Sunday we published a Press Release from the City showing they wanted $140,000.00 placed into the upcoming budget for four more Firefighters. What they DIDN'T tell you, (conveniently) is the fact that they are also proposing to bring in yet ANOTHER 16 Firefighters on yet another grant, in which the City will have to pay for these full time Firefighters after the grant is over, just like they had to do with the other 12 a few years ago.
You see Ladies & Gentlemen, this is yet again another reason why SBYNews is so important. We expose what no other media source will do. We give you the heads up well before a vote is cast. You now know the funding the Mayor and Council want should be dumped immediately, unless you really want to pay out for an additional 20 Firefighters, averaging some $35,000.00 per person, per year in salary alone. Then add healthcare and disability liability.
I also came to learn they want more Fire Trucks. The big question is, will you be going to tonight's Council Meeting to challenge your Mayor and Council? Be very careful how the Fire Department words it this time.
124 comments:
Joe there is no meeting tonight. Offices are closed due to the Presidents Day Holiday.
I think you might be referring to the work session tomorrow night.
Here are the Council Meeting dates on their website.
City Council Meeting Dates
2017
REGULAR MEETINGS – 6:00 P.M. – Council Chambers
January 9
January 23
February 13
February 27
Where would they put these new and more firetrucks? At the boat dry dock with the fire boat????
Also, are they going to get trucks just as heavy if not heavier than the one they recently bought which, can't fit or is to heavy for the NEW Fire Palace they just built, where the concrete started to crack and break???
Mark my words here and now!!!!! and I mean mark them good!!!
Soon you will see here in SBY a monthly payment fee for the SFD to the extent that if you don't pay it, they will come and watch your house burn down... They have this type of system in another state but I forget which state and city it is in, and they too watched houses burn down becasue someone refused to pay the monthly fire department fee, like a tax... Then when the fire spread to the neighbors house, whom had paid their fee, they immediately put the fir out and save the house from catching fire...
This is Just a matter of time, becasue it is ONLY AND ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY, not about doing the job, or helping or protecting or serving, it is about the money... And any one who says otherwise is a damn fool...
What a waste of Tax Dollars. I think they have more paid firemen now then the police department has police officers?
Why am I paying for paid firemen when fires are down and crime is go up???
I would advise everyone to go out and buy a gun if you haven't done so yet because while you are waiting for a police officer to respond to your emergency you have paid firemen sleeping at all 3 fire stations!!!!!!!!
Please keep this at the top all day today and tomorrow!
The Mayor and SFD are preparing for a massive drop in VOLUNTEERS. In fact, there's a lawsuit in the works from the Volunteers from Station 1.
Don't let the recent waste of tax dollars for commercials on local TV encouraging Volunteers in Salisbury, it's a load of crap. They treat Volunteers horribly! It's all propaganda just to allow them to say they are doing all they can to recruit.
All you have to do is talk to former Volunteers and they will tell you instantly how bad things are. Many have fortunately gone to County departments instead.
Salisbury does not want Volunteers, period. Well, that is, unless they want toilets cleans and equipment washed.
Where is the justification? How many calls did they have? How many pieces of equipment was needed, not sent? How many personnel was needed for each call? What is the rationale for getting new trucks? The ones they have cannot be wore out except for riding around with 4 Fireman sight seeing. Show me the efficiency of each of my points of view. NO new TOYS for SFD. If they get them and the grants then the County withdrawals County Tax dollars since they reluctantly respond to the ones of us in the County.
This is what government does. Hire people through grants, which sounds good to elected officials, but then when the grants expire within a few years, the salaries, benefits, cost of uniforms, equipment, etc., is added to the budget. That's when taxes have to be raised. They never want to eliminate positions once they are in place. The employees' line is "you can't take away from what we already have." Oh, yes they can!
Volunteers were once a very active strong force in providing service but in the last 5-8 years those numbers have drastically dropped off. We either need volunteers or hire people to do the job.
SSDD.
That will never happen, you're a fool.
There are two facts that need to be known here. The turnout rate in both time and amount of volunteers responding has dropped sharply. This fact has forced the Chief to request additional manpower to assure the citizens are served in a timely and efficient manor. The reduced amount of volunteerism is a nationwide trend not because of beefs with administrations, but national requirements and lifestyles. The second fact is the department has ordered two new pumpers to replace two 2006 models that are beyond the 10 year replacement program.
Time location, and commitment. Think about it, in the 80's a volunteer firefighter got a page, drove to station in matter minutes. Yes, probably speeding and breaking laws. and responded. Some volunteers were paid firefighters off duty. Now if you try this, you will be stopped, charged and possibly hauled off to jail. So only other option, hang out at fire station. In the county, Volunteers in rural area still respond this way. In the City, its near impossible. Check out all larger evolving FD's, eventually the Volunteers disappear. Some easily, some with fights.
What it really comes down to - DO YOU WANT quality service, and quick responses? You cannot have both in a city the size of Salisbury, with out a paid crew. It evolves - and if you put stations in a rural section, and volunteers live work around it, you can have that.
Commitment, how many employers allow people to just leave work?
Its common sense, agree or disagree - you may hurt feelings, but we were always designed to SERVE the public, not be selfish and complain who got there first to do the job.
Retired - FF/EMT-P Volunteer and Career.
my 2 cents.
And the 2006 models are probably 'worn out' (aka we're gonna buy new ones because of the schedule rather than their actual condition) by all the food runs.
Would be interesting to plot the mileage in a week, month year from the fire station directly to address of calls and compare it with actual mileage racked up!
OTOH, the food service operators in driving range appreciate the extra business!
Joe its sad to see you get dragged in to stories like this. As with every story there are two sides and neither is as the media describes them. Perhaps you should dig a little deeper and get some feedback from the other side. If you and the public knew the real story I truly believe you would sing a different tune. No real newsman makes his story from one source or side. Dig a little deeper. I know the real story and hope you'll do your homework to do the same.
