Representative Town Meeting (RTM) - Minutes - 04/05/2021

FIFTEEN ROPE FERRY ROAD
WATERFORD, CT 06385-2886
PHONE: 860-442-0553
www.waterfordct.org
Public Protection & Safety Standing Committee of the Waterford RTM
Meeting Minutes :
Monday, April 5th, 2021/6:00PM Zoom =
Meeting Called to order at 6:00 PM by Chairperson Timothy Condon a
Roll Call 7
Present: Timothy Condon, Baird Welch-Collins, Richard Muckle
Absent: April Cairns, Susan Driscoll
Others Present: Robert Avena
Agenda Item 4- To Consider and act upon the minutes of the September 16", 2020 meeting.
Motion made by Muckle, Second by Welch Collins to accept the minutes.
Vote: Unanimous
Motion passed.
Point of Order- Motion made by Muckle, Second by Welch-Collins to add public comment.
Vote: Unanimous
Motion passed.
Public Comment
None
Agenda Item 5- Consideration of and possible action on items referred to committee:
Review of creation of an Ad Hoc Committee in regard to attached letter (RTC 08/03/20)
Chairperson Condon gave a brief overview of where the committee left off. Attorney Avena spoke on
the actions of the committee and the role of the RTM in general in regard to Ad Hoc committees. Brief
discussion ensued.
Motion made by Welch-Collins, Second by Muckle, to recommend to the body of the RTM should an Ad
Hoc Committee be created membership it should include 3 members of the RTM, 1 must be from the
Public Protection and Safety standing committee, 1 member of the Board of Finance, 1 member of the
Board of Selectmen, Advisory non-voting members consisting of the Waterford Ambulance Service
Manager, The Emergency Management Director, 1 Volunteer Fire Chief, 1 Career Full time paid
Firefighter and the Director of Fire Services. With a charge to review and propose possible changes to
the Waterford Fire and Emergency Services in the interest of public safety.
Vote: Unanimous
Motion Passed.
Motion to adjourn at 6:32 P.M. by Welch-Collins, second by Muckle.
Vote: Unanimous
Respectfully submitted,
Timothy Condon

Christopher Venditt!
as un a ie h& 443 Sipple St.
apoe JUL GL PA Wh _— Oceanside, CA 92058
(860} 287- 4644
07/27/2020
Rob Brule 7
First Selectman
Town of Waterford
45 Rope Ferry Rd.
Waterford, CT 06385
ym writing you today with a few concerns that | have regarding public safety within the
Town of Waterford. As of now, | have not resided In town for about 7 years due to Active Duty
Military orders, but I do still pay property taxes, and I keep a special interest in local Issues
because many of my family members are residents (mother, sister, nieces, and nephews).
The first topic | would Ilke to bring up ts the overall fack of fire protection within the
Town. | have a unique perspective on this issue because I’ve been a member of Waterford Fire
Engine Co.1 since 2009 but have not lived In town since 2013. | don’t believe anyone can deny
that the number of Incidents the town fire services respond to Is decreasing, but we can all
agree that volunteer participation {s at an all-time low. It’s my understanding that more fulltime
professional firefighters have been added to the payroll In recent years, and the stations and
hours they work has been restructured. With that in mind, J find it very Interesting that the
town thought It was acceptable to have no fire coverage from 0200-0600 daily. If there’s
anything that being an Infantryman in the United States Marine Corps has taught me, it’s that
you cannat predict when you'll need to be ready to fight and work you schedule around that,
but rather you need to maintain the highest state of readiness possible. | feel we as a Town are
lacking here.
Just last year on October 22, 2019 at 0445 a town resident had his [Ife cut short due to
this Jack of fire protection. The incident took place less than 4 mile from Waterford Fire Engine
Co.‘L. The first plece of fire apparatus was driven by the bunkman, and he could not adequately
perform the initial functions of being the first due piece by himself,
These functions include:
° Scene size up ~ Confirm or deny Initial reports of fire, confirm location of
fire, confirm location of water supply, position the vehicle In an
advantageous location for Its function, confirm or deny If anyone ts
present In the structure, identify entry and exit points, identify locations
of possible victims, *ensure adequate resources are on the way*, direct
those resources until an INCIDENT COMMANDER assumes the role.
* Initial entry and search ~ search for fire and victims
© Initial fire attacks ~ advance the first hose line and attack the fire,

