‘We’re putting people who are visiting Disney in danger.’ Firefighters say they are short-handed at theme park

[monothingie]

I've seen conflicting info depending on which 3rd party site you think is more current, but 4 seems more legit. But even at 4 - it's not like they are built out for fighting multiple concurrent significant incidents or major fires themselves. Lots of small equipment, but very limited when it comes to big stuff. 4 engines 1 tanker 2 ladders..

More than a decade ago they were running 30K calls a year. I can only imagine what it is now. BTW how many high rise buildings and expansion have been added in the past decade at WDW?

 

[Lilofan]

I've seen conflicting info depending on which 3rd party site you think is more current, but 4 seems more legit. But even at 4 - it's not like they are built out for fighting multiple concurrent significant incidents or major fires themselves. Lots of small equipment, but very limited when it comes to big stuff. 4 engines 1 tanker 2 ladders.

Wouldn't be surprised if other towns assisted Reedy Creek firefighters in Oct 2015 when guests were stuck for several hours during a monorail breakdown between MK and Contemporary Resort on the monorail track with no working AC . Guests had to be rescued by bucket trucks.

 

[Andrew25]

Wouldn't be surprised if other towns assisted Reedy Creek firefighters in Oct 2015 when guests were stuck for several hours during a monorail breakdown between MK and Contemporary Resort on the monorail track with no working AC . Guests had to be rescued by bucket trucks.

2015... or like every other week or so for the past few years? Lol

 

[Lilofan]

2015... or like every other week or so for the past few years? Lol

Several hours stuck up in the monorail too?

 

[hosekiller]

They aren't really built to be a major city dept. They only have 2 engines and 1 tanker for instance. That's one company in a typical county VFD... not a whole county upon itself.

So the union has a valid point. For instance, they cover an area the size of some cities, with a large population of visitors and employees on any given day. Shoot, I bet they protect a significantly higher population than what my fire department covers, and we cover a whole county. So based on population alone, their coverage appears to be lacking. And that’s before considering they don’t really cover many single family residences…..the buildings they cover require significantly different resources considering they’re mid rises, high rises, access limited and expansive.

 

[Bullseye1967]

So you think that a department with around 130 first responders (not all of whom are assigned to firefighting or EMS, ie fire prevention and administrative tasks) split between three platoons (assuming that they are fully staffed for each tour) is sufficient for a 40 sq mile area with a population of hundreds of thousands, which has hundreds of high hazard and specialized life safety challenges is sufficient and they’re just playing cry baby….

How many FF were on that first due engine? I only counted 3. The bare minimum. They can do better.

I think it is actually 4 stations.

 

[Lilofan]

A younger Eeyorefan worked once worked part time for a Central Florida county EMS agency. We ran full ALS transport and staffing has always been an issue. Call volume is always fluctuating, but growing. There will always be a risk of the system being overwhelmed even at excess staffing. Being the only unit in a metro type county with a 25+ minute emergency response for a cpr in progress is always possible. It’s literally a life or death risk assessment for governments. I do think there’s a lot of work to do. Staffing, pay, benefits, attitudes of officials, processes, protocols, etc. Unions never letting a crisis go to waste is also possible.

When guests call for EMS at Disney , they don't get charged for a service call.

 

[Bullseye1967]

My question was why weren’t there more units responding to a reported structure fire in the middle of a busy theme park, and I’m not even sure how they were staffed. I don’t know much about the Reedy Creek Fire Department, but based on what I saw the other night and staffing figures stated in the article, both pre and post pandemic, I’d bet they’re grossly understaffed.

Mutual aid agreements are meant for rarely occurring events, not for day to day operations. I’m not a huge fan of unions, but if they say the same thing year after year after year, perhaps there’s some merit to what is being said?

I saw the dispatch logs and they rolled 3 engines, a BC, a ladder, and 2 ambulances. Other units were staged behind the park

 

[hosekiller]

I’m not sure how many units you think was necessary. There were 3 units that came down Main Street and another 2 in the back. And I’m sure they had more information about the location and size of the fire then than you do now.