Please tell us why Salisbury needs more paid firemen? The last time I checked Salisbury badly needs Paramedics not paid fireman. When was the last time a house burnt down in Salisbury? When was the last time someone had a heart attack in Salisbury? People have heart attacks every single day in Salisbury and the tax payers have to wait for ambulances to come from Delmar, Parsonsburg, Fruitland, Hebron, Allan and Princess Anne.
Stupid idiots running this City!!
11:02, YOU have had your "one sided" news media for far too many years and we all know who they are. Let me ask YOU this. If you say this story only tells MY SIDE, have WBOC, WMDT or the Daily Times told MY SIDE in their articles? So you have YOUR SIDE and I have MY SIDE, according to you. There's also the Paid Firefighters side and then there's the Volunteers side. I'll close with, YOU have every opportunity to write me, (which I will keep anonymous) to share YOUR SIDE. So there you have it, fair and balanced.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Volunteers were once a very active strong force in providing service but in the last 5-8 years those numbers have drastically dropped off. We either need volunteers or hire people to do the job.
February 20, 2017 at 10:27 AM
The volunteers were very active until Rick Hoppes was appointed fire chief by Jim Ireton and confirmed with the election of Jake Day. That was Jake Day's #1 commitment to get Rick Hoppes confirmed as the fire chief. Ever since then costs escalated and the volunteers were ran off.
Get rid of Rick Hoppes, John Tull and Darrin Scott and replace them with new leadership and you will see the volunteers come back. Those three are a cancer to the city of Salisbury and neither one of them even live in Salisbury.
In any department the volunteer membership serve at the discretion of the Fire Chief. In this case the Chief, Mayor and the City charter. As you may recall this same story evolved in 2002-03 with the volunteer section of station 2. Its pretty well documented as to how that went. After that chapter in history the city fathers wrote the City charter to assure these conflicts were defeated legally. So to the suggestion of a law suit, I say bring it on. History does repeat itself. We have a strong Mayor and Chief backed with the facts to defend their actions.
JoeAlbero said...
The Mayor and SFD are preparing for a massive drop in VOLUNTEERS. In fact, there's a lawsuit in the works from the Volunteers from Station 1.
Don't let the recent waste of tax dollars for commercials on local TV encouraging Volunteers in Salisbury, it's a load of crap. They treat Volunteers horribly! It's all propaganda just to allow them to say they are doing all they can to recruit.
All you have to do is talk to former Volunteers and they will tell you instantly how bad things are. Many have fortunately gone to County departments instead.
Salisbury does not want Volunteers, period. Well, that is, unless they want toilets cleans and equipment washed.
February 20, 2017 at 8:57 AM
Joe you are absolutely correct. If the volunteers at Kentland VFC in PG county can handle all the fire calls in their district then Salisbury volunteer firefighters can do the same. Paid and volunteer firemen Salisbury even run up to Kentland to volunteer just so they can catch some real fires. Here is their link to Kentland so check it out.
http://www.kentland33.com/
Please say hello to Corey Polidore and Chuck Foskey for me.
If the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department can do it with ALL VOLUNTEERS then so can the Salisbury Fire Department. It's all about leadership!! Jake Day, Jim Ireton, Jack Heath and Richard A. Hoppes are costing the City tax payers millions of dollars a year. We deserve better!
Kentland Volunteer Fire Department
Landover, Prince George's County, Maryland
http://www.kentland33.com/
"Company 33, arguably the busiest volunteer engine, rescue and tower company in the Nation, is the department featured on this website. It is staffed solely by a dedicated group of volunteers 100% of the time, a surprising accomplishment in today’s society of decreased volunteerism."
"The KVFD covers a large response area, with a first due area of 19 square miles, and a box alarm area of 52.2 square miles. We protect a variety of critical infrastructure resources in our primary response area, including FedEx Field, the 92,000 seat stadium of the Washington Redskins, the Fire/EMS Department headquarters, the Health Department headquarters, a US Secret Service office building, and the US Treasury Department’s main storage facility for the ink used to print US currency."
My Lord I am afraid to go...Liareton may be there reading from his 3 ring binder again.....
The key to advertising for volunteers in Salisbury is that the potential volunteers do not watch WBOC or WMDT. They are watching cable networks found on Comcast and Dish networks. They are getting their news from Social media, blogs and the internet. Like you said they are using Channel 16 and 47 to say well we did it and we can't get any volunteers. That cute little sign in front of Station 1 isn't working either because people are driving and on a mission to go somewhere. Plus they can't read the sign if they are driving. Another thing that hurts volunteers is that Salisbury doesn't allow the volunteer corporations to do there own volunteering any more. Rick Hoppes, John Tull and Darrin Scott decides who gets to volunteer and if they decide to keep you they will put you where they want to send you. Not where you want to volunteer. Also there was a secretary that recently left the city and she had a ton of applications in her desk draw that were never read and acted on.
The way to do it is to put up a table in front of Walmart just like the city police did to recruit police officers and do it often. If the Girl Scouts can sell cookies in front of Walmart they can definitely recruit volunteers. Why not set up a table in front of Walmart, Giant/Acme, Food Lion, Target, etc. Or even recruit in the high schools or the college.
The bottom line is the paid firemen see the volunteers as a threat to their job security and they don't want volunteers.
Time to get rid of Jake Day, Jim Ireton, Jack Heath, Muir Boda and company.
Here's another thing I find interesting.
Salisbury, (and the state) now requires sprinklers for new home construction. These systems will in the very least stop a fire from spreading until the Fire Department gets there.
The fact is, in the future you will need less Firefighters and stations.
This is why I have always hated the accreditation system Salisbury demands. Each accident requires a Fire Truck on the scene. Once they hit a certain amount of miles they MUST replace their equipment and then it's sold for pennies on the dollar to other local Fire Departments, (Volunteer Stations) in perfectly good condition.
Quite honestly, Salisbury Residents received a tax increase last year, even though they say taxes haven't gone up. This out of control spending is killing residents and driving them out of the City.
If I was seeing a large volume of businesses and jobs coming here I could understand.
