years, regardless of their age. Retirement pay is based on an employee's top three consecutive years of salaries, including overtime and supplements for weapons, uniforms and education.
After 20 years of service, employees would receive 60 percent of their salaries; after 25 years, 70 percent of that salary; and after 30 years, 75 percent. The retirees also would receive a $200 a month supplement until they reach age 65.
``It's definitely a pretty large group retiring, and it will have an effect on the department for the short-term,'' Newberry said.
``Response time for fires may be increased by a minute or so.''
The fire chief was quick to add, however, that calls for medical emergencies, which account for nearly 60 percent of all requests for assistance from the department, will not be affected.
``I hope no one will notice any difference in our response time for medical emergencies,'' he said. ``We average between three and five minutes for those calls, and I don't anticipate any change in responding to any life-threatening calls.''
According to Newberry, medical emergencies are routinely answered in three to five minutes.
``Ambulances, on the other hand, generally respond anywhere from five to 10 minutes after they receive the call,'' he said, ``so it's critical that we be on the scene as quickly as possible.''
Calls for fire assistance in the northeast part of the city, where Fire Station No. 1 on Effingham Street is located, might cause some alarm, however.
``If we have a run downtown, we'll make sure we're back-filled,'' Newberry said. ``We'll just pull an engine from another company. And mutual aid from other cities as well as the Naval Shipyard is always available.''
Options open to the department to maintain adequate service to the entire city, Newberry said, include reducing leave time for firefighters, decreasing the number of building inspections it conducts during the next few months, and using support staff to fill firefighting slots.
``Arson investigations will continue as usual,'' he said.
In past years, the fire department has averaged about a dozen retirees, Newberry said. At the end of June, however, the city lost 34 firefighters to retirement, with a combined 956 years of experience.
``I'm hoping we'll be able to hire 26 firefighters by September,'' the chief said, noting that it takes approximately 16 weeks of on-the-job experience, plus fire-academy instruction for rookies to be qualified. MEMO: Related stories on pages 14-17.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Fire Chief Donald Newberry Jr. says fire coverage will be cut back.
KEYWORDS: RETIREMENT PORTSMOUTH FIRE DEPARTMENT by CNB