October 24, 2022 at 11:04 a.m.
RFD chief offers governor insight into challenges facing Fire/EMS service
RFD chief offers governor insight into challenges facing Fire/EMS service
Tonnancour began the tour by telling the governor that the $89,000 the department received through a recent state EMS Flex Grant has been earmarked for the purchase of a new ambulance.
As the city's most recent ambulance purchases were in 2009, and the rigs cost approximately $330,000, the grant money is appreciated, he noted.
Tonnancour introduced the crew members present, noting that not everyone on shift was in the station at the time as some were responding to an emergency call.
The department receives about 70 calls a day, Tonnancour said, noting that the department has a maximum of six people on duty per shift but due to vacation and sick time, as well as family medical leave, about 83 percent of the year there are five people working per shift.
"We had four calls at the same time today, back to back to back," he said.
Later, he noted that the city is growing. Two new hotels have been approved and one is already under construction.
If he could, he said he would like to add six more people to the department, two for each of the three shifts.
In addition to staffing issues and call statistics, Tonnancour talked about the limitations associated with operating out of station that has been "Frankensteined" over the years.
"It's very good for us for a shelter, but for it to be a functioning fire department it doesn't fit our needs," he said, referring to the building.
Due to antiquated HVAC systems, the building tends to be too hot or too cold, he said.
"In the summer it's freezing and in the winter it's too hot, like 86 degrees too hot," noted one of the firefighters present.
As firefighters work 48-hour shifts and need to be able to rest when not responding to calls, the heating and cooling issues are particularly vexing, the chief noted.
Unfortunately, attempts to find a solution to this problem have thus far been unsuccessful, he added.
"We've had some people come in preliminarily and look at our HVAC systems and they've thrown their hands up," he said.
Another issue with the building is the workout room is located in the garage, meaning anyone using the equipment is subjected to emissions from the vehicles.
"You don't see many gyms in a garage," the governor agreed.
Tonnancour said he's concerned about potential health impacts, including cancer.
"We're going to have high cancer rates in this department at some point," he said. "It's not if it's when. We have do something to protect our people now."
As the tour came to an end, Evers asked Tonnancour about his top priority. Personnel, the chief responded.
"We're already behind the eight ball in public safety in the city and if we get too far behind it's going to be too hard for us to catch up and we may not ever (catch up)," he said. "So something's gotta give."
"Well, we're going to do what we can at the state level," the governor responded, adding that a priority for him is to increase shared revenue, a move he said would help departments like RFD.
Later, he noted to reporters that the state has a $5 billion surplus that will grow even larger by the end of the next fiscal year. Those funds should be reinvested to improve quality of life, he said.
"These are the types of investments we have to make," he said. "That money that's in Madison comes from Rhinelander and all across the state. It wasn't just magically minted in Madison. It's taxpayers' money so what better way to give back to the communities..."
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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