Firefighting
home rule stirs a fuss
Repeal
sought for law that governs deployment
Friday,
December 26, 2003
BY TOM
HESTER
Star-Ledger
Staff
After planes
slammed into the World Trade Center towers on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, an
untold number of New Jersey firefighters climbed aboard their trucks and raced
to New York. Others simply threw gear into their cars and headed for Lower
Manhattan, showing up alone or in small groups.
Few Jersey
firetrucks were able to reach the scene. By mid-afternoon, a large number were
idling in the Giants Stadium parking lot. More were at Liberty State Park.
Though
well-meaning, these firefighters dashed from their towns without informing
state or local emergency officials. Those officials said this left sections of
Union, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson and Bergen counties without any fire protection
that chaotic and tragic day.
In response,
Gov. James E. McGreevey signed a bill in March putting state officials in
charge of deploying paid and volunteer fire departments during statewide
disasters such as a terrorist attack or a hurricane. The bill's sponsor, Sen.
John Adler (D-Camden), said the "clear chain of command" prescribed
in the legislation "may some day save many lives."
But with the
law set to take effect New Year's Day, local officials and firefighter groups
are now pushing for its repeal. They say it is a state invasion of the sanctity
of the local firehouse that adds a layer of red tape when departments need to
act quickly.
"The
firefighters are offended that somebody in Trenton thinks he is in a better
position to deploy fire personnel when they have been doing it for
decades," said Beach Haven Mayor Deborah C. Whitcraft, who represents the
New Jersey State League of Municipalities on the state Fire Safety Commission.
LeRoy
Gunzelman, director of the Somerset County Office of Emergency Management, said
the law "is too stringent," and there was no need to change a system
of deploying fire departments that "works very well."
The
deployment law puts state Fire Safety Director Lawrence Petrillo and a cadre of
regional and county coordinators in charge of telling fire departments where
they should be during disasters or when fire departments need help from outside
their county.
It allows
the state coordinator to call police to enforce the deployment plan, and levy
fines of up to $10,000 for ignoring it. The coordinator also has subpoena power
to investigate if something goes wrong.
"As a
result of the incident in New York, we clearly needed to identify a better way
to deploy fire department assets in the state," said Petrillo, who added
that on 9/11, "the intent of the fire services was great."
State
officials insist the plan, which Petrillo enacted on an emergency basis until
the law takes effect, does not interfere with century-old mutual aid agreements
under which neighboring fire departments join to fight local fires.
"In no
way shape or form does this put us in control of running an incident,"
said Fire Safety Deputy Director Bill Kramer. "The incident commander is
still in charge. Our job is to find him resources and to keep in mind not to
strip a specific part of the state. We do not have the authority to be in
charge (at a fire scene)."
The law,
however, does give the state the power to deploy fire departments from
neighboring counties. It sets up a system that favors deploying fire
departments that have better equipment and a higher level of training.
This
component has drawn the most criticism from fire chiefs who view it as
overkill.
"The
fear is not being able to rely on mutual aid," said John F. Lightbody,
president of the New Jersey Fire Prevention and Protection Association.
"Firefighters cannot see anybody coming in from the other end of the state.
In a fire, seconds count. You do not want to sit and wait for somebody to come
from out of town."
William G.
Dressel, director of the League of Municipalities, which wants the law
scrapped, said this provision attacks local mutual aid agreements. He said
local fire chiefs should be consulted before new rules are drawn up.
"When
you have a fire emergency, you help your neighbors," said Dressel.
"The fire services should be allowed to decide locally as to who is in the
best position to respond."
Petrillo
said the rules are intended to ensure a quick and efficient response to
emergency incidents where municipal fire departments require outside
assistance. The state has not yet used the deployment plan.
Not all
local fire officials oppose the new state law.
"There
is a belief on the part of some people the act will diminish home rule, which I
do not think is the intent," said Bergenfield Volunteer Fire Chief Gerald
Naylis. "The point is to ensure resources get to a scene of a statewide emergency
as quickly as possible, and prevent self-deployment. People take it upon
themselves to go to a scene and help out, and quite obviously, that is
detrimental."
Union
Township Fire Chief Frederic Fretz said he has no trouble having the state
determine where departments are deployed based on their level of training and
equipment.
"You
would not take firefighters who are used to fighting fires in one-story homes
and send them into a Newark high-rise, and you would not send us (Union) to
fight a West Jersey forest fire," said Fretz. "This is not a putdown.
This is for the safety of firefighters and the safety of the general
public."
Although
some of New Jersey's rescue squads deployed on their own on 9/11, the new
deployment law does not affect first aid units. The rescue squads have had
their own deployment plan since 1937 prompted by the response to another
historic disaster, the explosion of the German Zeppelin Hindenberg that killed
37 people at Lakehurst.
Fred
Steinkopf, New Jersey State First Aid Council president, said 450 ambulances
were mobilized from every county and responded to New York, the Meadowlands,
Liberty State Park or other points on the Hudson River waterfront on 9/11.
"At the
same time, we made sure communities back home were covered," he said.