SATURDAY APRIL 21, 2012

VOLUME 6 NO 16


SMVFD LAYOFF NOTICES ISSUED

SEARCH TO FILL NEW POSITIONS 
UNDERWAY - Existing Fire Marshal 
and Paramedic Coordinator Positions To 
Be Eliminated by Susan Henderson

 Slightly over one year since the City 
Council voted to restructure the SM 
fire department, the process has begun. 
Notices have been issued to Fire 
Marshal Rich Snyder, a 22 year SMVFD 
veteran and Paramedic Coordinator 
Greg Christmas, who has been with the 
department for six years. Their terminations 
are effective June 30, 2012, the 
end of the current fiscal year.

The move does not come as a surprise, 
as the restructuring was described by 
Chief Steve Heydorff last year as “The 
next step in the continuos improvement 
of the Sierra Madre Fire Department”. 
In his comments before the 
Sierra Madre Kiwanis Club in 2011, he 
indicated that the intent was to “improve 
response times, enhance supervision 
and bring the department closer 
to the goal of automatic aid.” 

Three paid Captain positions are to be 
included as part of the restructure and 
a search has begun to fill those positions. 
Some members of the community 
are alarmed to learn, however, of 
the city’s recruitment efforts. “It was 
my understanding that Rich and Greg 
would assume the duties of the new 
positions,” said one resident. In 2011, 
it was publicly stated that, “the current 
Paramedic Coordinator and Fire 
Marshal would remain as Captains and 
their duties would be incorporated into 
the new Captains position.’ That does 
not appear to be the case.

On the city’s website the following is 
posted under Job Openings: 

Fire Captain - Closes 05.02.2012 
Location: Sierra Madre, CA 
|Department: Fire Department 

The Position

 

Under general supervision, plans, 
organizes, supervises and participates 
in fire services activities 
including emergency medical, 
suppression, prevention, and investigation; 
serves as the supervisor 
of a fire station and/or apparatus 
on an assigned shift; directs and 
participates in fire and emergency 
services operations until relieved; 
performs related duties as required. 
In addition to their supervisory responsibility, 
Fire Captains participate 
in the rendering of services and 
administer certain programs necessary 
to operation of the department 
as a whole.

The posting goes on to list specific 
duties of the position, but it does not 
clearly identify either the Fire Marshal’s 
duties or the duties of the Paramedic 
Coordinator. According to City Manager 
Elaine Aguilar, those duties will be 
a part of the new positions. The posting 
also does not indicate how many 
positions are open, although Aguilar 
did indicate that the city is searching 
for 3 full time captains.

Currently, the positions of Chief, Fire 
Marshall and Paramedic Coordinator 
are paid and both Snyder and Christmas 
are free to apply for the newly created 
positions. Aguilar indicated that 
the qualifications are higher than for 
the volunteer captain positions, however, 
she noted that the higher qualifications 
did not necessarily exclude either 
Marshall or Christmas.

Promotional Opportunity

 According to Aguilar, the new positions 
provide a “promotional opportunity” 
for both Snyder and Christmas. 
Currently their salaries are $61,170 and 
$61,768 per year, respectively. The new 
positions have a salary range of $66,357 
- $82, 871 annually. Should they apply 
and be awarded the new jobs, their 
would be a significant increase in their 
annual pay.

The Real Cost?

As previously reported, the cost to add 
a full-time paid captain to the department 
(two of the three captain positions 
are already funded as fire marshal 
and paramedic coordinator) is 
estimated at approximately $130,000/
yr. The difference between the salary 
and the cost to the city is the cost for 
benefits and retirement. As Aguilar 
pointed out, “the positions are considered 
“public safety personnel” and bear 
a higher percentage of employer and 
employee retirement costs. She also 
pointed out that the salaries and related 
expenses are still much less than other 
cities such as South Pasadena and San 
Marina. According to data compiled 
last year, captains are paid between 
$80,637 to $101,400, with South Pasadena 
the lowest at $74,340 to $90,360.

 According to Heydorff in his presentation 
last year, ‘staffing a fire engine requires 
one captain, one engineer (driver 
and pump operator) and two firefighters. 
The least expensive schedule for 
24/7 on-site staffing requires three captains, 
three engineers and six firefighters. 
Currently, the firefighter positions 
are adequately filled by volunteers, 
with the availability of captains and engineers 
varying daily’. The restructure 
will ensure constant staffing of the fire 
engine ‘by a qualified captain’. 

