Sedona AZ (October 16, 2012) – In an email to the SedonaEye.com editor, Mr. Tony Tonsich of Sedona Arizona sent photographs* and an email asking for an explanation whether Sedona Fire District firefighters observed eating breakfast in a local restaurant were on duty.
Sedona Fire Chief Kris Kazian investigated the issues raised in Mr. Tonsich’s email and responded. Below are the exchanges as received from both Mr. Tonsich and Chief Kazian:
Mr. Tonsich,
I have had time to review your email and the concerns outlined. As previously stated in an email, my concerns, passion, and dedication are always in providing the best and most effective way of providing emergency services.
While what you and your daughter observed on Sunday morning might not have been the best application of providing the quickest and efficient emergency services, I believe there was no significant lapse in emergency preparedness for anyone in the Fire District. I have talked with the emergency crews at Station 4 to make sure they realize the importance of being 100% response ready at all times. I plan to have a staff meeting where this will be further discussed so it is addressed at all stations and with all personnel. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention as I am always looking for teachable moments to provide continuous improvement opportunities for our excellent staff at Sedona Fire District. As responses for the fire district are predicated on the number of apparatus and personnel assigned to the respective stations, through radio communications, they remain available in their respective response district. As alluded to staffing stations, it is not feasible or realistic to guarantee personnel will always be physically in a fire station 24/7 based on things like emergency incidents, fire/EMS training, public education opportunities, and, sometimes, for things like getting food or necessary supplies for the station. They should, however, be ready to respond quickly and effectively and that is being addressed with emergency personnel based on your observations.
As a point of clarification, my research confirms that there were only 5 firefighters (not 6 as mentioned) but that is relatively immaterial – just wanted to clarify. You mentioned they all paid individually – that is because as you are probably aware (since I believe your girlfriend is a former employee of 7 years and is familiar with the organization as described on your website, www.sedonafunnyfarm.com), each firefighter is responsible for paying for and supplying their own food while on their tour of duty. Food for the firefighters on duty is not paid for by the taxpayers – whether it is at a grocery store or a restaurant.
As I consider myself fortunate to be the chief for the last 6 months, I have been working as quickly as I can to employ best practice policies and programs for our staff and for the residents/guests. As I take inventory, investigate past practices, and work on creating a positive impacts for our future, it must all be done within reasonable parameters and timeframes. You have my guarantee that in due time, I will evaluate all of the practices and procedures and will be able to influence them in a very positive and response ready approach. I wish this could happen overnight, but my review of operations of the SFD continues on a daily basis and will continue throughout my tenure as Chief. I understand your concerns about Sunday’s incident and have addressed them internally; it could have been handled differently by the crews; however, I do not think there was an egregious error in judgment that needs any more than a discussion by the command staff with the battalion chiefs to assure better judgment is used in the future. My philosophy is one of a continual learning process; crews will learn from this opportunity and any recommended changes will be duly noted and actions will be modified as recommended. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.
As for your correlation to our future Station 6 and the personnel at Wildflower, I understand your concern about my public comments and importance of response times; however, it seems to me these are independent issues that may have a common thread of response times, but the fact the crew was at Wildflower eating breakfast before going to an early morning community event and the staffing at future Station 6 do not seem to have a correlation. This station will be another resource for our response capabilities to be able to better serve the entire Sedona Fire District – both in that immediate area adjacent to the station and to the neighboring response districts in multiple call situations or during significant events. That being said, there will certainly be times when station 6 could be on another incident, training, or out of the station for whatever reason and a longer response may occur into an incident in that response area (or immediately adjacent areas) . This occurs in all of our stations currently as it does in every community across the country on any given day.
Lastly, I am aware of the motorcycle incident you refer to in your email. That incident occurred on October 17, 2009. It was part of a motorcycle fundraiser for the Trauma Intervention Program and Sedona Fire District Station 3 was one of many fire station stops during this event. As I have been told, in the interest of financial concerns, staff that were on duty and volunteers from the TIPS program were at the station to staff the event. It was always clear that our personnel were still available for emergency calls as this is our primary mission. The fact that the crew was dispatched to what was received as a significant medical emergency 11 minutes prior to the motorcycle arriving and it then subsequently catching fire is an unfortunate circumstance for all parties involved. Crews were NOT out having breakfast as you stated in your email. However, again, I do not see there was any connection to the concerns raised in your email relative to the situation on Sunday, I just wanted to clarifying the facts in this situation.