Citizens should demand, until there's a massive reduction in City expenses, (by the tens of millions) this out of control spending needs to end. Jake Day is taxing people right out of the City.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
There are two facts that need to be known here. The turnout rate in both time and amount of volunteers responding has dropped sharply. This fact has forced the Chief to request additional manpower to assure the citizens are served in a timely and efficient manor. The reduced amount of volunteerism is a nationwide trend not because of beefs with administrations, but national requirements and lifestyles. The second fact is the department has ordered two new pumpers to replace two 2006 models that are beyond the 10 year replacement program.
February 20, 2017 at 10:48 AM
You are a liar.
Refer to www.Kentland33.com
Listening to our fire chief speak about where money goes and how many paid firefighters he needs is like listening to one of the 3 great lies.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
There are two facts that need to be known here. The turnout rate in both time and amount of volunteers responding has dropped sharply. This fact has forced the Chief to request additional manpower to assure the citizens are served in a timely and efficient manor. The reduced amount of volunteerism is a nationwide trend not because of beefs with administrations, but national requirements and lifestyles. The second fact is the department has ordered two new pumpers to replace two 2006 models that are beyond the 10 year replacement program.
February 20, 2017 at 10:48 AM
Sounds like a paid fireman wrote this. Is this you Rick Hoppes or John Tull doing Damage Control on city time? I know it isn't "Deputy Chief" Darrin Scott because he is too stupid to formulate a sentence.
Anonymous said...
Where is the justification? How many calls did they have? How many pieces of equipment was needed, not sent? How many personnel was needed for each call? What is the rationale for getting new trucks? The ones they have cannot be wore out except for riding around with 4 Fireman sight seeing. Show me the efficiency of each of my points of view. NO new TOYS for SFD. If they get them and the grants then the County withdrawals County Tax dollars since they reluctantly respond to the ones of us in the County.
February 20, 2017 at 9:44 AM
There is no justification. Richard A. Hoppes, Chief of the Department has an SOP that the fire trucks on duty with paid fireman will respond to nearly all ambulance calls to assist them whether they need it or not. In most all cases they are not needed so this is where they are trying to justify their paid fire crews with numbers. This in turn puts the tax payers and citizens at risk by putting a large fire truck on nearly 8,000 ambulance calls a year. When a large fire truck responds at a high rate of speed it is very dangerous and more accidents will happen. Large fire trucks can not stop fast enough and if your child runs out in the street to chase a ball chances are they will get ran over. If they get hit by a fire truck they will die. Your choice!
Darrin Scott deputy chief?? BAHAHAHAHA!! He is dumb. I worked with him in real estate and it took him 5 attempts to final pass the realtors license. He got kicked out because he was lazy and not selling anything.
Kentland is staffed by mostly off duty paid firemen and kids who live for free in exchange of running calls get the facts straight.
How to create a self-fulfilling scenario.
Chiefs of bigger departments (headcount and assets) get paid more. So do their underlings. Make volunteering more difficult = resignations and low recruitment. Send all equipment to every call = miles logged, fuel burned, hours on the equipment = justification for more toys. (BTW, many restaurants deliver; even if delivery charges were billed directly to SFD it would be cheaper than taking the engine for a food run.
The department needs a manager who didn't brown nose through the ranks; maybe someone who never strapped on a helmet but is inquisitive and listens.
Volunteers are not near the numbers they should be. Actually, they are having trouble filling fire trucks in the hours when terretories of statio 1 & 2 are not covered by full time staff. It's the time we live in - people do not have the time, energy or money to volunteer countless hours to the fire service. Like others have mentioned - the answer is to hire more staff to cover for the lack of volunteers.
That extra money was requested to buy booster seats for Jimmie Gladwell. He also has to special order his turnout gear because they don't come in XXXXXS. Anything special ordered cost way more than normal. I'm glad I could clear this up for you.
Comparing Kentland to the group in question is like comparing the 1927 Yankees to the Bad News Bears. Lets compare apples to apples please.
Salisbury is more like Kentland 46.
Kentland is no comparison to Salisbury not even close.
I'm an actime volunteer in Salisbury who has no problem with the way things are run. I don't respond to fires from home because my home life doesn't allow for such. There are volunteers that don't don't like me putting in time (hours) when it's convenient for and I understand that but I'm new to the fire department so I'm doing what I can to help.
There are two facts that need to be known here. The turnout rate in both time and amount of volunteers responding has dropped sharply. This fact has forced the Chief to request additional manpower to assure the citizens are served in a timely and efficient manor. The reduced amount of volunteerism is a nationwide trend not because of beefs with administrations, but national requirements and lifestyles. The second fact is the department has ordered two new pumpers to replace two 2006 models that are beyond the 10 year replacement program.
The volunteers were very active until Rick Hoppes was appointed fire chief by Jim Ireton and confirmed with the election of Jake Day. That was Jake Day's #1 commitment to get Rick Hoppes confirmed as the fire chief. Ever since then costs escalated and the volunteers were ran off.
Get rid of Rick Hoppes, John Tull and Darrin Scott and replace them with new leadership and you will see the volunteers come back. Those three are a cancer to the city of Salisbury and neither one of them even live in Salisbury.
February 20, 2017 at 11:21 AM
I agree with you 100%!! They need to GO!!
Anonymous said...
And the 2006 models are probably 'worn out' (aka we're gonna buy new ones because of the schedule rather than their actual condition) by all the food runs.
Would be interesting to plot the mileage in a week, month year from the fire station directly to address of calls and compare it with actual mileage racked up!
OTOH, the food service operators in driving range appreciate the extra business!
February 20, 2017 at 11:02 AM
Those fire engines are not worn out. Low mileage and low hours on the fire pump. Why you ask? Because there are no fires to run the hours up on the fire pumps.
Most fire departments replace fire engines every 20 years. This is just a fabrication that Rick Hoppes and his Homies came up with so they can get new "Capital" apparatus. Our Mayor and Council is to stupid to ask around or do their own investigation to see the truth. Those fire trucks might be 10 years old but how many of us are riding around in cars that have higher mileage and more years. It's a diesel for crying out loud!! Diesels last forever!! They just got those damn fire engines repainted a couple of years ago to match the Delmar/Laurel Delaware paint schemes.