Chief Heydorff also stated that analysis 
of recent data indicates that response 
times could be cut by two minutes if 
captains were in place at the station 
full time. According to the Chief, in 
the initial stage of a fire, it doubles in 
size every two minutes, so cutting the 
response time by two minutes could 
mean the difference between confining 
the fire to the room in which it started 
or allowing it to spread to other parts 
of the structure. He also noted that 
while paramedics generally arrive on 
the scene two minutes earlier than the 
engine when the captains are not at the 
station, they are unable to begin advance 
life support until the engines arrive 
on the scene because they are busy 
with basic life support issues. That two 
minutes could prove critical to some 
patients, particularly those in need of 
resuscitation due to cardiac arrest.

(For more information, go to: http://
mtnviewsnews.com/v05/htm/n16/index.
htm).

Saturday, April 21, 2012

8:00am - Noon Sierra Madre Environmental Action Council's 
Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park Clean Up.

9:00am - 11:00am Water Saver Toilet Exchange at Sierra Vista 
Park.

 

10:00am - 6:00pm Informational items and sustainable gifts at the 
Sierra Madre Library.

 

11:00am - 3:00pm 'Farm Fresh To You' demonstration at Kersting 
Court.

 

5:00pm - 7:00pm Organic Wine Tasting at The Bottle Shop.

 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

 

6:30am Sunrise meditation and yoga at Kersting Court.

 

10:00am - 2:00pm Nature's Organic Garden demonstrations at 
Kersting Court.

 

11:00am - 3:00pm 'Farm Fresh To You' demonstration at Kersting 
Court.

 

11:00am - 3:00pm REI bicycle safety and repair workshop at 
Kersting Court.

 1:00pm LA County Composting workshop at Mary's 
Market in the Canyon.

 3:00pm Kid's 'Trash Into Treasures' crafts workshop at 
Kersting Court.

 

6:30pm - 7:30pm Sunset community drum circle at Kersting 
Court.

 7:30pm Community film viewing at Bean Town 
followed by discussion.

Sierra Madre Celebrates Earth Day

April 21 -22, 2012

Please see the Green Advisory Committee table and/or "big 
board" of events Saturday and Sunday in Kersting Court for 
additional participants and more details.

Please visit local businesses that are celebrating Earth Day...

Mother Moo Creamery - "$1.00 off when you bring your own 
bowl and spoon."

Pasadena Cyclery - "$1.00 off when you bring your used inner 
tube in to recycle."

The Hair Upstairs - "see our extensive line of Aveda sustainable 
hair products."

Sierra Juice Company - "enjoy healthy vegetable and coconut 
juices."

Arnold's Frontier Hardware - "recycle your used batteries here."

Belle's Nest - "check out our hand made local goods."

Studio of John Wallis and Associates - "stained glass artist and 
restoration with domestically sourced and recycled products."

Lucky Baldwin's - "try our locally crafted and organic beer 
selection."

Sierra Madre Best Buy Drugs - "recycle your used batteries 
here."

Leonora Moss - "shop our locally supplied and recycled-content 
gifts." 

For more information, visit smrosefloat.comWhat’s the Name of the Game?
Doors open at 6:30 -Bingo starts at 7:30Sierra Madre 
Recreation Center611 EastSierra Madre Blvd.
Between Baldwin and Santa Anita Ave.
$20 Donation at the DoorGREAT PRIZES!
Pizza, Wine & Beer AvailableAll donations help us build the floatWild or Mild –
This Is Not Your 
Grandmother’s 
BINGO!
Saturday, April 21st, 2012A night of bingo you won’t soon forget
This Week’s Highlights:

SECTION B: Candidates & Propositions 

PETER DILLS 

Table For Two

Sunday Brunch at 
Cheval Blanc

PASADENA/ALTADENA

4

9

SIERRA MADRE NEWS

3

California’s June 5th Primary

City Gets Tough With

Parking Scofflaws

An Invitation:

City Council 
Reorganization

Also in this section: Legal Notices

Arts & Entertainment The World Around Us 
Opinion Left Turn/Right Turn Sports


Read The Paper Online At: www.mtnviewsnews.com