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Friday, March 31, 2017
HARTFORD FIRE OFFICER RECOGNIZED WITH PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIAL
March 31, 2017 – The 2017 Excellence Conference was hosted by the Center for Public Safety Excellence,
Inc. (CPSE) in Orange County, CA from March 20, 2017 through March 24, 2017. The CPSE is the fire
service industry standard for individual credentialing and fire department accreditations, respectively. The
Commission on Professional Credentialing (CPC) developed these designations using a model that looks at
the "whole" officer. Achieving the designation requires a strong educational background, diverse
participation in emergency services at the local, state, and national level; and demonstrated involvement in
the broader community, all validated by emergency services peers. On March 21, 2017, the CPC met and
voted unanimously to award Captain Raul Ortiz his “Fire Officer” designation. Captain Ortiz becomes the
fifth credentialed officer in the State of Connecticut and the first of Hispanic descent. The CPSE offers
professional credentials for Fire Officer (FO), Fire Marshal (FM), Chief Emergency Medical Services
Officer (CEMSO), Chief Training Officer (CTO), and Chief Fire Officer (CFO). This internationally accepted
model recognizes professional accomplishments and competence in fire and emergency services
and offers fire and emergency service personnel career guidance and planning. “Captain Ortiz is a
consummate professional who is dedicated to the department and the city. His contributions are invaluable”,
said Reginald D. Freeman, Chief of Department. Chief Freeman was appointed to the Commission in 2010
and currently serves as the Chairman of the Commission on Professional Credentialing.
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13 comments:
Congratulations to Captain Ortiz!! Well deserved.
Sorry for being a dick and putting a damper on all that brown nosing,but I quickly learned from the old timers that bugles,certificates,commendations and the such don't mean crap. After listening to someone brag about someone else being "all world" these old timers would simply ask "YEA THATS GREAT ,BUT CAN THEY TAKE A HYDRANT?" I don't know if you have to be a firefighter to understand just how profound that question is . Kev,you sometimes look naive when you get so enamored with people at the top or climbing to the top. Unfortunately you don't realize it's the "little people" who you should be impressed with.
Kevin, is there any cost to the taxpayers for the chief to head this commission? Travel,lodging,dining,his office ,staff,computer etc.? Also ,shouldn't his contract dictate time spent at safety complex be related to Hartford fire dept operations only? Any cost to taxpayers for HFD employees traveling to receive recognition's ,awards ? You and I were both disgusted with City Hall and Bronin when they sent 31 teachers to Florida to accept an award last spring while Bronin was crying the city had empty pockets and was/is looking for a hand out. WHY IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT!!! So the bottom line is chief Freeman has time to head the fire dept,public works AND a commission based outside of CT ??? They fire dept always stresses the importance of our limitations in being effective when tasked with too much on our plates (span of control) Is that no longer "a thing"????
So we not going to discuss all all the city employees being laid of at the community centers accross the city places where homeless people can get fod and clean up kids playing games and staying off the streets the indoor pools shutting down but yet all these crooks with their six figure salaries and big pensions but the little people the poor and dissenfranchised always get shafted shame on you Luke Bronin
So the upper management get together to pass out awards to each other for being officers. How does that help us putting out fires and protecting the community? He's been brow nosing anyone with power for years so he can move up. Ask his former crew how much training they did prior to chief Freemans arrival. All of a sudden Freeman shows up and he's posting training videos on Facebook to get likes from the chief, and trying to get involved with organizations and boards again. The fire service is not impressed. He's a smart guy and can work a room, good politician and more then likely will be another chief of the department that would have never run a fire. Cheers on the great accomplishment.
3:48 PM
i am not really sure what your posting has to do with HFD but feel free to provide more information and documents if you want to get your story out
10:21am
If he had sent 31 firefighters to Florida to pick up an award, yes I would have a problem with that. I think professional development has been something lacking at HFD for years and you now have a professional Chief, so I think you need to learn to deal with it. Best practices and what works in other areas are then brought back to Hartford to benefit you and your fellow firefighters, it can't all be learned through trade magazines. The fire service is constantly changing, as well as every industry, and this is the way to exchange information. hopefully people that are attending are also passing on information to others of things that are working in our City as well. Travel may not be the best use of tight dollars during these times, but I am also sure we do see some benefits in the long run.
