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Saturday, July 31, 2010
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Albertville fire chief remains focused
Published November 3, 2009
Robert Terrell is approaching two years on the job as chief of Albertville Fire and Rescue.
The veteran firefighter said he has adjusted to the position but admitted the last year has been tougher because of the downturn in the national economy.
“The biggest surprise is the economic downturn we had; it caught me off guard,” he said. “It takes money to operate, and with the economy the way it is, it’s held us back on some things we’d like to do.”
Terrell remains focused on the goals he had when he accepted the position. He was appointed in December 2007 to succeed Johnny Hix who retired.
Terrell said he is committed to professional development and physical fitness.
“My focus when I came was improving our communications on all three shifts and setting a standard for how all three shifts operated,” he said. “We now have a standard promotion procedure. I formed an employee committee, and it’s going good. I’ve ended up promoting four different people off that promotion procedure. It’s worked out to be fair and unbiased.”
Since becoming chief, Terrell said his department received a grant for more than $160,000 to purchase physical fitness equipment and training tools.
“We’ve got all the weight equipment, and now we’re looking at making a mandatory physical fitness program to help keep us from getting on the out-of-shape side,” the chief said. “Line of duty deaths are about 120 a year nationally, and most of that is cardiac-related.
“Included in the grant was money to update our library books and training props at the training center. We have the books and the updated DVDs for the training facility.
“We’re still working on our fire safety grant to try to increase our fire safety education to the children.”
The department owns a fire safety trailer to display for education. Agencies interested in requesting the trailer can call 891-8230.
Another major cost-saving to the city
Employee issues
Terrell was appointed chief in the aftermath of a controversial period when public safety employees were seeking substantial pay raises after learning a city employee in another department received one.
Public safety personnel not topped out on the city’s wage scale received about 10 percent pay increases, which went into effect in January 2008. That new pay plan was aimed at boosting recruitment and retention for the police and fire departments.
City employees have not received a raise since.
Terrell said pay remains an issue in his department, but he understands city leaders are dealing with decreased revenues.
“The biggest disappointment of being chief is losing employees,” he said. “We’re still the lowest paid department in the county. We’re losing people. Like last week, I lost one going to Boaz.
“I’ve had two to retire, but I’m proud to see people get to the point they can retire and enjoy life after working.
“But we’ve had three or four seek jobs elsewhere because of money. So that gets discouraging sometime, because you have good people and you don’t want to lose them.
“When they leave, you lose that good person and the experience they have and the time and money you invested in them. Then you have to find someone that can replace them. You spend a lot of time looking for people to fill the positions.
“I think the administration is addressing it. I believe they’re working diligently to see how they can give employees a raise. I know they understand we put the time, money and experience in them and if we can keep them, it’s better than losing them because we’re going to have to put new money in new people.
“Overall, it would be better for the city if we could give these guys raises and keep our experienced people. I know the administration sees that.”
Terrell said the mayor and city council are responsive to his department’s needs.
“I think we have a very good working relationship,” he said. “I enjoy this administration. They’ve been easy to work with. They’re pretty much Johnny-on-the-spot if you have a problem, and I think they’re doing the best they can with the economy the way it is right now.”
Terrell is diligent about saving money when he can. His department saved the city a substantial amount of money last year when it located a used crash truck to replace one at Albertville Regional Airport. The department found one on the Internet in Arizona for at least $120,000 less than what similar models cost. The crash truck is necessary to supplement flight operations for companies at the airport like BAE Systems.
Challenges
The fire department is faced with increasing emergency calls but not increasing manpower.
“The biggest challenges we’ll be facing, with the economy the way it is, is surviving with what we’ve got and staying within the budget,” Terrell said. “I think we probably run more calls than the public’s aware of. Last year, we ran 2,886 emergency medical service calls. We’ve been in the ambulance service since 1982 with one ambulance, and back then we were just running 400 to 500 calls.
“Twenty-something years later, we still have one ambulance on the road. The call volume has increased so much, but with the economy the way it is, we can’t increase our employee numbers to put on another ambulance.
“So that’s one of the future goals I’ll be working on as the economy gets better … is to put on a second ambulance and take the workload off one truck and two men.”
Albertville Fire and Rescue has 39 employees, three stations, six frontline vehicles and four reserve vehicles. The department responded to nearly 3,400 calls in 2008, including almost 2,900 emergency medical service calls. The remainder of the calls include tending to structure, vehicle and brush fires; assisting other fire departments; providing support at Albertville Regional Airport; and responding to alarms and hazardous materials spills.
‘I love the job’
Terrell , 43, is not planning to retire from the department anytime soon.
“I love the job,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for a little over 24 years. I still enjoy coming to work. I think I’ll be here a few more years. … maybe another five years before I start really considering whether I want to retire or not.
“I have a great department and good men, and they all like their jobs. The foundation was laid before I got chief. The past three chiefs have done a good job.
“Our guys are very professional and dedicated to their jobs. My guys never want praise for what they do. Somebody asked me why I don’t recognize these guys more for what they do. They told me, ‘We’re just doing our job. We don’t want recognition.’
“I see that in them. They do their job professionally and don’t expect praise. I find that admirable about them.”
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