For six days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, fire fighter Michael Windsay patrolled his eastern New Orleans neighborhood, rescuing people trapped by floodwaters when the levees were breached or overtopped. He wasn\'t the only one. Windsay remembers seeing more helicopters in any given amount of available air space than he\'s ever seen in his life, as first responders from across the nation patrolled, rescuing hapless souls.
"Since I was in New Orleans East, I had no idea what the city\'s struggles were," Windsay says of the widely reported stories of the misdeeds of New Orleans Police Department officers. "All I know is that I looked left, and I looked right and I saw water everywhere. And in between that, I saw people who needed to get out."
Windsay can recount story after story of the kindnesses performed by fellow fire fighters and regular people who became situational heroes. He is obviously proud to report that he heard no stories of fire fighters abandoning their posts.
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| Journalist Angelle Bergeron interviews Fire Fighter Eric Plaisance. Photo by Paul Rapanault, www.neworleanslabormedia.org |
In spite of the efforts in a time of crisis, and in spite of the fact that police officers were caught red-handed in unlawful acts, the fire fighters\' story remains untold. "When the chips were down, we stood up and did exactly what we were supposed to do," Windsay says. Apparently, doing a good job and living right aren\'t rewarded in New Orleans, where fire fighters are the only civil service employees who did not win a pay increase since Hurricane Katrina.
"Initially, wages have been increased twice on suggestion of the mayor for everyone except fire fighters," says Nicholas Felton, president of Local 632. Pay increases for the civil service positions are adopted by the City Council and approved by the Mayor. Felton holds Mayor C. Ray Nagin personally accountable for the pay disparity, attributing the slight to the fact that Local 632 has repeatedly expressed unified, vocal opposition to mayoral policies.
Fire fighters are under paid in the first place, with starting pay just shy of $20,000 a year, Felton says. "That is working an average of 56 hours a week, and you got to get six years of service before you make $10 an hour."
Alternately, since Nagin has been in office, police wages have been increased systematically and are currently 45-60% higher than fire fighter wages.
"I am very upset," Windsay says. "Do I feel we have been treated properly since the storm? No. Still, every day we come in. Every time that bell rings, we are there."
The injustice of it all and the lousy pay aren\'t the only things taking their toll on New Orleans fire fighters. Flood waters destroyed or severely damaged 22 of the city\'s 33 fire houses.
"Five of those 22 were completely destroyed, one knocked down by the tidal surge," Felton says. Of those 22, only a handful has been gutted, using the sweat equity of fire fighters. Although the city has funds, nothing is being spent on fire houses, Felton says.
Contractors don\'t want the work anyway, he says, because the city administration is reputedly negligent in paying them for work. "We\'re past two years now and we have fire fighters living in trailers," Felton says. "It\'s not safe. There was a storm last year that blew over one of the trailers, and we\'re lucky those guys weren\'t killed."
As if that isn\'t enough, the number of fire fighters (710 pre-Katrina) has decreased by 150. Fire fighters are being courted by better paying jobs in surrounding parishes. Some still haven\'t been able to rebuild their homes, and have relocated with their families. "When an employee has to leave, it\'s so emotional and draining," Felton says. "It\'s like ripping apart a family."
Eric Plaisance, an operator for Squirt No. 21 in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans, says the camaraderie isn\'t what it used to be. "You are trying to do a little more with fewer personnel, and morale is down," he says. Four-man crews have been reduced to three, which increases the stress when answering a call to a fire. "Some guys don\'t speak because of what they\'ve been through," says Plaisance, who considers himself blessed that he didn\'t lose his home or any loved ones to Katrina.
The emotional toll translates into a huge void in public safety, Felton says. To the stress, add an estimated 60% decrease in efficiency because of the reduced staff, and fighters working three shifts in a row, and you\'ve got a formula for disaster. "We are up to 100 a day that are down with on the job injuries," Felton says. Since alarm systems were destroyed, fire fighters are forced to carry radios 24/7 to monitor calls. So they can\'t even get a decent night\'s sleep most of the time.
And what ails the fire fighters means inadequate protection for the citizens of New Orleans. "We had a five alarm fire recently Uptown, and before we could get there, because we were so spread out, it caught to a second house next door," Felton says. "By the time we responded, we were down to about 35 fire fighters left to protect the rest of the city."
After Katrina, the IAFF transported New Orleans fire fighters to Baton Rouge, cleaned them up, and provided them with food, clothing, $500 cash and critical stress de-briefing. "There is no doubt in my mind that the union did more for fire fighters than anyone else," Felton says. Michael Langston, first vice president of Local 632, talked about how a union brother in Texas provided a house for Langston and his family to live until they could get a FEMA trailer in New Orleans.
In spite of all of that, the enormity of the disaster seems overwhelming. In hindsight, anyone can see the enormity of Katrina, which was almost 200 miles wide. Looking forward, it\'s hard to tell when her effects will subside.
Angelle Bergeron is a freelance writer who lives and works in New Orleans. She reported this story as part of a team at the convention of the International Labor Communications Association convention in New Orleans Oct. 18-20. View more articles, video, audio and photos at www.neworleanslabormedia.org
Read more of Angelle\'s work in her blog, "Gumbo," at http://enr.construction.com/people/blogs/bergeron.asp
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For six days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, fire fighter Michael Windsay patrolled his eastern New Orleans neighborhood, rescuing people trapped by floodwaters when the levees were breached or overtopped. He wasn\’t the only one. Windsay remembers seeing more helicopters in any given amount of available air space than he\’s ever seen in his life, as first responders from across the nation patrolled, rescuing hapless souls.
