Washington St. Fire

[Guest Guest]

What a disgrace the Harrison Fire Dept. is and they have proved it again. The towns full compliment of fireman had to push the panic button AGAIN to put out a little ol' fire. When the HFD arrived after quite some time (you know, the I'm tired, five more minutes syndrome) they didn't even know how to operate the equipment until one of 5 other towns arrived. They just stood there and watched until another dept. got there. In my opinion, it was one of the worst cases of cowardice by the HFD I have ever seen, and there have been plenty. The second disgrace was when they put up the truck ladder too far from the building and argued about who would go up the ladder. A Police Officer finally had to go up the ladder first. ( That was a different time )

A multi-million dollar budget for a bunch of clowns who are afraid to even pee in a cup. It's more of a comedy show to watch them. The best was when one ff wiped some soot off the ground in back of the house on his face to dirty himself up to look like he did something.

When the Kearny union rep. said," Somebody will die...," he may have been talking about Kearny and Harrison. P A T H E T I C !!!! MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

[Guest Guest]

What a disgrace the Harrison Fire Dept. is and they have proved it again. The towns full compliment of fireman had to push the panic button AGAIN to put out a little ol' fire. When the HFD arrived after quite some time (you know, the I'm tired, five more minutes syndrome) they didn't even know how to operate the equipment until one of 5 other towns arrived. They just stood there and watched until another dept. got there. In my opinion, it was one of the worst cases of cowardice by the HFD I have ever seen, and there have been plenty. The second disgrace was when they put up the truck ladder too far from the building and argued about who would go up the ladder. A Police Officer finally had to go up the ladder first. ( That was a different time )

A multi-million dollar budget for a bunch of clowns who are afraid to even pee in a cup. It's more of a comedy show to watch them. The best was when one ff wiped some soot off the ground in back of the house on his face to dirty himself up to look like he did something.

When the Kearny union rep. said," Somebody will die...," he may have been talking about Kearny and Harrison. P A T H E T I C !!!! MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

The cop had no buisness going up the aerial ladder. They should have got the new vice principal to the scene where he could have gone up the ladder and peed on the fire.

[Guest Guest]

Dear FIREMAN hater,

Blah blah blah, 98 degrees, well advanced fire (3rd floor), initial response 5 guys, no help for 15 - 20 minutes = Great Job!!! HFD is a nessesity for the Town of Harrison & is here to stay. Quit your cryin & Get Over It !!

[Guest guest]

the building was saved as was the houses on both sides ,great job with 6 people.you are a pathetic loser with no life.

[mrmike]

Great job HFD! A good stop.

jus sayin

[Guest Guest]

That remark about the new Vice Principal was pretty damn funny, good job! As far as the firemen's response, putting down the people of the town and taunting them on a public venue can't be good. That one's gonna come back to bite them.

[Guest Guest]

Jack Smith'' Smitty''

Hey no one is ever hating a fireman, But we can disagree with the current state of the dept. And we all know East Newark really put out the fire. Maybe they should merge depts and some real men(fromEast Newark) can teach you guys how to work a fire.And it would be great to see those guys actually get paid for once. It would be a positive change for all. Now there are way more good firemen on the force than bad guys. So don't take anything said on these posts to heart. If you are a good man, then start getting a rid of the bad guys. Even if they are connected to the town.

[Guest Harrison Tax Payer]

Dear FIREMAN hater,

Blah blah blah, 98 degrees, well advanced fire (3rd floor), initial response 5 guys, no help for 15 - 20 minutes = Great Job!!! HFD is a nessesity for the Town of Harrison & is here to stay. Quit your cryin & Get Over It !!

I hear dispatch couldn't call anyone for help, phone lines were down. Apparently they did not know how to reach East Newark either, I thought they shared a dispatch though?? Hmmm odd, sounded like they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. If they had volunteers they would have had more guys on the initial report, maybe, maybe not, who knows. But what are you suppose to do with 2 floors on fire with only 5 men?? Not much. I think they should start paying Kearny to respond in on all alarms as well, if not Kearny then East Newark, we sure as hell give East Newark Police enough help. Ray Ray it's time to wake up.

[Guest Harrisonian]

Appears the last comment was made by a relative or member the the Harrison fire dept , known as the clowns of Hudson county. It is time with the recent tax increase that the town fathers discharge this incompetent organization ,instead of trying to take care of their friends at the tax payers expense.

[Guest guest]

I would LOVE to see documentation that it took Kearny FD 20 minutes to get to Harrison. You're just a lier. If you think the HFD is "here to stay" you better adjust your future plans. McDonough isn't making that trip over the Whit Penn bridge to say hello to the guys. He going over with hat in hand looking for money, and from knowing many politico's from the other side of the bridge they are telling him to go screw and cut unneeded services because they are also in the poor house. The HFD has been mentioned in these talks on frequent occasions. Don't get too comfortable in those $5000.00 beds your sleeping in on duty.