Thank you for your interest in bettering emergency services for the Sedona Fire District. I noted many inaccuracies in your aforementioned website and would be happy to discuss them with you, and encourage you (or the newspapers included in your email) to contact me with any future concerns as we continue to build on this continuous improvement journey. It is a goal of mine to set fact from fiction and past from present as we build our future as part of this great community. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
Respectfully,
Kris Kazian Fire Chief Sedona Fire District928.204.8924
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams
From: Tony Tonsich
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2012 12:27 PM
To: Kris Kazian
Cc: dengler@verdenews.com; editor@larsonnewspapers.com; Editor@SedonaEye.com; Editor@SedonaTimes.com
Subject: Station 4 breakfast Sunday 0750-0830 Wildflower Bakery, Sedona
Greetings Chief Kazian,
I see the Board of SFD approved a new station in the Chapel area to improve response times. Perhaps if the firemen were in the station that would also improve response times?
I observed the men in the attached photos, I counted 6 but my daughter only took clear pictures of 5, at breakfast Sunday 0750-0830 at the Wildflower Bakery, Sedona. Apparently they walked as there was no truck that I could see nearby. They did have radios, so I am guessing they were on duty. They had what appeared to be full uniforms clearly showing Sedona Fire Department.
You heard the story about a motorcycle that burned in front of Station 3 in the Village? The men on duty were out to breakfast. The riders entered the unsecured station and grabbed and extinguisher to put it out themselves.
What is your opinion on this?
Regards,
Tony Tonsich
*The photographs are not included in this article.
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Mr. Tonsich:
When will you JUST GO AWAY. Others have reminded you and SedonaEye.com numerous times that all you do is like to spread evil whenever you write. Even with this supposed important sighting of SFD firefighters enjoying a meal. Well sir, if you were really interested in getting facts instead of keeping alive the firing of your girlfriend you would have sent that letter to our trusted Chief Kazian and waited for his reply before notifying all of those newspapers. But instead you try to cause an issue. Or how about one better idea, when you were in Wildflower why didn’t you just go up to one of the firefighters and ASK them what they were doing? I’m sure that you would have received a very civil and polite explanation from them remember, they’re professionals and ALWAYS shine to this community.
Tony, we have a new SFD Governing Board along with a really great Fire Chief, together with their staff, good changes are being made in a positive direction. That direction is toward safety and better response instead of bankruptcy.
I for one am very tired of seeing your name or any of your other names posted on this site, it’s time to just pick up your marbles and go away.
Ditto. Get a hobby, Tony. We’ve got a community to enjoy here!
I’m sure the community would be just as enjoyable without the entire response crew of a station having breakfast in the Wildflower Bakery while on the payroll. Probably more so.
I am willing to post my name, unlike those who wish I would stop informing the other citizens. Perhaps because they work for Sedona Fire?
Even Chief Kazian agrees it was a “teachable moment”.
Have a nice day!
When have you ever “informed” anyone of anything meaningful or useful? While it is true some of us were totally oblivious that you and your daughter “uncovered” 5 (inaccurately reported as 6) fire fighters next door to the station buying breakfast, some of us care a lot more about making sure they are respected for be willing to put their lives on the line every day…even for people like yourself.
You are such a cynic! It doesn’t take an SFD employee to understand that fire fighters need to shop for food and eat too. They might even be fallable occasionally, as you prove in this letter to the editor that YOU are. But I am confident that if they make an error, you will be there to record the moment on your camera so you can remind us all, they are only human. If I didn’t know better I’d think you were envious of these young men.
not getting to read until today & notice sedona sam mentioned evil & trashed sedona times? how so? seems pretty evenhanded to me. every body having a say & something wrong with that? people spouting off while some do make good sense & the sedona times doesn’t edit out crap shots aimed at them? got guts! thanks sedona times for not showing pics of firemen bcuz no need in who what when & how. Im giving high 5s sedona times & wise up sedona sam=you’re getting to see what people think & say behind closed doors & that’s priceless like it says in the commercials
DID ANY NOTICE THAT THE LETTER FROM TONSIC WAS DATED 14OCT12 TWO DAYS BEFORE IT WAS PUBLISHED 160CT12? THAT LET FIRE CHIEF KRIS KAZIAN RESPOND TO TONSIC IN THE SAME ARTICLE. SAM, SO WHAT’S THE BEEF?
YOU MUST NOT SUPPORT SFD OR YOU’D BE HAPPY WITH THE WAY IT WAS HANDLED. (TONSIC THERE’RE NO WORDS TO SAY WHAT I THINK OF YOUR COMMENTS)
BOTH OF YOU MEN SHOULD STOP BEING JACK ASSES AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS. (MAYBE IT COULD BE THAT ONLY ACCOUNTANTS NOTICE DATES AND NUMBERS?)
