Paid-Call Firefighters

* To show a man like John Garner, a captain with the Orange County Fire Authority, standing in front of the fire apparatus with such a look of resignation is an insult to the people of this county (Jan. 4).

This man, who has faced danger others would shy away from, and has done it for about $8 an hour, is being forced out of a position that will cost hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to fill.

The paid-call firefighters have always filled a need in this county and now they’re just tossed out with the rest of the valuables being stripped from our fire stations in the name of “legal liability.”

It appears the underhanded agenda of the Orange County Firefighters Assn. has been forced upon the will of the people. Every one of our paid-call firefighters, including Garner, has been slighted. Their “lack of training” will be replaced with newer, untested employees, many of whom will never hold a candle to men like Garner.

The statement of Joe Kerr, president of the firefighters union--”This is a system that grew legs that went places it never should have gone”--betrays the superficial sincerity the Fire Authority has tried to hide behind.

The whining and sniveling of the “regular” firefighters is over one simple reason, overtime! The kind of overtime that costs the county about $41 per hour per man, that is now filled with paid-call firefighters willing to do it for one-fifth the cost!

Another sad fact is the paid-call system has the potential to be the greatest training and selection pool for regular firefighter candidates. But there has never been acceptance of that fact, even though many of the current regular firefighters started their careers as paid-call firefighters.

It’s too late to turn this bad decision around, but it’s not too late for the administration of the Fire Authority to realize that it’s much cheaper to hire an already trained paid-call firefighter than to test, investigate, appoint, train and train again a boot firefighter.

KEVIN M. O’BRIEN

Laguna Hills

* The Jan. 4 article quoted me in error with the effect of reversing the meaning of all my comments.

I spoke of the advantages of having well-trained, paid-call or reserve firefighters available within the remote canyon areas not only for day-to-day response, but for a larger event which could isolate the community. Unfortunately, the article altered the word “well.”

The tone of my comments during an interview reflected my firm belief in the quality of service the paid-call or reserve firefighters deliver on a daily basis and the value of the depth which these dedicated people provide in any type of larger emergency.

BRUCE NEWELL

Modjeska Canyon