Hope for Buffalo, NY

[Rangerjim]

Now that former Buffalo Mayor Jimmy Griffin has got the ball rolling on a drive for a recall election to get Mayor Anthony Massiello thrown out of office in a special election, I see some hope for Buffalo NY and its Fire Department. I am even hoping that Engine 18, the busiest engine company in the city, closed by Massiello will be reopened. Have any of you noticed the pattern about firehouse closings not only in Buffalo, but other cities? It seems to me that the busiest companies, which are usually in the poorest neighborhoods are the ones to get the axe. The message: " Go away poor people. you might as well burn up, you are expendible." That is the impression I got when the closing of BFD's Engine 18 was first announced. If these scumbags who prostitute the very offices they are elected to can afford to give themselves hefty pay raises, then they can afford to maintain a fully staffed fire deparment as well as a full police department. They don't seem to get the message, if you cut back on public safety, people get killed. If there is anything that Buffalo needs to cut it is the bloated staffs at city hall and the salaries of elected officials. They are supposed to SERVE the PEOPLE, not themselves. Does a fire fighter have to die because of such stupidity not only in Buffalo and Rochester,NY, but elsewhere?

[Drewbo]

Well that is a good step in the right direction. I'm excited about that. Now if we could get the same results in Trenton NJ then I would think God is smiling down on us!

Be Safe, Drew

[cilfd]

Massiello or Griffin, Buffalo has got some real financial problems. The 1990's are over. I think that property tax covers at most a 1/3 of Buffalo's budget, the rest state aid, etc.
I don't know about the Engine 18 issue and its location, but on the whole, BFD is very well funded, equipped, and staffed by just about any measure.
Here's some BFD stats:
per Capita spending $210
sq. mi./engine - 1.8
sq. mi./ladder - 3.4
Firefighters/10,000 population - 30

And here's Syracuse FD down the NYS Thruway, ISO Class 1
per Capita spending $156
sq. mi./engine - 2.5
sq. mi./ladder - 4.2
Firefighters/10,000 population - 27

At a $156/capita, SFD provides Syracuse with a ISO Class 1 department. Apply SFD spending, coverage, etc. to BFD and BFDs budget goes down $15 million, and Buffalo could have the same coverage as Syracuse with 3 less engines and 2 less ladders.

Very, very few department in the US have the coverage of BFD or the budget. You could probably count them on one hand, maybe two.

Here's some other engine coverages for ISO Class 1's - Las Vegas 8.7 sq.mi./engine, Stockton, CA - 7.2 sq. mi/engine, Shreveport, LA - 5.6 sq. mi./engine.

The west and south might not be fair comparisons to an old Northeast city, but even by New England and Northeast standards, BFD has more staffing, more equipment, and more budget than just about any other department - US wide.

If you think it isn't safe in Buffalo with BFD's resources minus an engine or ladder or two, then you better leave the United States, because it doesn't get much better than BFD.

[Rangerjim]

That is excellent information provided. I was not trying to hint at Buffalo becoming unsafe minus an engine company or two, but in the case of Engine 18, located on Fillmore Avenue, it seems to me that the firehouses located in the poorest neighborhoods seem to be the ones targeting for closure. Last year, one guy died in a house fire because the nearest firehouse to his residence was closed at the time and crews had to respond from a more distant house. Knowing Buffalo like I do and the way people generally drive, even seconds lost getting to an emergency can mean the difference between life and death. Even with the airhorns blaring and the Federal Q2 sirens screaming, too many people are oblivious to those sounds to even try to get out of the way. True Buffalo is a well staffed department and that is as it should be. If any area in Buffalo has bloated staff, it is City Hall, a veritable cesspool that needs cleaning up. As I said, if the pols cut public safety, some one is liable to get killed because of it.That is why I am glad Griffin is trying to get Massiello thrown out of office. More than any other mayor I can remember during my association with Buffalo, mostly as a business school student, Massiello has demonstrated utter contempt for the firefighters and police officers while he and his fatcat stooges seem to be lining their own pockets at the City's expense. That is why my sympathy and support is with the firefighters of Buffalo,NY and those everywhere else in general.