All of these functions should be taking place nearly simultaneously, but you tell
me how long it would take you, BY YOURSELF. Now put yourself in the shoes of
the homeowner who’s being overcome by smoke and heat. We cannot afford to
put that much stress on our firefighters and our residents due to a lack of
manpower. We are making an already bad situation worse.,
{ bring this up because even though we are staffing 2 firefighters in town from 0200-
0600 currently, it’s not enough. These hours are also not part of their contract so theoretically
they could be cut at any time. | challenge you as the First Selectman to answer this question: Is
the reason for not having better fire protection money, or a lack of understanding? The
Waterford Police Department has been advertising a string of car break-ins on thelr Facebook
page for what feels [ke months now, which [s a great way to remind residents to lock their
doors, But does a large amount of car break-ins mean we add 2 additional officers to an
overnight shift on overtime? Is the cost worth the benefit? Are.you familiar with the Kansas City
Preventative Patrol Experiment? This was a year-long study conducted by the Kansas City,
Missourt Police Department to see if they could make a correlation between visible police
- presence and crime, and fear of crime, The conclusion was that whether the clty was having
police proactively patrolling an area or staying out until called in (reactive patrolling) had
significant effect on burglaries, auto thefts, larcenies, robberies, and vandalism — crimes
traditionally thought to be deterrable.
| say all of that to say this, If we as a town are willing to ADD 2 officers to a shift duet to
car break ins (property damage and stolen goods) which Is proven to not stop the crime, how
many more CITIZENS need to DIE for us to add adequate fire protection for the overnight
hours?
The concerning thing for me is that this lack of regard for residents when it comes to fire
protection isn’t a one-time thing in Town. In fact, it’s starting to become normal, which is not
acceptable.
Next | would like to talk about what it means to have leadershlp present. The Police
department Is staffed to have a Sergeant on every shift. Why is that? I’m sure your answer will
have something to do with having a high level of accountability at all times and degree of
tactical expertise ready to respond to any situation at a moments notice. Is the fire service any
different? Not only do they never have leadership present (Waterford Fire Engine Co.1 hasn't
had a fire officer (leader) respond to an emergency call since October 2019), but now the
firefighters are forced to make up for this by using manpower needed elsewhere on the
fireground, Referencing back to my Initial functions on the fireground, the following should be
handled by the incident commander - Confirm or deny initial reports of fire, confirm location of
_ fire, confirm location of water supply, confirm or deny If anyone Is present In the structure,
identify entry and exit points, identify locations of possible victims, *ensure adequate resources
are on the way”, direct those resources in, send necessary notifications to dispatch.
- Why does the Police Department get leadership and the Fire Department gets
Volunteers who don’t have to have the same level of training as the firemen they “lead”
{we use thatterm loosely)? - . s ,
- Why do you think it’s ok to fet a failing system continue to fail?
- Have you ever coached a team without captalns?

In closing, [ have many issues with the way tax dollars are belng spent, particularly when it
comes to public safety. My mother, sister, brother-in-law, three nieces and nephews live In
town, and | fear If something were to happen In thelr home that at least one of them Is liable to
not make it out, I’ve already instructed them to give the address for our neighbors up road who
live in the City of New London if something happens because they'll respond with an 16 man
crew within minutes (made up of 12 firefighters, 3 lieutenants*, and a battalion chief*}, The
same crew that has balled Waterford out recently for their lack of manpower. Offering $7 per
call will not make these “volunteers” Just appear, and if it does, they won't be better trained
than the professional firefighters. | look forward to hearing from you, Mr. Selectman, as well as
a representative from the Towns Public Protection and Safety Committee. {can send a hard
copy of this email if needed. °