5:38PM
I think you need to start rethinking your ideas to get in touch with current trends. The days of the Fire Chief needing to be a 40 year firefighter are a thing of the past. Fire Chiefs now need to be responsible for the well being of the entire organization including Labor laws and regulations, OSHA and compliance with laws and regulations, staffing, managing a budget of over $30 million dollars, contracts, staffing and everything else that goes with the job. "Running a fire" is not where I expect to see the Chief's time spent, that is why we pay big salaries to Captain's, Deputy Chief's and two Assistant Chief's. I really don't expect to see the Chief pulling hose off an engine and hooking up to a hydrant, anymore than I would expect our Police Chief to be picking up sell casings at a crime scene. Getting with the program and supporting the Chief and his management team will probably have more benefits for the Department than you think. When you become Chief, feel free to run it your way
Respect in the fire service is earned one way, by moving up through the ranks while working hard within your crew during fires and other emergency incidents. The chief of the department is in charge of the deputies. How can he know what may be expected and what the trials and tribulations are of running a shift or fires if he has never done it before. Do you honestly believe captains and deputies who have been doing it on the line for 20+ years really want to hear a chiefs opinion who has never walked in their shoes. But you are correct, the fire service and everything else "is changing". The fact is, the members on the line are doing the work that matters, we could care less about the politics, self achievements, and shiny brass and clean pressed uniforms.
Kev, Thank you for exposing politics in Hartford, your readers need to know that your "out of touch" nerve is magnified by at least 10 for being too " inside" I have to ask you, if putting out a fire is the equivalent of digging a ditch by hand ,,,How are all these bullshit accolades going to get the job done??????At the end of the day ,you have to do the job with a F#%KING SHOVEL,wiithout a special piece of PAPER on how to do it!!!! I recently listened to a tape of a fire on Washington St where people would have died if not for the BASIC fundamentals of "doing the job". This shift's heroic efforts were questioned by higher ups's on why certain companies did this or that! Just be content that nobody died! Kevin,I hope you never find yourself or a family member hanging out a window for help and before being rescued ,WONDERED IF CHIEF FREEMAN "BALANCED THE BUDGET "!!! Kevin,please keep in mind that whatever HFD does well has more to do with it's past than present . Again,,,,MAYBE YOU NEED TO BE A "FIREFIGHTER" TO RELATE TO THIS
8:09pm
so by your theory, that "piece of paper" that allows you to drive your car or the license an electrician or plumber needs is useless? They should just ignore that piece of paper, because it s just useless paper. Did you ever look at your doctors or surgeons "useless piece of paper" in the frame on their office wall. Those pieces of paper show that the individual has gone some extra steps to educate themselves and that puts them a few steps ahead. You won't like this, but I feel much more comfortable with HFD under Chief Freeman's leadership than I did under a couple of his predecessors. I would assume that you would give up any pay increases that you were offered if you obtained a "piece of paper" in the form of college credits or degrees?
Kevin,the average age of a liscenced plumber is 55,,, you know why ? Because that piece of paper (liscence) means nothing when the same plumbing job gets done for half the price by a a "undocumented " immigrant . Pieces of paper are only relevant when related to occupations as critical as surgeons ,,,THANK YOU ,,but putting firefighters in the same respect as doctors who cut people open is a stretch! Did you already forget the idiots that were in the newspapers in the past few years? I don't think you need a diploma to ,,,,beat your kids,drink in the firehouse,sell drugs out of the firehouse,destroy public property,threaten co-workers,excell in insorbordination (do I need to go on?) PLEASE STOP EMBARRASSING YOURSELF,,,those birds chirping in your ears are useing you,they are not your friends!
Firefighting has never been a science and you don't need to be a brain surgeon. Just put the " wet stuff on the red stuff".
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