You people need to be outraged!! Even if you don't pay property taxes because you rent, your rent is sky high because of the high property taxes in Salisbury and Wicomico County. Wake up people!!
Truck 1 respond 21D and 3 to chase the ambulance on Morris Lane. Watch out for an outrageous high ambulance bill to pay for that new fire truck and more paid firemen. Six people responding to an ambulance call when you only need 2 people!! WTF!!
Anonymous Anonymous said...
I'm an actime volunteer in Salisbury who has no problem with the way things are run. I don't respond to fires from home because my home life doesn't allow for such. There are volunteers that don't don't like me putting in time (hours) when it's convenient for and I understand that but I'm new to the fire department so I'm doing what I can to help.
February 20, 2017 at 2:32 PM
Another paid fireman trolling again to make it sound like it's Ok to rape the tax payers.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
In any department the volunteer membership serve at the discretion of the Fire Chief. In this case the Chief, Mayor and the City charter. As you may recall this same story evolved in 2002-03 with the volunteer section of station 2. Its pretty well documented as to how that went. After that chapter in history the city fathers wrote the City charter to assure these conflicts were defeated legally. So to the suggestion of a law suit, I say bring it on. History does repeat itself. We have a strong Mayor and Chief backed with the facts to defend their actions.
February 20, 2017 at 11:27 AM
Thanks Rick Hoppes now get back to work. Oh wait, there really isn't a whole lot that needs to be done to be a fire chief in Salisbury.
Anonymous said...
Joe its sad to see you get dragged in to stories like this. As with every story there are two sides and neither is as the media describes them. Perhaps you should dig a little deeper and get some feedback from the other side. If you and the public knew the real story I truly believe you would sing a different tune. No real newsman makes his story from one source or side. Dig a little deeper. I know the real story and hope you'll do your homework to do the same.
February 20, 2017 at 11:02 AM
Bwahahahahahaha!! ROTFLMAO!!! Look at this clown trying persuade Joe to take sides with the paid firemen and Jake Day. I can assure you that this isn't Joe's first rodeo and he certainly isn't stupid!! He has been covering the Salisbury Fire Department and it's corruption since the Hostile Takeover by Barrie Tilghman, Steve Brezler, David See, Bill Gordy and Rick Hoppes. One thing to note is the common denominator in this disaster is Rick Hoppes. He is the cancer that needs to be excised! Yesterday wouldn't be soon enough.
Anonymous said...
Please say hello to Corey Polidore and Chuck Foskey for me.
February 20, 2017 at 11:29 AM
I'm not Corey Polidore or Chuck Foskey. They may be commenting, but not every comment.
Spend it or lose it, right Rick?
JoeAlbero said...
Here's another thing I find interesting.
Salisbury, (and the state) now requires sprinklers for new home construction. These systems will in the very least stop a fire from spreading until the Fire Department gets there.
The fact is, in the future you will need less Firefighters and stations.
This is why I have always hated the accreditation system Salisbury demands. Each accident requires a Fire Truck on the scene. Once they hit a certain amount of miles they MUST replace their equipment and then it's sold for pennies on the dollar to other local Fire Departments, (Volunteer Stations) in perfectly good condition.
Quite honestly, Salisbury Residents received a tax increase last year, even though they say taxes haven't gone up. This out of control spending is killing residents and driving them out of the City.
If I was seeing a large volume of businesses and jobs coming here I could understand.
Citizens should demand, until there's a massive reduction in City expenses, (by the tens of millions) this out of control spending needs to end. Jake Day is taxing people right out of the City.
February 20, 2017 at 11:48 AM
Let's clear one thing up. Each "accident" "MVC" "MVA" or whatever you chose to call it does NOT require a fire truck. Only the ones that have an ambulance to it get a fire engine dispatched as well. If they get information that there are "injuries" then they dispatch a fire engine because this is how Salisbury self imposed this "requirement." Many people don't know that Salisbury and Fruitland did not respond a fire truck on car accidents unless it was a reported "rescue with entrapment." They did this to increase the fire engine responses to justify paid firemen. Just like they are self dispatching fire trucks on every ambulance call. The bottom line is paid fire crews are really not needed. As someone mentioned earlier look at Kentland Volunteer Fire Department in PG County. 100% all volunteer!
www.Kentland33.com
Anonymous said...
My Lord I am afraid to go...Liareton may be there reading from his 3 ring binder again.....
February 20, 2017 at 11:36 AM
Ha Ha Ha! Liarton is high tech isn't he.
Anonymous said...
Kentland is staffed by mostly off duty paid firemen and kids who live for free in exchange of running calls get the facts straight.
February 20, 2017 at 12:28 PM
And your point is??? They are 100% volunteer. They may be off duty paid firemen, but they are volunteering their time. They are also not off duty paid firemen at the PGFD because that is illegal. I went to the webpage Kentland33.com and they don't look like a kids to me. Now go back to bed Snow Flake, you might have to chase ambulance calls tonight.
If their this wasteful when times are bad, can you imagine the thieves they'll become when times are good?
Anonymous said...
How to create a self-fulfilling scenario.
Chiefs of bigger departments (headcount and assets) get paid more. So do their underlings. Make volunteering more difficult = resignations and low recruitment. Send all equipment to every call = miles logged, fuel burned, hours on the equipment = justification for more toys. (BTW, many restaurants deliver; even if delivery charges were billed directly to SFD it would be cheaper than taking the engine for a food run.
The department needs a manager who didn't brown nose through the ranks; maybe someone who never strapped on a helmet but is inquisitive and listens.
February 20, 2017 at 12:45 PM
Hoppes never strapped on a helmet so that theory is not the case in this scenario. He may have strapped on something else during his brown nose promotions. Rick Hoppes has always been a fat lazy firemen who never got dirty. Pinky should have never promoted him.
Anonymous said...
Spend it or lose it, right Rick?
February 20, 2017 at 3:21 PM
Yes, just like the $5,000 spent on cleaning supplies so he wouldn't have to turn the money back in.
