David Yaffe-Bellany Photo
Black: A team effort.
Firehouses are still in need of repairs. The software system, too, still needs help.
But the fire department does have some good news to report: It has received a prestigious Class 1 insurance rating from the Insurance Service Office (ISO).
At a press conference outside headquarters Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Toni Harp — standing alongside Interim Fire Chief Ralph Black and city Chief Administrative Officer Michael Carter — focused on the technological improvements and facilities repairs that led to the upgrade.
The announcement makes New Haven one of just 64 fire departments nationwide to receive the Class 1 rating.
“We’ve been working on across-the-board improvement at the Fire Department,” Harp said. “This comprehensive investment is paying dividends,and this new Class 1 ranking is additional, irrefutable evidence of that.”
City Comptroller Daryl Jones said a series of technological advances — including the introduction of new computers in every firehouse and new laptops in every truck — helped contribute to the upgrade.
“It was very important to focus on improving technology within the fire department,” he said. “We made an investment to make changes.”
City Engineer Giovanni Zinn addressed another key improvement that contributed to the upgrade: a renewed effort to improve fire department facilities citywide.
Zinn said that a team of engineers has fixed plumbing and electrical problems, as well as other issues, at firehouses across the city. And he noted that city engineers are working on plans to transform the decrepit Westville station on Fountain Street into a “21st-century firehouse.”
“As facilities age, it’s time to put more into them,” Zinn said.
Black — a finalist for the position of permanent chief — was careful to note that many of the improvements that went into the upgrade were put in motion before his tenure began.
“I can’t say enough that this is a team effort that comes from the entire department,” he said. “It’s a ‘we’ thing, not a ‘me’ thing.”
“We are not a perfect department by any means,” Black added. “But this says were are up there with the very best.”
Ricci blasts the presser.
Across the street from the press conference, firefighters union President Frank Ricci unveiled a visual demonstration of those imperfections: two posters that outlined complaints about the department’s software program and displayed images of the roof leakages and electrical issues that have bedeviled its firehouses.
Ricci, president of International Association Firefighters Local 825, pointed to the pictures as evidence that the department has to do more to improve deteriorating facilities.
And he added that the Chief’s Office should work harder to fix glitches in firehouse software, a reporting system employed successfully by departments across the country to track work hours and overtime.
“We need to reach out to those other departments to get the bugs out of the system,” Ricci said.
“The system that we put in place is a brand new system,” Black told the Independent after hearing Ricci’s complaints. “We will talk about the positive today.”
The ISO, a national organization that compiles statistical and actuarial analyses for the insurance industry, has also awarded Class 1 ratings to the fire departments in Hartford and Millford.