[Guest Harrisonian]

IT"S HARD FOR ME TO BELIEVE THAT A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION SUCH AS THE KEARNEY FIRE DEPT WOULD TAKE 20 MINUTES TO RESPOND TO HARRISON WHEN THERE MINUTES AWAY. PROBABLY SOMEONE IS TRYING TO DRAW THE ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE REAL PROBLEM , THE HARRISON FIRE DEPT.

[Guest Harrisonian]

jus saying, you were totally correct when you said it was 98 degrees. But your opinion that it was a great job by the Harrison fire dept would have more credence if were not a member of said organization

[Guest Harrisonian]

It"s hard to believe that a professional organization such as the Kearney Fire Dept only minutes away would take that long period of time.Evidently some is looking to blame every other organization and hide the true problem the Harrison Fire Dept.

[Guest Harrisonian]

Regarding post of the 20 minute reponse by the professional Kearney FIRE Dept. It"s hard to believe that KFD that is only minutes away response was as posted. In addition from what I observe on this web page , their seems someone is looking to but blame everyone else except where it truly belongs the inadequacies of the Harrison Fire Dept.

[Guest Guest]

Joe Firemen said the Harrison Fire Department is a "nessesity" to the town. Way to demonstrate that 6th grade education to the public. Try using the spell check on your computer from now on to hide your lack of education. Please go on the show, " Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader," (I think that's the name) and show the brain power of the mighty HFD. LOL!

[Guest an observer]

Lets all be honest here The original response 5 men did a great job holding the fire until help arrived. Not one department put out the fire it was a team effort by all on scene.

Instead of berating fire by police, police by fire etc. why not focus this energy on getting the incompetant politicians that caused this mess out of office. The ** ***** that sold you all down the river is ********** a ******** again. That could go to paying for an additional FF. Enough Said.

Edited July 10, 2012 by KOTW
Content

[Guest Guest]

20 minutes due to communications ie. phone lines being down. A great job by all who showed up & there are no problems between HFD,KFD,HPD,KPD or any other agencies that have been working together for some time now. Don't know where you get your misinformation

[Guest Guest]

My information is from the board references to the club house gang and barney. Taken from the context of posts ont the Board what else could be meant but PD V FD going after each other. Again focus the energy where it needs to be. Those that do not do thier job in public office should be voted out. Stop being Sheep.

[Guest Harrisonian]

Lets all be honest here The original response 5 men did a great job holding the fire until help arrived. Not one department put out the fire it was a team effort by all on scene.

Instead of berating fire by police, police by fire etc. why not focus this energy on getting the incompetant politicians that caused this mess out of office. The ** ***** that sold you all down the river is ********** a ******** again. That could go to paying for an additional FF. Enough Said.

WOW: Here we go!

The Harrison Fire Dept. goes from blaming the Kearny Fire Dept, the Harrison dispatch, to now blaming the Mayor and Council of the Town of Harrison. The Mayor and Council are in difficult times trying to redevelop areas of the community. Hoping thru these endeavors’ this would make the town aesthetically pleasing for both residents and future investors.. An example of this is, the Mayor along with the Council negotiated with the Harrison Fire Dept. the Harrison Police, and the Town of Harrison Employees Of the three groups the Harrison Fire Dept., was the only group after coming to an agreement; impeded the implementation by initiating several legal actions. These negotiations’ were to give the town latitude to be capable of funding the redevelopment projects. These projects would in the long term be both beneficial to the residents of the Town of Harrison and there employees.

[Guest Guest]

Dear FIREMAN hater,

Blah blah blah, 98 degrees, well advanced fire (3rd floor), initial response 5 guys, no help for 15 - 20 minutes = Great Job!!! HFD is a nessesity for the Town of Harrison & is here to stay. Quit your cryin & Get Over It !!

Fireman Joe, you are totally correct when you say Fireman are necessary. In these times thru out the country people are asked to do more with less. Yet your profession pays people to sleep 50 percent of the time, so if the budget for your organization were 3 million for example it cost 1.5 million for people sleeping. Now let’s be honest because if you go by the Fire House you will observe large pickups, which give me the impression that there is quite a few of you fireman in business. This question is open to all members of the Harrison fire dept. enlighten me. How many of your employees do you pay to sleep? I’m guessing but I am convinced the answer is none because (1) cost and (2) lack of production.

