Paul Whitefield has written an editorial for the Los Angeles Times that criticizes the City of Prescott for giving full survivor benefits to the families of only 6 of the 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots that died in the employ of the city while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30.
Below is an excerpt, but you should read the entire well-written editorial.
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“…As my Times colleague Cindy Carcamo writes:
It would cost the city an estimated $51 million over the next 60 years and would mean cuts to vital services to the people of Prescott, city spokesman Peter Wertheim said Thursday in a statement.
If the city were to make a one-time lump-sum payment of $24 million, it would be three times the entire budget of the Prescott Fire Department.
Excuse me, but when exactly did Prescott, Ariz., turn into Bangladesh? Brave young men die doing dangerous work protecting public and private property, and Prescott can’t “afford” to take care of their survivors? If that’s the case, then I’d say Prescott can’t “afford” to send such folks out to fight fires either.
And about that affordability explanation: If you’re so inclined, you can visit the city’s website and check out its financial position. For 2014, the city says it has about $230 million available; it’s budgeted about $173 million for expenditures. Hmmm. Is it just me, or does it appear the city could cough up a few bucks for some widows and their kids?”
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More information about this issue is in an article we published on August 15, 2013.
Thanks go out to Dick
I was in the shower this morning — I do my best thinking there — and was reminded of “Tommy” by Rudyard Kipling, particularly the final lines:
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot.
It’s simple, Do the right thing! Do right by the families! One other thing your honor, mayor of Prescott- get out of the shot program immediately. Any fire fighter worth their salt should think twice about a career here. This should be a red flag.
I go up to the Yarnell area fairly frequently. (I was there the week before the fire.) I will be avoiding Prescott in the future …
Yes, volunteers and all seasonal firefighters deserve decent treatment including taking care of their families if the firefighters pay the ultimate price. When I was a volunteer, I was expected to show the same professionalism as my paid co-workers, the same dedication to the job, the same knowledge, the same willingness to face the fire. On the fire line, there is no way to tell the difference between paid staff and volunteers. The agency that employs them ought to do the decent thing even if it’s not written in the policy manual.
I tend to agree with you in theory. I worry about what would happen to my family if I were killed fighting fire as a volunteer or part time for the state. We are trying to get life insurance for me so at least my wife could pay off the debt on the farm. I do worry however about the implications if my part time hired man were killed on the job. According to the dept. of labor as many as 1300 Americans are killed on the farm each year. Granted about three million people live and work on farms in the US, but there are about as many firefighters in the US. I know it sounds heartless but I would not be able to provide full time benefits to the family if something were to happen. We pay into work comp and carry insurance as we are required to by law. What other occupations could one be involved with part time and expect full time benefits for life if one were killed on the job? As I said before I tend to agree with you.
It might be a good idea to get life insurance period and not rely on jobs that you volunteer for if killed, will pay survivor benifts.
What about me? I am a sometime firefighter for the state, and a volunteer firefighter for a small town/very large county. Should my family be entitled to survivor benefits should I be killed as a volunteer firefighter? No such provisions have ever been made for volunteers here.
“Excuse me, but when exactly did Prescott, Ariz., turn into Bangladesh? Brave young men die doing dangerous work protecting public and private property, and Prescott can’t “afford” to take care of their survivors? If that’s the case, then I’d say Prescott can’t “afford” to send such folks out to fight fires either.”
That quote nails it. Yet another governmental body and another agency doing things on the cheap.
The military sorted all this out pretty well a long time ago … “first, take care of your people.” Reservists or activated guard have the same benefits while on active duty as regular active duty people.
Seasonal employees are doing the same job as the full time people so there isn’t a defensible argument for dissimilar treatment except “save money”.
Prescott is behaving like a corporation. It has no soul.
If the 13 seasonal/temporary firefighters deserve the same survivor benefits (that the 6 regular/year-round employees likely paid into with each paycheck), then by the same token, don’t ALL seasonal/temporary firefighters also deserve the same? The families of EVERY fallen seasonal/temp wildland firefighter face the same issues as those 13 families of the seasonal/temporary crew members. How come this conversation is coming out now, when so many others have faced the same thing in the past? We’ve talked a lot about health insurance, but survivor benefits haven’t typically been part of the discourse (at least from my experience). It seems people are forgetting about the other fallen firefighters we’ve had this season (and many seasons before), some of whom were also seasonal/temp/1039s, but no mention of others deserving the same benefits that their permanent/regular/year-round counterparts receive.
Yes, all 19 died on the line together, but the deaths of other wildland firefighters on the line place them in exactly the same level of equality as they all have given their lives to protect life and property.
If it is the right thing to do in this case, it is the RIGHT THING to do in EVERY CASE.
Amen
While it’s sad that spouses/kids are being put in this position, it’s just the nature of the beast. Seasonal/Casual hires just don’t get the same benefits as career folks, period. This is true for pretty much any career field out there, and it’s all laid out in the tons of legal paperwork that we have to sign to get a job.
I am a teacher, and worked as a seasonal employee (Engine Boss and Squad Boss) for the USFS for 10 seasons through college, and into my teaching career, and LOVED every minute of it (except sitting in staging), but gave it up when I got married for this exact reason.
Our society expects everyone to be treated equally, regardless of their situation for whatever reason, and unfortunately, that’s just not how things work.
Funds have been raised through various avenues to help with the families, and anyone who is feeling the situation is unfair should help out in any way that they can. The Wildland Firefighter Foundation is a great charity, and one that I give to annually.
It is definitely sad to see, but like William said, it’s the nature of their position. A seasonal/casual hire has less benefits than a career employee. Sadly, that’s the nature of the beast, no matter what job field you’re in. Unless I’m missing something, the families of the Granite Mountain folks will receive the benefits that were outlined in their conditions for hire. That’s one of the reasons I stopped working as a seasonal hire (Engine Boss and Squad Boss) for the USFS after I got married (I work as a teacher). Even after ten seasons of LOVING the heat, smoke, and general nastiness, I had to give it up because if anything ever happened…..
I feel that the spouses and kids that were left with no provider should be taken care of, but that’s just not how things work. They all signed contracts with benefits stipulated for just this situation. I feel for their families, but I don’t appreciate the opinion that society today has that everyone needs to be taken care of equally all the time, no matter what.
All of you who think the City of Prescott needs to provide all these benefits to seasonals better start petitioning the Feds too then. Every hotshot crew out there has a large contingent of seasonals who will receive less than the Granite Mountain men. The Granite Mountain seasonals will receive far more than the federal seasonals due to them being from a Fire Department, with the associated Union support, and donations.
Another excerpt from the editorial captures the feelings of most people I would imagine. This from a resident of Prescott. “I think most people feel like I do,” he said. “I know it’ll cost the city … but they died in the line of duty to protect all of us.”
And if you just want to calculate the dollar cost to residents, it’s about $25 per year.
Email sent as well. I look forward to the Mayor’s response and reasoning.
So did we!
I e-mailed the mayor of Prescott at http://cityofprescott.net/email.php?id=24 expressing my concern and that I’ll bypass Prescott on my annual winter trip to Arizona.