New chief putting mark on Detroit Fire Department
DETROIT (AP) — In his first months as the new head of Detroit's beleaguered fire department, Eric Jones is building bridges with union leaders, touting improved response times and a decline in arson fires.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Detroit News ( http://detne.ws/1TOFG1a ), the fire commissioner detailed the challenges facing the fire department and plans for boosting morale, pay and safety training for the city's first responders.
Instructors are being schooled on techniques for interacting with violent individuals or people with mental illness.
Joseph Barney, a representative of Police Officers Association of Michigan who represents the EMTs, said the training needs are reflective of the changing times in public safety.
Jones took on the fire leadership role after spending about 16 months as director of the city's Building Safety Engineering & Environmental Department.
In December, city administration and police announced an agreement to boost pay and incentives for Detroit's police officers.
[...] Jones says a wage increase for the fire department — and potentially paramedics and EMTs — will be coming next.
In recent months, the fire department embarked on a pilot project in partnership with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to better facilitate inspections of Detroit's 30,000 fire hydrants.
Based on monthly inspections, about 5 percent — or 1,500 hydrants — need work at any given time, says Palencia Mobley, deputy director and chief engineer at the water department.
The department's technological deficiencies were detailed in testimony presented during Detroit's historic bankruptcy trial, including stories of firefighters placing an empty pop can beneath a printer and listening for the sound of it being knocked over as an alert mechanism for emergencies.
Jones said he's instituted daily inspection reports at shift change to ensure various technology including phones, printers, radios and other electronics are functioning properly.