ALLAN MADE POINTS ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT I HADN’T GIVEN THOUGHT ABOUT BECAUSE I WONDERED WHY THEY WEREN’T THERE. I SEE THANKS TO ALLAN THAT IT WAS RIGHT TO PROTECT THE FIREFIGHTERS FROM BEING SMEARED IN PUBLIC WHEN IT WAS A PRIVATE PERSONNEL MATTER.
GOOD CHOICE.
SAM, THE FIRST THING I NOTICED WAS THAT IT HAD BOTH SIDES ADDRESSING THE ISSUES. IN A FACE TO FACE.
WHAT DID YOU READ? HOW MUCH FAIRER CAN NEWS BE, SAM? BOTH MEN SAY THEIR OWN PIECES AND YOU GET TO DECIDE IF YOU’RE SATISFIED OR DO YOU QUESTION WHAT’S SAID AND ASK THE FC DIRECTLY? GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME. YOU?
ASK THE FC IF HE LIKES HOW IT’S HANDLED. ASK THOSE FIREFIGHTERS. YOU’LL GET HANDS DOWN YESSES.
FIRST TIME I’VE COMMENTED. READ HERE AFTERNOONS. I LIKE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND LIKE TRANSPARENCY. I FIND YOU’RE FAIR AND LIKE THAT ALLAN COMMENT MOSTLY ALWAYS EVEN-HANDED.
REMIND PEOPLE TO VOTE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION PLEASE. TED (address deleted)
Tony , I pretty sure the Chief was being kind to you!! I would say that as a new Chief. In town he must appease even the most moranic statements from Morans like you!!!! Pictures of firemen eating a meal!!!!???? Really tony!!! Keep up the good work !!!!
“some of us care a lot more about making sure they are respected for be willing to put their lives on the line every day”
So, if they put their lives on the line, I imagine a Sedona Firefighter has lost their life while saving lives in the past?
Please, let the readership know so we may once again honor this hero.
If there is none, perhaps we need a volunteer fire department as we had in the recent past and a private ambulance service for this quiet tourist town.
To All:
Perhaps I was not clear in my response to that evil and mean spirited Tony Tonsich, I LOVE THE SEDONAEYE SITE and how the board is run and am grateful that they give people a venue to vent our opinions and concerns.
My comment was that in prior months and postings others writers on SedonaEye, have mentioned that Tony’s only reason for living on this earth was basically to spew evil about our respected firefighters and the great staff.
Enough is enough, Tony needs to make a better life for himself and realize that it’s a new SFD with a New “Marshal” (or Chief) in town.
Hope that this clears up any mis-understandings.
It should be noted that in 1999, under the Previous “volunteer” model, SFD’s ISO rating was a “6.” Under the professional/career staffing model of today, the rating improved to a “3,” placing SFD in the top 5 percent of nationally ranked fire departments.
A rating of “1” is considered excellent – a rating of “10” is poor. A “3” is outstanding and a “6” was weak.
I wish all firefighters the best and a safe and long life. In some cities they are out on calls 24 hours a day with out a break. In Sedona it is not unusual to go a 48 hour shift without a call.
I also care about the taxpayers, and those on Social Security or other fixed incomes. Those on Social Security only got a 1.7 % raise for 2013. Sedona Fire is raising the mil rate 16%.
When some Sedona Fire personnel are dining out while on the payroll, some of those Sedona taxpayers on fixed incomes are missing a meal due to tax increases. Some here mentioned they are glad the pictures of Sedona firemen dining were not posted. I say if you are on the public payroll, you should make sure you are PROUD to have pictures posted of you on the job.
I think Chief Kazian is doing a good job, especially considering those who recently went before him. As I wrote him in a followup email, he has a responsibility and moral obligation not to waste the taxpayers money, even if a free spending board with other agendas directs him otherwise. He is the experienced professional.
Vote wisely. I will continue to do my best to honestly inform as many voters as possible.
Have a nice day!
If you want to vote wisely, do the opposite of whatever it is Tonish says. ?This Moran must of got beat up a lot as a kid. For the record there is no tax increase in the SFD budget. The lies and misinformation from you Tony are consistent and constant. By the way, I guess you can’t admit when your wrong, example being
The motorcycle that caught fire you referenced in you BS letter. You just move on to the next lie!!! Your guise as a concerned tax paper is just a coverup that you girlfriend got fired from SFD and are a SFD hater!!! All your lies and misinformation are nothing more then self serving BS.!!!
Tony, Tony, Tony.
If you agree with most everyone else that the Chief is doing a good job, then why not let him do it? If and when you have questions or complaints of any kind, please be so kind as to take them directly to him. I am certain he would appreciate it and respond appropriately. If your goal is to continue to try to smear and trash the entire SFD department, well then I guess going to the media would accomplish what you’re really after. Publicity. You are known by the company you keep, Mr. Tonisch, and it says a lot about you and what you’re up to.