Hey genius. That was 22-A and 3 to an automatic fire alarm on Forest Ln. Not sure what you heard, but it's time to lay off the pipe.
Anonymous said...
Hey genius. That was 22-A and 3 to an automatic fire alarm on Forest Ln. Not sure what you heard, but it's time to lay off the pipe.
February 20, 2017 at 3:36 PM
How do you know what they were talking about and when you Troll!!
Anonymous said...
Volunteers are not near the numbers they should be. Actually, they are having trouble filling fire trucks in the hours when terretories of statio 1 & 2 are not covered by full time staff. It's the time we live in - people do not have the time, energy or money to volunteer countless hours to the fire service. Like others have mentioned - the answer is to hire more staff to cover for the lack of volunteers.
February 20, 2017 at 12:45 PM
Well Joe you have the same paid firemen trying to pretend they are volunteers who are so busy that they don't have time to take calls. Wah, Wah!! If the volunteers in Salisbury can't take calls then how come they can find volunteers in Kentland and the rest of the nation, but not in Salisbury. You people are killing me. LMAO
Anonymous said...
If their this wasteful when times are bad, can you imagine the thieves they'll become when times are good?
February 20, 2017 at 3:31 PM
Rick Hoppes and Jake Day will definitely steal you blind.
Anonymous said...
SSDD.
February 20, 2017 at 10:32 AM
What is SSDD??
A Buddy of mine from Salisbury made me aware that my station 33 is being talked about here today. I've looked through the comments and its clear to me that none of you have a clue. I have no idea what the volunteer issues are in Salisbury, but I can tell you this. Todays staffing at Kentland is 9. Three off duty D.C. firemen, One Baltimore City, one Anne Arundel Co., One Baltimore Co. and three men with regular jobs. I know a few paid guys from Salisbury and they help staff our station at times. We never have any issues with them. Good Dudes in our book.
What is wrong with this picture??
Rick Hoppes, Fire Chief
Darrin Scott, Deputy Fire Chief
John Tull, Deputy Fire Chief
Lee Smith, Deputy Fire Chief
Same way with John Tull. He was ONLY hired and promoted through nepotism. His father in law hooked him up. I guess he HAD to be paid to marry THAT girl. Pinky hooked John Tull and Bunky Adams. Everybody knows what they had to do to get hired. A little "ALONE" time with Pinky.
Anonymous said...
Hey genius. That was 22-A and 3 to an automatic fire alarm on Forest Ln. Not sure what you heard, but it's time to lay off the pipe.
February 20, 2017 at 3:36 PM
An automatic fire alarm? You mean more wasted tax dollars where paid firemen aren't needed!
Anonymous said...
In any department the volunteer membership serve at the discretion of the Fire Chief. In this case the Chief, Mayor and the City charter. As you may recall this same story evolved in 2002-03 with the volunteer section of station 2. Its pretty well documented as to how that went. After that chapter in history the city fathers wrote the City charter to assure these conflicts were defeated legally. So to the suggestion of a law suit, I say bring it on. History does repeat itself. We have a strong Mayor and Chief backed with the facts to defend their actions.
February 20, 2017 at 11:27 AM
Yes Sir this is Rick Hoppes. The biggest clue of all is in the terminology. He is the only one that says "volunteer section." No Rick the proper terminology is the "volunteer division!"
Plus you were one of the ring leaders in this hostile takeover of the volunteers weren't you?
Anonymous said...
What is wrong with this picture??
Rick Hoppes, Fire Chief
Darrin Scott, Deputy Fire Chief
John Tull, Deputy Fire Chief
Lee Smith, Deputy Fire Chief
February 20, 2017 at 4:41 PM
It looks like Dummy Darrin has jumped over John Tool, but that's not a bad thing and not sure if that is what you are pointing out.
Anonymous said...
A Buddy of mine from Salisbury made me aware that my station 33 is being talked about here today. I've looked through the comments and its clear to me that none of you have a clue. I have no idea what the volunteer issues are in Salisbury, but I can tell you this. Todays staffing at Kentland is 9. Three off duty D.C. firemen, One Baltimore City, one Anne Arundel Co., One Baltimore Co. and three men with regular jobs. I know a few paid guys from Salisbury and they help staff our station at times. We never have any issues with them. Good Dudes in our book.
February 20, 2017 at 4:39 PM
"A buddy of mine" how cute. Would that buddy be the same one that made this comment below? I've got a feeling you are one in the same.
Anonymous said...
Kentland is staffed by mostly off duty paid firemen and kids who live for free in exchange of running calls get the facts straight.
February 20, 2017 at 12:28 PM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Same way with John Tull. He was ONLY hired and promoted through nepotism. His father in law hooked him up. I guess he HAD to be paid to marry THAT girl. Pinky hooked John Tull and Bunky Adams. Everybody knows what they had to do to get hired. A little "ALONE" time with Pinky.
February 20, 2017 at 5:09 PM
You are not kidding. Not to mention how much A$$ kissing John did. He had to kiss so much butt to get where he is now because he didn't deserve it. Everyone remembers how he had his nose so far up Jeff Simpson's scrawny little A$$. Funny how John Tull screwed over Rick Hoppes while all of this was going on and Hoppes was stupid enough to promote John to Deputy Fire Chief. Idiot!
I hear the volunteers are noisy barnacles. Not much more. Now I suppose everyone is going to have a hissy fit but I think SFD does a great job.
Anonymous said...
Listening to our fire chief speak about where money goes and how many paid firefighters he needs is like listening to one of the 3 great lies.
February 20, 2017 at 11:51 AM
What are the 3 great lies?
Anonymous said...
Kentland is staffed by mostly off duty paid firemen and kids who live for free in exchange of running calls get the facts straight.
February 20, 2017 at 12:28 PM
Are these guys getting paid? No!! So this means they are still 100% volunteer!!
Anonymous said...
Volunteers are not near the numbers they should be. Actually, they are having trouble filling fire trucks in the hours when terretories of statio 1 & 2 are not covered by full time staff. It's the time we live in - people do not have the time, energy or money to volunteer countless hours to the fire service. Like others have mentioned - the answer is to hire more staff to cover for the lack of volunteers.