[Guest Guest]

I do agree many have been working with a smaller workforce than usual, including police & fire depts. What people do while off the clock is their business, including working part time. I also find it odd you would think that someone with a large pick-up has a business. Washington St. fire was reported @ 3:30 which means 1) they weren't sleeping while fighting the fire ( regardless of whatever comment you may make about that) & 2) I remember when you would complain about a $ 7 million dollar fire budget ( almost a 60% cut) how about those savings. & just in case you were wondering there were a few HPD members helping out at the Washington St fire as well. Imagine HPD & HFD working together lol, & while we're being honest why don't you be honest & just admitt you hate police & fire & will complain no matter how many or how much they get paid. Oh & by the way I've taken 3 drug test in the past 5 years & passed them all

[Guest Guest]

I do agree many have been working with a smaller workforce than usual, including police & fire depts. What people do while off the clock is their business, including working part time. I also find it odd you would think that someone with a large pick-up has a business. Washington St. fire was reported @ 3:30 which means 1) they weren't sleeping while fighting the fire ( regardless of whatever comment you may make about that) & 2) I remember when you would complain about a $ 7 million dollar fire budget ( almost a 60% cut) how about those savings. & just in case you were wondering there were a few HPD members helping out at the Washington St fire as well. Imagine HPD & HFD working together lol, & while we're being honest why don't you be honest & just admitt you hate police & fire & will complain no matter how many or how much they get paid. Oh & by the way I've taken 3 drug test in the past 5 years & passed them all

The HFD did a good job with the number of initial responders(7). Of course, they needed mutual aid from Kearny and E. Newark. In today's economy that's SOP. A volunteer FD would be ideal, but the residents of Harrison are used to being paid to work for the Town. Who would volunteer?

As far as The HPD, I agree with the Chief who wrote the above comment. I just hope he keeps his job and they don't go for a director like they did in the fire dept. The Chief's Ass'n would fight it despite the PBA's surrender when Officers were forced out and the dept. was cut.

[Guest Guest]

Here's a case of people relying on rumors, rather than fact. It is possible the Fire Department was inept, or responded slowly, or poorly trained. In all likelihood the Fire Department acquitted themselves honorably and professionally. I'm sure most of the people in the Fire Department are good folks, working hard, and highly capable. There is a share of scumbags in every occupation and walk of life, so to single out the Fire Department for possible misdeeds is sort of crazy, even though they are public servants.

Some of the comments in this thread have been focusing on the fact that the town had to call in neighboring towns. The gist of those comments seems to be that the Harrison Fire Department is somehow inept because they "couldn't take care of it themselves". This is evidence of a problem but not ineptitude on the part of the Harrison Fire Department. What do I mean? First, it is common practice to call in neighboring municipalities or districts (for police, fire, ambulance). No town should staff enough people all the time to handle every single eventuality - so they basically pool resources. Rather than say Harrison having 50 people on duty at all times and Kearny doing the same, they can each have a smaller number and pool resources and help each other out. Just makes sense to do so.

The real issue this demonstrates is that because the towns in this area are so small, they have no business existing in the first place. Or at least certain services should be merged, as they effectively operate in a quasi-merged status anyway and have to respond to each other's incidents. The benefit from merger is reduced administrative overhead, better coordination (single dispatch - sort of like exists between Harrison and E. Newark anyway), reduced redundant equipment purchases and scale in purchasing. It's a bad deal for the senior leaders in each Department, as you only need 1 chief instead of 2, etc. (flatter hierarchy - so less chance of promotion). Bottom line: we already sort of operate that way (as this fire response indicates), it makes sense to merge, but the political leadership in the town and the fire unions will never support it and instead scare residents by (falsely) saying either merger or shared services would result in reduced services.

Again: (1) this fire response probably went pretty well and we shouldn't spread rumors, (2) the fact that multiple departments responded to the fire is common practice, makes perfect sense from an efficiency point of view and isn't an indication of a "bad" department, and (3) this response indicates the need for either merger between the towns in West Hudson or at a minimum the merger of most municipal services (fire and police being the most important ones).

[doc13mets]

The HFD did a good job with the number of initial responders(7). Of course, they needed mutual aid from Kearny and E. Newark. In today's economy that's SOP. A volunteer FD would be ideal, but the residents of Harrison are used to being paid to work for the Town. Who would volunteer?

As far as The HPD, I agree with the Chief who wrote the above comment. I just hope he keeps his job and they don't go for a director like they did in the fire dept. The Chief's Ass'n would fight it despite the PBA's surrender when Officers were forced out and the dept. was cut.

The HFD did a DAMN good job with the number of initial responders... which on this day was actually 6 (I'm guessing cause when they have 7 they usually have a ladder in service right? since they had 2 engines I'm guessing they were at minimum manning which is 6)... 1 was the guy running the scene... 1 guy was pumping... so you really had 4 guys in the building holding the fire... you have to praise those guys cause they did a fantastic job holding it until help could arrive... they saved most of that building and I would go as far to say they saved the building next to it as well...

When help did arrive all departments did a great job working together as they always do at fires...

[Guest Guest]

Is that the best that the HFD members could come up with with days of 24 hour shifts of doing nothing? Their mediocrity and sub par performance with anything related to the fire service is eclipsed only by their obvious lack of intellectual capabilities. I cannot wait until they go to a volunteer dept. because Harrison is headed for a major financial disaster and McMole and company are already making plans for their escape to the shore. The Harrison Fire Department is untrained, inept, and a disgrace to the town on a national level.