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Dade Commission Requires Firefighters for Controversial 'Fire Watch' Duty

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 June 2006, 18:00 CDT

By Scott Hiaasen and Jack Dolan, The Miami Herald

Jun. 20--Despite a criminal investigation and calls for reform, Miami-Dade commissioners on Tuesday approved a new firefighters' union contract that once again requires the fire department to hire only firefighters for "fire watch" or other off-duty jobs.

Four commissioners said they wanted the fire department to consider a more flexible fire-watch policy that would allow private security guards to stand on watch at buildings with broken fire alarms -- usually at a lower cost to building owners.

But these commissioners joined six others in a 10-0 vote to approve the union contract after union president Stan Hills said any move to delay the contract would cost some 20 firefighters who are retiring this month and who will receive new health benefits.

Hills and Miami-Dade Fire Chief Herminio Lorenzo said they would work together to craft reforms to the fire-watch policy. But the two offered few details, and county attorneys said any changes to the fire department's policy would now have to be approved by the firefighters as an amendment to the contract.

"We both agree there are things that need to be looked at and adjusted," Hills told the commissioners. "We'll be back."

The county's fire-watch policy differs from that of many cities around South Florida and the U.S.; those cities allow security guards to watch buildings with broken alarms. The county's policy has generated more than $4 million in off-duty pay for county firefighters since 2000.

In response to a Miami Herald investigation of the program, Lorenzo has called for a program audit, and County Manager George Burgess has asked for a report on possible reforms.

Detectives with the Miami-Dade Police Department's public corruption bureau have also opened an investigation into double-payments and other discrepancies involving firefighters doing off-duty work.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Miami Herald

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