Former Fulton firefighter recalls same issues on pay, equipment

Jason Salmons, a current volunteer Fulton firefighter, left his full-time position with the Fulton Fire Department about 15 years ago for what he says are the same issues the firefighters currently face - department management and fair pay.

During his 4 and 1/2 years with the department, he was part of the union representation that made the same arguments and fought for higher wages.

"We had groups of guys that got hired back then and everybody left," Salmons said. "I could think of about four or five guys that left right around the same time I did that hadn't been there for four or five years."

He said the only three current fire department employees he worked with who didn't leave Fulton are Chief Dean Buffington, Assistant Chief Kevin Coffelt and veteran firefighter Gene Nelson.

"That right there ought to say something," Salmons said, referring to the department's turnover rate since he was a full-time firefighter.

"Fulton is a stepping stone," he said. "That's all it is, and that's all they (city officials) want it to be. They have not done anything to keep it from being that."

Salmons added that he doesn't understand why city officials are proud to acknowledge their fire department as training grounds for new firefighters looking to get their foot in the door only to leave when another department, often in a nearby town, offers them more money.

In discussing this, Salmons recalled his final pay when he decided to leave his full-time position - $8.86 an hour.

Although Salmons loved his job, Salmons said, "I just got tired of scraping and scrounging."

On his days off, Salmons painted cars, did body work on cars and hung gutters as side jobs - whatever he could do to make ends meet, he said.

Salmons was a rescue scuba diver for the department's dive team. He was part of the team's last dive before it disbanded due to several safety concerns about diving and rescue equipment.

"It (the equipment) was dangerous," he said. "It wasn't safe to use anymore."

Salmons recalled his final dive that led to the team's disbandment about six or seven years ago- when his equipment failed on him underwater.

"Luckily they had a tag line tied to me and they were able to get me back in when I yanked on it," he said. "Supposedly they had just gotten their equipment back from being serviced, but this equipment was 15 years old. When you're diving out in a pond in the middle of the night when it's pitch black dark, you need to depend on your equipment."

Instead of replacing the equipment, the city disbanded the group despite having paid for the team's scuba rescue training.

The scuba rescue team's equipment has not been the only unreliable and unsafe equipment in the department.

"They (city officials) buy used equipment, have it shined up and call it good," Salmons said. "Then they (the city) end up paying for it because it's out of service so much."

Salmons was astonished to see Director of Administration Bill Johnson's public comments comparing the dangers city trash collectors face daily to what firefighters experience in a recent edition of the Fulton Sun. Salmons conveyed disappointment and frustration with Johnson comparing the two jobs.

"I don't think they (trash collectors) have to worry about burning up or finding one of their buddies injured or dying," he said. "They don't have to deal with somebody that's been in a car wreck screaming to get out of a car."

He said many firefighters suffer from PTSD symptoms because of what they've seen on the job, which makes the profession incomparable to not only other city jobs, but any career.

"When you have a job that can mentally break you down - not alone physically but the inherent dangers and injuries - when you deal with things that can mentally break you down, that's an important job," Salmons said. "And the least that can be done is to pay the guys a decent wage. At least get with the average."

Salmons admitted he experienced similar symptoms off duty when he was a full-time firefighter.

"I've seen things that have given me nightmares," he said. "I've woken up in the middle of the night in cold sweats. I'm not saying I have that (PTSD), but I can tell you that anyone in this line of profession sees this stuff and has to deal with this stuff and have to come home to their family and think about this stuff. It's not just something you can turn off when you walk out of the station at eight in the morning. It just doesn't work that way."

Salmons said public statements about Fulton not competing with Columbia and Jefferson City for firefighters are not justified because businesses compete with those cities every day. He also said the city relies too much on the surrounding volunteer fire groups - like the South Callaway Fire Protection District and the Central Callaway Fire Protection District - to quickly respond and bring enough firefighters. Relying on fire crews from other districts or departments jeopardizes everyone's safety, and the citizens deserve better, he said.

"You have to compete," he emphasized. "So when you tell me you can't compete with somebody else, then you're not trying."

Salmons, like all other firefighters, expressed concern about the Fulton citizens' safety if a fire broke out downtown and spread throughout the Brick District.

"I heard the chief at the time (before Chief Buffington) tell us, "If anything happens on Court Street, drive the other direction because we can't stop it' because those buildings are so old and in bad shape."

He also pointed out how the department's current condition may deter potential businesses and residents from settling in Fulton.

"If you were a decent-sized business company wanting to come to Fulton - if they knew the truth, why would they come to Fulton?" he said. "If they knew that the Fulton Fire Department was in that bad of shape, nobody would. The residents wouldn't. People sending their kids to college would not want them here. I wouldn't want my kids to live inside the city limits."

Salmons decided to return to the department as a volunteer firefighter in 2005.

"I don't do it for them (the city)," he said. "I don't do it for myself. I do it because I like doing it."