Public Protection & Safety Standing Committee of the RTM Special Meeting Materials (linked)

PHONE: 860-442-0553
www.iwaterfordct.arg
FIFTEEN ROPE FERRY ROAD
WATERFORD, CT 06385-2886
AGENDA
PUBLIC PROTECTION & SAFETY
SPECIAL MEETING
Wednesday, September 16, 2020/5:30 P.M. - Waterford Town Hall
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1. Call to Order
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Roll Call
4, Public Comment
5. To consider and act upon the August 31, 2020 Meeting Minutes.
6. Consideration and possible action on item referred to committee:
A. Review/Enactment of a Stipend Program for Volunteer Firefighters (RTC 10/07/19)
B. Review the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee in regard to attached letter (RTC 08/03/20)
7, Adjournment

FIFTEEN ROPE FERRY ROAD
WATERFORD, CT 06385-2886
PHONE: 860-442-0553
www.waterfordct.org
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PUBLIC PROTECTION & SAFETY STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE RTM -- nN
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The August 31, 2020 Special Meeting of the Public Protection & Safety Standing Committee of the RTM
was called to order by Chairperson Timothy Condon at 5:30 P.M.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: April Cairns, Timothy Condon, Susan Driscoll, Richard Muckle, Baird Welch-Collins.
ABSENT: None
ALSO PRESENT: Town Attorney Robert Avena, First Selectman Robert Brule, Town Clerk David L.
Campo, Labor Attorney Eileen Duggan, Human Resources Director Joyce Sauchuk.
MOTION by Driscoll, seconded by Welch-Collins, to add Public Comment to the agenda.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Unanimous
PUBLIC COMMENT
Cohanzie Fire Chief John Mariano and Quaker Hill Fire Chief Vincent Ukleja addressed the committee in
support of the stipend program. ;
AGENDA ITEM 4: July 21, 2020 Minutes
MOTION by Driscoll, seconded by Welch-Collins, to approve the minutes from the July 21, 2020
meeting. ,
VOTING IN FAVOR: Unanimous
’
AGENDA ITEM 5A: Review/Enactment of a Stipend Program for Volunteer Firefighters (RTC
10/07/2019)
MOTION by Driscoll, seconded by Cairns to table to the next meeting.
Discussion ensued,
VOTING IN FAVOR: Caims, Driscoll, Welch-Collins
“VOTING AGAINST: Condon, Muckle
MOTION PASSED: 3-2
AGENDA ITEM 5B: Review the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee in regards to attached letter (RTC
08/03/20)
Discussion ensued. Committee agreed that an Ad Hoc committee if created would need to focus on

staffing, location, and fleet management in regard to Fire Services. Ideas should be discussed at the next
meeting in regard to focus and composition of an Ad Hoc Coommittee.
Committee agreed to meet next on September 16, 2020 at 5:30 P.M..
MOTION by Driscoll, seconded by Cairns, to adjourn at 6:23 P.M.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Unanimous
Respectfully Submitted
David L. Campo, CCTC
Waterford Town Clerk

Christopher Venditti
443 Sipple St,
Oceanside, CA 92058
{860} 287- 4644
” 07/27/2020
Rob Brule
First Selectman
Town of Waterford
45 Rope Ferry Rd.
Waterford, CT 06385
I’m 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 | do still pay property taxes, and | keep a special interest in local issues
because many of my family members are residents (mother, sister, nieces, and nephews).
The first topic | would like to bring up is the overall lack 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. I 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 is 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, | 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 cannot 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 Jast year on October 22, 2019 at 0445 a town resident had his life cut short due to
this lack of firé protection. The incident took place less than 1 mile from Waterford Fire Engine
Co.1. The first piece 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 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 until an INCIDENT COMMANDER assumes the role.
«Initial entry and search — search for fire and victims
e {nitial 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 horneowner who’s being overcome by smoke and heat. We cannot afford to
put that much stress on our firefighters and our residents due toa 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 their Facebook
page for what feels like months now, which is 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
avernight shift on overtime? 1s 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,
Missouri 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 city 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 toa shift due 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 tack 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 | wotild [ike to talk about what it means to have leadership 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. hasn’t
had a fire officer (leader) respond to an emergency call since October 2049), 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 of 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, *ansure 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 that term loosely}?
- Why do you think it’s ok to let a failing system continue to fail?
~ Have you ever coached a team without captains?

In closing, [have many Issues with the way tax dollars are being 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 their 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 bailed Waterford out recently for their lack of manpower. Offering $7 per
call wilt not make these “solunteers” 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.