February 20, 2017 at 12:45 PM
If this was actually a "live in" volunteer making this comment they wouldn't be a live in because the requirements for live ins is to run more calls. Everyone knows when you live at the station you are expected to take more calls. This is obviously another paid firemen trying to justify their job.
Anonymous said...
That extra money was requested to buy booster seats for Jimmie Gladwell. He also has to special order his turnout gear because they don't come in XXXXXS. Anything special ordered cost way more than normal. I'm glad I could clear this up for you.
February 20, 2017 at 1:41 PM
Oh good point. Thank you very much for clearing this up for us. That makes great sense now. Going to check on him now to make sure he doesn't go back to crying on Facebook again.
Everyone in the county fire stations knows that Salisbury doesn't need anymore paid firemen. Because they know their ambulances have to go into Salisbury to cover calls for them all day long just like today. Salisbury only has 3 ambulance crews on duty to cover over 8,000 ambulance calls and the fire trucks are chasing ambulances all day instead of manning the other ambulances. I'm guessing there are really more than 10,000 calls in Salisbury, but they only cover 8,000. Salisbury has 3 ambulances sitting at Station 16 all day but no one to take them on calls so Fruitland, Delmar, Hebron and Parsonsburg has to cover those calls.
Isn't that dumb that you call 911 for an ambulance in Salisbury and a fire truck shows up with paid firemen and then you have to wait for a county ambulance to come to your aid? People are dying in Salisbury all the time because of this madness.
$140,000 for 4 paid firemen in Salisbury!!! This goes to show you how valuable the volunteers are and how much they save us in tax dollars. You people need to kick the current mayor and council to the curb. They are toast at the next election.
Same sh_t different day
Please let us know if mini munchkin is babbling like the crybaby that he truly is. What a tool.
I wish the volunteers in Salisbury would step up to the plate like the ones in PG county. It would mean they stay at the station and pull duty hours like Hoppes wants us to do.
Yet the paid firemen are medical trained and can start immediate care.
We all know Bladensburg is the only real vollie company in PG, Kentland has paid men at 33 and 46. I think 33 just remodeled the mini pumper bay so the basic unit would be nice and comfy.
You're such an idiot.
You must be jealous that he's taller than you. Lol
Wow!! 80 comments in a short period of time. Those paid firemen need to get real jobs.
I'm thinking about running for Mayor, ousting Jake Day and getting rid of Barbara Duncan, Richard Hoppes, John Tull, Darrin Scott and the Gladwell guy. I live in the Camden Neighborhood and I have a lot of friends. I think this can happen. I also have several ideas like consolidating the police department with the Sheriffs Office and bringing all IT people under one umbrella. I have many ideas that will save tax payers a lot of money.
Anonymous said...
What is wrong with this picture??
Rick Hoppes, Fire Chief
Darrin Scott, Deputy Fire Chief
John Tull, Deputy Fire Chief
Lee Smith, Deputy Fire Chief
February 20, 2017 at 4:41 PM
I think it's very clear after reading and understanding the comments. More than 8,000 ambulance calls and fire trucks chasing the ambulances.
Why isn't their an EMS Chief Officer? These Bozos want to play big time Fire Department with their Chicago Fire paint scheme. They have no clue how to run a fire department much less and EMS Department. That is why surrounding volunteer fire departments are covering a large percentage of calls in the Salisbury Fire District.
Like someone said earlier, it's time to get rid of these clowns!
I knew that would get all the hose jockeys wound up.
Anonymous said...
I hear the volunteers are noisy barnacles. Not much more. Now I suppose everyone is going to have a hissy fit but I think SFD does a great job.
February 20, 2017 at 5:42 PM
What the Hell are you talking about?? The volunteers used to do a great job not to long ago. When the Station #2 volunteers were beating the paid fire crews to reported fire calls in Station #16's own district that is when they wanted to get rid of them. It's an embarrassment to have volunteer fire crews coming from their homes responding to the station to get on the fire trucks, then respond to fire before the paid fire crews were sleeping in the station never even left the station yet. Boo Yah!
"I guess he HAD to be paid to marry THAT girl."
Bwahahahahaha
Anonymous said...
Please let us know if mini munchkin is babbling like the crybaby that he truly is. What a tool.
February 20, 2017 at 6:58 PM
Oh yeah as soon as he starts trolling the blogs he will be on here. Mini "munkin" can't even spell. HAHAHA!
Anonymous said...
I wish the volunteers in Salisbury would step up to the plate like the ones in PG county. It would mean they stay at the station and pull duty hours like Hoppes wants us to do.
February 20, 2017 at 7:18 PM
Really?? Hoppes wants the vollies to stay at the station?? Thanks Rick, but we know this is you and YOU don't want the vollies in Salisbury at all. You have ran them all out so there is none to step up to the plate!
"and pull duty hours like Hoppes wants us to do." wants us to? Obviously Hoppes posted this one.
Anonymous said...
Yet the paid firemen are medical trained and can start immediate care.
February 20, 2017 at 7:25 PM
And so are the volunteers. No big deal.
If they would staff the Ambulances with paid paramedics instead of hiring firemen to staff the fire trucks we wouldn't need paid firemen. Don't need them anyway.
Volunteers don't want to serve under Hoppes, Tull, Scott and Gladwell. Get rid of them and they will come.
I have been giving this a lot of thought as I have been listening to the county wide dispatch the past several weeks.
Even though they have discontinued dispatching the volunteers as they are required to only one engine company is needed to handle all fire engine dispatches city wide. That's right the paid fire crew is running mostly all of the calls dispatched where the volunteers would have normally been dispatched. The city has paid fire crews around the clock at Station 16 24 hours a day. Previously there were paid duty crews at Stations 1 and 2 during the 7 am to 5 pm hours and the Volunteers would handle calls at those 2 stations after hours and weekends.
Then Rick Hoppes moved the hours at Station 1 from 7 am to 7 pm against the wishes of the Station 1 Volunteers.
Now their is a 24 hour crew at Station 16 and Station 1 OR Station 2 depending??
