Warren Fire Committee members met Monday and discussed possible changes to several policies.
Committee members include Chairman Joel Tolefree and Alderwomen Angela Marshall and Dorothy Henderson. Also attending the meeting were Alderwoman Latanza Atkins, Fire Chief Chuck Moore and Administrative Assistant Charlotte Tenner-Brown.
Top photo: Warren Fire Chief Chuck Moore and Administrative Assistant Charlotte Tenner-Brown met with the city Fire Committee Monday. Photo by Tim Kessler.
Tolefree noted procedures were needed on who’s in charge and the chain of command at fire sites.
Moore said the city has an ISO rating of 3 which affects insurance rates on homes, businesses and industries.
“We have a set of standard operating guidelines on fires and extracations,” he said. However, the Fire Department does not have policies on training burns. He commented that a recent training exercise with a controlled burn resulted in about $6,000 damage to the vinyl siding on an adjacent home.
Moore said the department currently has three full-time firefighters working 48-hour shifts and then off for 96 hours. Every three weeks, they will work 75-hour shifts. WFD also has 32 volunteer firefighters, with one position open. He said policies will be updated on the full-time firefighters.
He said WFD is still doing building inspections and will start the next cycle in February. The department also offers fire extinguisher training.
“We cover the entire county on extracation calls,” Moore said. When such an accident occurs, he usually comes to cover Fire Station No. 1. He said Fire Station No. 2 was created because of an ISO requirement that one fire engine has to be kept on each side of the railroad tracks. Engine No. 1 is kept at Fire Station No. 2.