2011: THE YEAR WE PREPARED FOR
What a year it was, 2011 was defined by the fury Mother Nature deciding to unleash havoc on us this past year and the still lingering financial issues facing not only residents, but every town and Fire Department in Bergen.
It seemed as if we never got a reprieve from the weather. It started out in January when everyone was still digging out from nearly 30 inches of snow from the Christmas 2010 blizzard, residents were walloped with another 30 inches of snow throughout the month. How much snow is that? Well remember how towns reported that snow removal budgets for the season were drained and you remember how the roads become one-way streets because of the enormous snow piles. And just to prove it, a 50-foot length of the parapet wall on the vacant Zanadu, or American Dream, or American Dream Meadowlands, or Triple Five, or whatever it will be called, complex buckled sending enormous sections of ice and snow hurling to the roadway below. No one was injured, but it seemed ironic that the parapet was on top of the indoor ski dome. Didn’t anyone realize it might snow not just in Zanadu, but on it. Just hope that, no matter what the new name is, there’s a few dollars left for an exterior paint job.
The U.S. Census Bureau releases statistics from the 2010 Census that show population growth in all parts of Bergen County and pegged us at a population of 905,116 residents.
In August, the area was shaken by an earthquake and just a week later, Hurricane Irene unleashes her fury on the East Coast and locally, the historic storm flooded entire neighborhoods, uproots thousands of trees and displaces hundreds if not thousands of residents. The cresting of the Passaic River, Hackensack River and many other water tributaries sent floodwaters higher and into more areas then anyone can remember, many homes were deemed uninhabitable. Many firefighters worked countless hours away from your own homes and families wading through flood water [read that as raw sewerage] to help residents get to higher ground.
In September we joined hands in solidarity on the 10th anniversary of the day we will never forget. The Emergency Services of the county dedicated a monument to the sons of Bergen County lost on September 11, 2001 and in the continuing War against Terrorism.
A freak October snowstorm blew through the area, dumping several inches of snow on leaf-covered trees. And again we worked countless hours clearing roads so we could answer another seemingly endless number of calls for help as everyone was left dealing with enormous cleanup efforts to handle downed trees, collapsed buildings and wires everywhere.
November and December passed relatively quietly with somewhat fickle weather leaving us in anticipation of 2012 and what Mother Nature and a stagnate world wide economy may have in store for us.
Most Chiefs across the county are reporting that many of their members are out of work or dramatically under employed. I have heard reports of members being, “too busy with job searches” to report to their firehouses or perhaps just too embarrassed to report. In the career departments we hear about members that are good employees, who are genuine contributors, great managers and workers with decades of knowledge, skills, abilities and experience that are facing lay-off or reductions in salary and/or benefits and pensions and have decided to simply leave, and with them goes part of the departments brain trust.
In these economic times plan for the long term. Remember the State mandated budget cap is 2%, but that doesn’t impact your department’s capital budget. As you know your capital budget is for those items that have a longer then five year life expectance, that’s the boats, hose, apparatus, ground ladders, the SCBA, turn-out gear, these are the “things” fire departments needs to operate.
We all need to remember these are lean times, but don’t forget to remind your bosses, the Mayor and Council, that during 2011 you answered the call over and over again and that this didn’t just happen. The responses of 2011 were a direct result of years and years of planning, training and experience. Remind them that you’re in the business of serving the community and in order to do that you need to maintain your department’s ability to respond to what every type of emergency you may encounter.
The best to you and yours in 2012, stay safe.
Stay Safe,
Peter Hodge