So with that said if 1 paid duty crew is all that is needed city wide then why do they need the 12 paid firemen the city recently paid for after the 2 year Federal Grant expired? Now why do they need 4 more paid firemen put in with a Budget Ammendment ASAP??
I think it's time to do like Ocean City is going to do and take away the 24/72 shifts. I think the best shifts for paid firemen are 8 hour shifts.
No more sleeping. Use them for traffic control. The paid firemen should be painting yellow paint on the curbs and painting the fire hydrants for the city.
The paid firemen should be doing all the fire hydrant flushing instead of making public works do that.
The paid fire crews should be doing all the fire hose testing but they are not doing that.
Go back to 8 hour shifts and no damn sleeping on the job!
Why is the city paying an outside company to do repairs on all the apparatus and Chiefs cars when there are volunteers capable of fixing all this for free?
When is the city going to hire those 6 paramedics that they were supposed to hire under Jim Ireton? Not firefighter/EMT's like now but paramedics? It's not going to happen because Rick Hoppes is not EMS oriented plus he doesn't want to hire someone smarter than he is.
Anonymous said...
Why is the city paying an outside company to do repairs on all the apparatus and Chiefs cars when there are volunteers capable of fixing all this for free?
February 21, 2017 at 5:08 AM
That is an excellent point. The problem is that Hoppes wants to spend all that extra money in Overtime costs to prove they need more paid firemen.
I agree with doing away with the 24 hours shifts and going back to 8 hour shifts. This way the men will always be wide awake and the responses would be much quicker. Then you wouldn't have to worry about people sleeping through calls all the time like they are doing now.
Who else gets paid to sleep on their real jobs? Why are we the taxpayers paying people to sleep?
"My station". So, you OWN it?
Great idea because all of those buffoons need to go. However, if you are planning to oust Gladwell, I hope you're an exterminator. He is a real COCKroach. Emphasis added intentionally
Gladwell taller than someone? Hahahahaha. The only people he is taller than are kindergarteners and even you are smart enough to to know they are unable to use a computer at that age. Go back to worshipping the leader of the lollipop guild.
Dang, 98 comments already. This is a hot button that seems to always get pushed.
If I was the Mayor or any decent elected council member I would do an investigation into the Salisbury Fire Department and the History with Rick Hoppes. It's not hard to do.
Muir Boda you were just elected to the City Council why don't you fulfill some of your promises and clean up the waste and corruption at the Salisbury Fire Department. If you don't even mention or question this at today's city council work session then you are one corrupt person just like they are.
Anonymous said...
Great idea because all of those buffoons need to go. However, if you are planning to oust Gladwell, I hope you're an exterminator. He is a real COCKroach. Emphasis added intentionally
February 21, 2017 at 7:13 AM
I've got a feeling that you know that COCKroach better than I do. LMAO. He has close ties to that Blubber Blogger and runs to him whining when someone is talking about him on this blog.
Anonymous said...
You must be jealous that he's taller than you. Lol
February 20, 2017 at 9:31 PM
On his step stool he might be. He also uses a booster seat in that new command vehicle that that clown O'Barsky wrecked. By the way why is O'Barsky still working there after wrecking half their fleet? Maybe they are afraid of ADA complaints since he uses a booster seat as well.
Anonymous said...
I knew that would get all the hose jockeys wound up.
February 21, 2017 at 12:19 AM
Hose Jockeys. LMBO. They always watch Backdraft and call it training.
Come on Muir Boda where are you on this?? You finally got elected to something and if you want to keep your seat you better prove to us you are fighting corruption in the city government, especially the Salisbury Fire Department. I don't know how you can sleep at night.
Did you know that Wicomico 911 no longer dispatches the volunteers at Stations 16, 2 and 1. The volunteers at Station 1 and 2 are supposed to be dispatched nights and weekends when the paid duty crew isn't on duty Monday through Friday. They are not getting dispatched unless there is a second call. Not enough incentive to keep the volunteers around.
This is the plan Rick Hoppes and Jake Day have been working on to get rid of the volunteers. Rick Hoppes made it a mission the day he got appointed fire chief to push out the volunteers and replace them with paid firemen, but at an expense to the tax payers. That is why they hired those 12 firemen on that Federal 2 year grant. That is why Jim Ireton and Jake Day are fighting the County with the "Nuclear Option" because they want the money from the County to pay for those 12 paid firemen. Now they ended up hiring them, after letting them go, with city and county tax dollars and they want the County to pay even more money to staff the 3 fire stations with more paid firemen full time. Stand by because they are currently looking for a location on North Salisbury Blvd to build another paid fire station up North. It's a fact, look at the Capital Improvement Plan.
This policy is currently in effect and the citizens and visitors are not getting the closest fire station dispatched to their emergency. People are dying because of the long delay waiting for the fire engine from station 16 to respond all the way across town. If you have an emergency on Mt. Hermon Road you are going to die because you have to wait for the fire truck from Station 16 on Cypress Street to respond. They have to respond all the way through town, through bridges and many, many stop lights. You better hope the Rt. 50 bridge is not up. They will not dispatch the volunteers at Station 1 even if they are in the Station or living next door.
If you have an emergency at Target on North Salisbury Blvd. you are going to die because you will have to wait for the fire engine to come from Station 16 on Cypress Street. They will not dispatch Station 2 even if there are volunteers in the station or living next door.
Why do you think they built the new fire station on Naylor Street which is much smaller and why do you think they got rid of Squad 2 and Air Light 2? They are creating a small paid fire station. The plans are to send Station 1's air light unit to Station 16 so the volunteers at #1 won't use it.
And if you were smart enough, you'd know that these days kindergarteners ARE smart enough to use computers. Duh!
Takes one to know one.
Joe your a business man. If you had employees that were failing to show up to work over 70 percent of the time at one of you businesses and over 50 percent at another; what would you do ? This is the situation that the Chief is facing. There isn't any grand scheme to eliminate volunteers. The volunteers are eliminating themselves. You owe it to yourself to dig deeper into the situation. You know people on the other side that can tell you what is really going on.
