What were they thinking?

Finding a scapegoat

I worked for the City of East Point for fourteen (14) years prior to leaving in February 2007. For the better of that time I enjoyed working for the City, but during the last couple of years it became more and more of a struggle as they were always looking for a scapegoat to take the blame for a mistake someone else made. Guess what. . .they've done it again. . .this time to Fire Chief Rosemary Cloud. Interim City Manager Crandall O. Jones says it regarding a “personnel matter” but, in my humble opinion, Mr. Jones is making Chief Cloud the scapegoat in an apartment blaze that occurred about a month ago on Phillips Avenue where adequate water pressure to fight the flames was not available. Rather than blaming Chief Cloud, he should instead be looking at Public Utilities Director Herbert Humphreys who had previously told City Council that area only had four-inch (4”) water mains.

Some background information

Most of the “old guys” (myself included) knew that area of Phillips Avenue has been plagued by low water pressure – at least for firefighting purposes – for twenty (20) years or longer. I can remember back in the early to mid 1980's when this area was besieged by a number of structure fires that it was determined that pressure in this area was in-adequate for fire suppression needs. Is this the fault of Chief Cloud or any of her predecessors? No. The fault should be placed firmly where it belongs with the Public Utilities Director who, apparently, never followed up on fire department complaints. Fast forward to September, 2008 when fire again struck Phillips Avenue and – again – water pressure was inadequate to stop the flames. This time, however, there was something new added to the equation as citizens got to witness this first-hand while helping firefighters re-locate their hoses to hydrants with adequate pressure. Why, you might ask, were citizens used to haul hoses? Because City Manager Crandall Jones – along with members of City Council – had ordered Chief Cloud to cut her budget by laying off firefighters -- many of which were seasoned veterans who would have known going in that aggressive effort would be needed to secure adequate pressure to beat the flames down.

What now?

I can only speak for myself here, but I can only hope that Chief Cloud will be re-instated, this unfair accusation (and suspension) purged from her personnel file and an apology issued by the City Manager. Anything less would be a travesty and an injustice.

Until next time . . .