I never said mutual aid agreements should be relied on for day to day operations. I clearly said they were there for worst case scenarios.

I read that the initial call was for a structure fire at the castle, but I’ve also heard it went out as a brush fire, so that’s obviously a huge swing. I saw videos of firefighters in full structural PPE, so I’ll assume it went out as a structure as there’s no need to don full turnouts for a brush fire. So if that’s the case I’d expect at least 3 engines, at least a ladder, and at least a chief. The only reason for ems units to respond is to boost manpower unless they’re sent as a rehab or dedicated for patient care, which you wouldn’t expect for a brush fire.

I didn’t mean to insinuate you were saying anything about daily use of mutual aid agreements, that was just pointing out that the article seems to claim mutual aid is being used more often than intended.

 

[Bullseye1967]

I read that the initial call was for a structure fire at the castle, but I’ve also heard it went out as a brush fire, so that’s obviously a huge swing. I saw videos of firefighters in full structural PPE, so I’ll assume it went out as a structure as there’s no need to don full turnouts for a brush fire. So if that’s the case I’d expect at least 3 engines, at least a ladder, and at least a chief. The only reason for ems units to respond is to boost manpower unless they’re sent as a rehab or dedicated for patient care, which you wouldn’t expect for a brush fire.

I didn’t mean to insinuate you were saying anything about daily use of mutual aid agreements, that was just pointing out that the article seems to claim mutual aid is being used more often than intended.

See my post above. You are dead on.

 

[JoeCamel]

So the union has a valid point. For instance, they cover an area the size of some cities, with a large population of visitors and employees on any given day. Shoot, I bet they protect a significantly higher population than what my fire department covers, and we cover a whole county. So based on population alone, their coverage appears to be lacking. And that’s before considering they don’t really cover many single family residences…..the buildings they cover require significantly different resources considering they’re mid rises, high rises, access limited and expansive.

I agree the union has a valid point but it is raised every year like clockwork. If they expect a different outcome (20+ years) they need more imagination. What they do is ignored year after year.

 

[hosekiller]

See my post above. You are dead on.

I think our pigeons crossed mid air

 

[hosekiller]

I agree the union has a valid point but it is raised every year like clockwork. If they expect a different outcome (20+ years) they need more imagination. What they do is ignored year after year.

Yeah, I agree, and it’s a common problem in the American fire service. Another issue that’s plaguing the fire service is finding people to do the job.

 

[JoeCamel]

Yeah, I agree, and it’s a common problem in the American fire service. Another issue that’s plaguing the fire service is finding people to do the job.

That and every other service industry

 

[Lilofan]

Yeah, I agree, and it’s a common problem in the American fire service. Another issue that’s plaguing the fire service is finding people to do the job.

I give a lot of kudos for the volunteer firefighters in addition to the paid ones. Risking your life for no pay.

 

[EeyoreFan#24]

When guests call for EMS at Disney , they don't get charged for a service call.

Correct, but that doesn’t mean it’s free.

For what’s it’s worth (and to be fair since I mentioned pay and other conditions) someone from an neighboring FD moved to Reedy Creek and they said the working conditions from the city were night and day positive. But I still think they can improve, just like everyone else.

 

[Bullseye1967]

Their main units are 4 engines, 2 ladders, 2 brush trucks, 1 squad and 8 RA's. They also have a couple of boats and several specialized units for evacuating the Skyliner and Monorail. I would also guess 10 or better command vehicles.

 

[Tom P.]

So you think that a department with around 130 first responders (not all of whom are assigned to firefighting or EMS, ie fire prevention and administrative tasks) split between three platoons (assuming that they are fully staffed for each tour) is sufficient for a 40 sq mile area with a population of hundreds of thousands, which has hundreds of high hazard and specialized life safety challenges is sufficient and they’re just playing cry baby….

Yes.

 

[monothingie]

Yes.

Oh you’re no fun.

 

[JoeCamel]

Oh you’re no fun.

Yeah but he is pretty goofy