9:52, Yes, I am a business man. Let me school YOU on business.
You see, I have VOLUNTEERS here on Salisbury News. Do they moderate comments 24/7, no. Are there times when I could really use the help and they aren't around, absolutely. HOWEVER, let's NOT FORGET they are VOLUNTEERS.
I appreciate every single thing they do and I MANAGE my business obviously a lot better then the highers ups at the Salisbury Fire Department.
If I treated my VOLUNTEERS like crap, without the respect they deserve and earn, (in your case) they'd be eliminating themselves too.
So there's the difference between someone in a government job and a professional business man.
Joe you failed to understand my point. The volunteers for years have had the responsibility to respond to calls in their district at night and weekends in station 1 and 2 districts. The responses had failed at the rates too high for the chief to sit idle. The publics safety was at risk and he has taken measures to assure a guaranteed response. If the volunteers would magically begin responding at a respectable rate tomorrow, there would be no need to have paid firemen cover those stations. The decline of volunteer firemen is a national trend that is affecting every department.
Ooooh.....great comeback. That MUST be Gladwell. Sounds about as articulate, intelligent and witty as him. That's the best you've got Jimmie?
It is very obvious that Salisbury has no desire to be a combination Fire Department. If they did, they would promote Jester to a Chiefs position, look how well Ocean City is doing. A viable live in program, retention and recruitment efforts underway, and a duty crew program that actually works. As long as fat A== is there, the Volunteers will continue to disappear, and soon, like a fart in the wind, they will be long gone.
Ooooh.....great comeback. That MUST be Gladwell. Sounds about as articulate, intelligent and witty as him. That's the best you've got Jimmie?
February 21, 2017 at 11:12 AM
No not Jimmy, but I'm flattered that my statement has impressed you to that degree. Anyone who knows the real issues can confirm that its that simple. The situation only gets confusing when false statements are made in an effort to gain public sympathy.
Here is a stone cold fact. Jimmie Gladwell would fellate a billy goat if he thought it would get him promoted.
Anonymous said...
Here is a stone cold fact. Jimmie Gladwell would fellate a billy goat if he thought it would get him promoted.
February 21, 2017 at 8:45 PM
You really can't argue the facts!
Anonymous said...
Joe your a business man. If you had employees that were failing to show up to work over 70 percent of the time at one of you businesses and over 50 percent at another; what would you do ? This is the situation that the Chief is facing. There isn't any grand scheme to eliminate volunteers. The volunteers are eliminating themselves. You owe it to yourself to dig deeper into the situation. You know people on the other side that can tell you what is really going on.
February 21, 2017 at 9:52 AM
I can assure you that Joe Albero is not an idiot. He has been following the Salisbury Fire Department, Rick Hoppes and the city for many years. He knows what the Hell is going on in this city and he knows first hand that Rick Hoppes, Jim Ireton and Jake Day have all but ran off nearly every volunteer in this city and is doing nothing, absolutely nothing to recruit and retain any volunteer.
JoeAlbero said...
9:52, Yes, I am a business man. Let me school YOU on business.
You see, I have VOLUNTEERS here on Salisbury News. Do they moderate comments 24/7, no. Are there times when I could really use the help and they aren't around, absolutely. HOWEVER, let's NOT FORGET they are VOLUNTEERS.
I appreciate every single thing they do and I MANAGE my business obviously a lot better then the highers ups at the Salisbury Fire Department.
If I treated my VOLUNTEERS like crap, without the respect they deserve and earn, (in your case) they'd be eliminating themselves too.
So there's the difference between someone in a government job and a professional business man.
February 21, 2017 at 9:59 AM
Here, Here!
The one fact that nobody has posted here happened when Chief Hoppes explained his staffing plan to station 1 volunteers back in October. Station 1 volunteer President stated " They should be hiring more paid men". That is fact and I heard it with my own ears.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Joe you failed to understand my point. The volunteers for years have had the responsibility to respond to calls in their district at night and weekends in station 1 and 2 districts. The responses had failed at the rates too high for the chief to sit idle. The publics safety was at risk and he has taken measures to assure a guaranteed response. If the volunteers would magically begin responding at a respectable rate tomorrow, there would be no need to have paid firemen cover those stations. The decline of volunteer firemen is a national trend that is affecting every department.
February 21, 2017 at 10:17 AM
The so called leadership at the Salisbury Fire Department keep telling the same lie over and over again hoping that someone is going to believe it. They don't give up.
Data doesn't lie. If volunteering is such a dying off then they must keep forgetting about Kentland Volunteer Fire Department being 100% Volunteer and they run on all fire calls and many more than the Salisbury ambulance responds on. Go Away!!
www.Kentland33.com
When's the last time Salisbury honored the volunteers like OC did thiers at a Council meeting tonight? Jester was there, enough said.
Rick Hoppes is Dr. Evil and Jimmie Gladwell is Mini Me. Does that about sum it up?
Hahahahaha. That is spot on!! You can EASILY picture Rick Hoppes (Dr. Evil) with his pinky in his mouth (The irony is too funny. This stuff writes itself, Hoppes has had Pinky in his mouth NUMEROUS times) demanding from the City Council (wait for it..,say it with me....) ONE MIIILLLLLLLION DOLLARS!!!!
But Kentland doesn't utilize home response!!! They do in station staffing. The same plan the chief wants to incorporate here. So thank you for solidifying the point that our current volunteer response is sub par and should be overhauled to mimic kentlands.
Jester only arranged to have both career and volunteers recognized by the council for a badge pinning ceremony because he got himself an asssitant chief's position and wanted everyone to know it.
Jester is full of crap and is a coward. A leader of men he is not, though he is good at doing things people don't want to do.
Joe, there is a common denominator between the sheriff department Harley's and more fireman and fire trucks and other unnecessary spending. Government officials have no balls. It's easier to say yes than to say no. Look at any mom in the grocery store who buys the treat that their screaming brat wanted. It's easier to give it to them and shut them up. There is no reprocussion for politicians who allow continued spending. There are no rewards for reducing budgets and no penalties for status quo spending.
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