"Since I was in New Orleans East, I had no idea what the city\’s struggles were," Windsay says of the widely reported stories of the misdeeds of New Orleans Police Department officers. "All I know is that I looked left, and I looked right and I saw water everywhere. And in between that, I saw people who needed to get out."
Windsay can recount story after story of the kindnesses performed by fellow fire fighters and regular people who became situational heroes. He is obviously proud to report that he heard no stories of fire fighters abandoning their posts.
|
| Journalist Angelle Bergeron interviews Fire Fighter Eric Plaisance.
Photo by Paul Rapanault, www.neworleanslabormedia.org |
In spite of the efforts in a time of crisis, and in spite of the fact that police officers were caught red-handed in unlawful acts, the fire fighters\’ story remains untold. "When the chips were down, we stood up and did exactly what we were supposed to do," Windsay says. Apparently, doing a good job and living right aren\’t rewarded in New Orleans, where fire fighters are the only civil service employees who did not win a pay increase since Hurricane Katrina.
"Initially, wages have been increased twice on suggestion of the mayor for everyone except fire fighters," says Nicholas Felton, president of Local 632. Pay increases for the civil service positions are adopted by the City Council and approved by the Mayor. Felton holds Mayor C. Ray Nagin personally accountable for the pay disparity, attributing the slight to the fact that Local 632 has repeatedly expressed unified, vocal opposition to mayoral policies.
Fire fighters are under paid in the first place, with starting pay just shy of $20,000 a year, Felton says. "That is working an average of 56 hours a week, and you got to get six years of service before you make $10 an hour."
Alternately, since Nagin has been in office, police wages have been increased systematically and are currently 45-60% higher than fire fighter wages.
"I am very upset," Windsay says. "Do I feel we have been treated properly since the storm? No. Still, every day we come in. Every time that bell rings, we are there."
The injustice of it all and the lousy pay aren\’t the only things taking their toll on New Orleans fire fighters. Flood waters destroyed or severely damaged 22 of the city\’s 33 fire houses.
"Five of those 22 were completely destroyed, one knocked down by the tidal surge," Felton says. Of those 22, only a handful has been gutted, using the sweat equity of fire fighters. Although the city has funds, nothing is being spent on fire houses, Felton says.
Contractors don\’t want the work anyway, he says, because the city administration is reputedly negligent in paying them for work. "We\’re past two years now and we have fire fighters living in trailers," Felton says. "It\’s not safe. There was a storm last year that blew over one of the trailers, and we\’re lucky those guys weren\’t killed."
As if that isn\’t enough, the number of fire fighters (710 pre-Katrina) has decreased by 150. Fire fighters are being courted by better paying jobs in surrounding parishes. Some still haven\’t been able to rebuild their homes, and have relocated with their families. "When an employee has to leave, it\’s so emotional and draining," Felton says. "It\’s like ripping apart a family."
Eric Plaisance, an operator for Squirt No. 21 in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans, says the camaraderie isn\’t what it used to be. "You are trying to do a little more with fewer personnel, and morale is down," he says. Four-man crews have been reduced to three, which increases the stress when answering a call to a fire. "Some guys don\’t speak because of what they\’ve been through," says Plaisance, who considers himself blessed that he didn\’t lose his home or any loved ones to Katrina.
The emotional toll translates into a huge void in public safety, Felton says. To the stress, add an estimated 60% decrease in efficiency because of the reduced staff, and fighters working three shifts in a row, and you\’ve got a formula for disaster. "We are up to 100 a day that are down with on the job injuries," Felton says. Since alarm systems were destroyed, fire fighters are forced to carry radios 24/7 to monitor calls. So they can\’t even get a decent night\’s sleep most of the time.
And what ails the fire fighters means inadequate protection for the citizens of New Orleans. "We had a five alarm fire recently Uptown, and before we could get there, because we were so spread out, it caught to a second house next door," Felton says. "By the time we responded, we were down to about 35 fire fighters left to protect the rest of the city."
After Katrina, the IAFF transported New Orleans fire fighters to Baton Rouge, cleaned them up, and provided them with food, clothing, $500 cash and critical stress de-briefing. "There is no doubt in my mind that the union did more for fire fighters than anyone else," Felton says. Michael Langston, first vice president of Local 632, talked about how a union brother in Texas provided a house for Langston and his family to live until they could get a FEMA trailer in New Orleans.
In spite of all of that, the enormity of the disaster seems overwhelming. In hindsight, anyone can see the enormity of Katrina, which was almost 200 miles wide. Looking forward, it\’s hard to tell when her effects will subside.
Angelle Bergeron is a freelance writer who lives and works in New Orleans. She reported this story as part of a team at the convention of the International Labor Communications Association convention in New Orleans Oct. 18-20. View more articles, video, audio and photos at www.neworleanslabormedia.org
Read more of Angelle\’s work in her blog, "Gumbo," at http://enr.construction.com/people/blogs/bergeron.asp