Posted on 11/03/2003 3:01:57 PM PST by churchillbuff
A hero is not just someone in pink tights and a cape that you can plainly see, and the Medal of Honor is not a certification for Hero-ship.
There are many heros in this world everyday in many professions. People who stand for important things and make big actions, and people who will never be known by you or me, and who's actions may seem really insignificant to you, but they make a difference. Hardly any of them will ever win a medal.
Anyone who has ever died defending ths country is a hero. For they give you the right to sit in your easy chair and bang out your opinion about them in this forum.
I agree with a lot of the author's premise, but not all.
Like any other bureaucracy, the FD is constantly trying to expand itself even as modern materials and technology make home fires less likely. Most fireman practically kill each other to get the night shift so they can work their "real" job during the day.
On the other hand, a fireman can earn an entire years pay in one fire if the fit really hits the shan.
Your article is full of misconceptions and lies. The one thing I agree with you on is that the word hero is thrown around too much. Just because someone is a firefighter does not make them a good person, although from what I have seen in my 4 years in the fire service, in NJ and now CO, most of them are which is because of the traits that lead one to pursue this noble profession. And it is a noble profession. A lot of career firefighters are volunteers first, and they become volunteers not to help them get a job but because it's something they want to do. They end up enjoying it so much because it is a very rewarding job that they try and get a career job. It is rewarding not because you get to sit on a couch all day, but because you get to be in a position to help people, which is almost exclusively the reason people become firefighters, because they want to do just that.
The schedule is unique in that you work 24 hour shifts. This has major advantages to it, for example being able to spend days with your family, not just weekends. And yes, it gives you the opportunity to work a second job, which many firefighters do. Keep in mind, however, that the 24 hour shift schedule comes out to over 40 hours a week and that many firefighters have to work second jobs to support their families because the firefighter pay is not enough.
Fires have changed a lot in recent years. It is true, as you say, that in the past firefighters were exclusively firefighters and there were a lot of fires because of wood burning stoves and construction along with the lack of fire alarm systems. There are not as many fires anymore in large part because of technology. It should also be pointed out that the fires today burn hotter and are more deadly than in the past. In the past the big killer was backdrafts because construction used sealed off spaces. Today it is flashovers which happen as a matter of course in house fires today, and did not before. That is because it gets hot enough thanks to the synthetic materials used in building construction today. It is also much more dangerous to be on the roof now that lightweight truss construction is so common. This is a system where all parts of the roof are connected and held together by a gusset place, a square with many 3/4 inch nails. Metal does not do well under fire and within 10 minutes of fire exposure these plates will likely fail and when any part of the roof fails in truss construction, the whole roof fails meaning anyone on the roof (which is often necessary to successfully fight fire) will fall through the roof that is no longer there. But while there are new risks, firefighter deaths have stabalized at about 100 per year. The author condemns firefighters for being called heroes while not making the top 10 list of most dangerous occupations. That is ridiculous. The best firefighters, the ones with the most experience and most training should be the least likely to get hurt or killed in the line of duty. Therefore, the less injuries or deaths in the line of duty, the better the firefighters are doing. And speaking of injuries and deaths, firefighters get hurt. That's a fact. If you are a firefighter for 30 years you will likely get hurt in your career at some point. My personal worst fear is becoming disabled on the job. That's because the disability a firefighter would collect is not enough to support anyone. The salary is low as it is, and 2/3 of that is just not enough. But injury and disability is something that a risk that firefighters live with and accept by going to work every day.
To say that EMS is just firefighters trying to hide the fact that they do not fight fires should be proof that the author is misinformed and out of line. Perhaps the title "firefighter" is misleading and we should be called public safety agents instead, but that's just a matter of symantics. The fact is, our job is not to fight fire. It is to save lives and property. Because there are less firefighters and the new positions of EMTs and Paramedics, what better way to help people than to add EMS to firefighters arsenals of methods to help people. The same goes for Haz-mat, high-angle/low-angle rescue, or any other specialty. In addition it gives firefighters a chance to go into a specialty that they are particularly interested in. There is no rational line of thought that would criticize firefighters for participating in EMS.
As far as the complaint about firefighter funerals, firefighting is rich in tradition. Change is hard to come by in the fire service. There are always the old guys who don't want do anything except the way they've always done it. There is a saying about the fire service, "Over 200 years of tradition unimpeded by progress." While the fire service has progressed a lot, the fact is there is a huge element of tradition and ritual to it. Good or bad, like it or not, that's the way it is. And the bottom line as far as that goes is that while opinions differ about it, that is the culture of the fire service. I personally don't think funeral processions should go through red lights but a lot of people disagree with me. That's what I think about it, but I know it comes down to different personal prefferences and that's just the way it's done. I have also never ever heard of the fire department not giving the family of the firefighter the choice of a firefighter or private funeral.
I don't think firefighters should be considered heroes just because they're firefighters. I personally admire them because of what they do and what they're willing to do to help people. I think most people do too, and I don't think that is a character flaw of the general public.
Fine, but if you're in a car accident, it should be enough to have a cop, a tow truck and if need be an ambulance show up. Instead, we have fire trucks going to common fender-benders - - - all to give the fire departments an excuse to keep fully staffed (and big pay packages) in an era when the number of fires has gone way down. It's called make-work and taxpayers are paying through the nose.
You guys related?
If Douglas Gantenbein has an heart attack, I wonder if he'll call the New York Times for help? I wonder how many paramedics the Times employs.
And, by the way, there are hundreds of firefighters we lost in the WTC collapse whose sacrifice maked a fool out of Gantenbein and his ilk.
Welcome to FR. Kind of an old article, so I take it you found it (and FR) through a Google search?
Most firefighters are also paramedics. That's why they show up there.
Welcome to FR.
I think the question is whether firefighters should be paid as lavishly as they are in many cities and states. Their pay and benefits, and their pensions, are far above average compensation for people in the private sector - the people who are taxed to pay their salaries.
I don't know who this idiot is but I bet he would be crying and begging for these firefighters if his relatives, pets, property, livestock, etc. were just about to go bye bye forever in a puff of smoke. He sounds like someone who has never faced the distinct possibility of losing everything in a fire, as most of us in Oklahoma are currently doing day after day. Let me say that the fire fighters, the volunteer departments, the police (who warn us to evacuate), the pilots of the planes that drop the water, the religious organizations that have banded together to feed everyone and all the others are darn sure heroes to us!
Every town in America seems to send fire engines on calls that only require an ambulance and paramedics. As far as I can tell, the only purpose of this is to up the number of hours the equipment is being used and the firefighters are out doing something.
In any city where is a funeral for a firefighter thousands of firefighters pour into town from all over the country. It seems doubtful that the firefighters are paying for all this travel and lodging out of their own pockets.
Yes, firefighters are often heroes, but they also use this hero image to keep people from asking too many questions.
I think the question is whether firefighters should be paid as lavishly as they are in many cities and states. Their pay and benefits, and their pensions, are far above average compensation for people in the private sector - the people who are taxed to pay their salaries.
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