Local FF's shopping while on duty

[triemal04]

Heck, I'd argue that there's a difference between a mile away in a different city and being 5-10 miles from your station on the edge of your district or in another district in the city. Just because a unit is still in their city doesn't mean that they are in the best position to respond.

Sure. I probably should have said "district" in that post as well, since that is what companies are generally expected to stay in while not on a call. I guess the point that seemed to have been ignored initially, and then had a pissy comment made about it when it was brought up again, is that just because someone is "in a different city" doesn't mean that they are really that far from where they should be. And while not completely right, it's also not as bad as it sounds.

It's that whole thinking before you speak thing popping up again...

 

[medic417]

It's that whole thinking before you speak thing popping up again...

Yes you should watch that along with the rest of us.

 

[MS Medic]

Let these Jeffrey Connolly and Joe Shortsleve guys work a 24 or 48 hour shift on a regular basis and see if they sit at the station unless they get a call

 

[medic417]

Let these Jeffrey Connolly and Joe Shortsleve (really, he's a "journalist" and thats the best he could come up with) work a 24 or 48 hour shift on a regular basis and see if they sit at the station unless they get a call

Why not? Have you not ever stayed home for a 24 or 48 hour period before? Most fire stations have more recreation equipment than most peoples houses so they have plenty to entertain themselves while waiting.

Don't get me wrong I see no problem with leaving the station but you have to see the tax payers view. They give us all this money, nice buildings, lots of toys, cable tv, work out equipment, etc and then they see that large piece of equipment that uses 15 gallons of fuel just to turn the motor over ( yes exaggeration but that's how peoples minds work ) carrying several people that are being paid better than most tax payers running personal errands. That will rub people the wrong way.

 

[MS Medic]

Why not? Have you not ever stayed home for a 24 or 48 hour period before? Most fire stations have more recreation equipment than most peoples houses so they have plenty to entertain themselves while waiting.

I managed to stay at the station for 24 hours once and it drove me stir crazy. I'm happy when I get to sleep through the night. If you want to trim the fat from local government, there are better ways than hassling some underpaid LEO or FF about using city vechle for personal use.

 

[46Young]

Why not? Have you not ever stayed home for a 24 or 48 hour period before? Most fire stations have more recreation equipment than most peoples houses so they have plenty to entertain themselves while waiting.

Don't get me wrong I see no problem with leaving the station but you have to see the tax payers view. They give us all this money, nice buildings, lots of toys, cable tv, work out equipment, etc and then they see that large piece of equipment that uses 15 gallons of fuel just to turn the motor over ( yes exaggeration but that's how peoples minds work ) carrying several people that are being paid better than most tax payers running personal errands. That will rub people the wrong way.

That's where PR , public service, and volunteering for charities and non mandated community service both on and off duty come in. Yeah, they burn a gallon or two going to the store, and their station is really nice, but they do Fill The Boot in the oppressive Labor Day heat every year, Toys for Tots, AHA Heart Walks, along with various other charities, they perform wellness checks on the elderly, visit our homes to check on our smoke/CO detectors and even change the batteries for free, come to our block parties, school, church and other functions, and the kids really love the open house events. They're so nice when we call them to put grandma back to bed at 0300 when she can't get off the floor.

When they're called to our home in the middle of the night for a gas leak, alarm bell, CO check, they're always professional, friendly, and polite.

If the public holds a favorable opinion of you, silly crap like shopping for dinner won't be an issue.

 

[46Young]

Heck, I'd argue that there's a difference between a mile away in a different city and being 5-10 miles from your station on the edge of your district or in another district in the city. Just because a unit is still in their city doesn't mean that they are in the best position to respond.

This is why I feel that the whole concept of the first due is obsolete, when an AVL is used. The closest unit is recommended. As you're saying, with the first due concept, I could be on the edge of my first due, a block away from the next district. The call could be two blocks away, which is one block inside that other district. The unit that's five or more miles away will be called instead. Similar concept for the unit shopping. If a call goes out when they're shopping, is it a mile or two past the store, or a mile or two back towards the station? Being out at the store could result in being closer to the call. Especially if everyone's in the moving unit, not having to rush to the rig, open the bay, etc.

What about district familiarization? We regularly tour our first due, note building construction, topography, detours, and we also do walkthrough drills for malls, shopping centers, nursing homes, hospitals, apartment complexes, schools and such. We also do Knox Box checks, to make sure that the necessary keys are there. Standard practice. Preplanning and knowing what's in your first due is a necessary, accepted practice. I'm sure that district familiarization and walkthrough preplan drills use more fuel than a trip to the store.

 

[MS Medic]

Given that we're willing to run into burning buildings to save life and property, I think a trip the store with the apparatus to buy dinner supplies (not five trips to starbucks) isn't asking too much.

I'm sure you're as sick of that as I'm sick of hearing how EMS and fire should be divorced, and that fire should be downstaffed due to call volume. I chuckle every time I hear terms like firemonkey, hose jockey, and such.

News flash: Most of us have walked into more crack houses at three in the morning w/o LEO or come close to getting hit on the side of the road working a wreck than any FF has run into burning buildings in this age of fire prevention.

If your sick of hearing those terms then go spend your time on a fire based forum and quit trolling several of ours with the IAFF talking points.

 

[medic417]

I managed to stay at the station for 24 hours once and it drove me stir crazy. I'm happy when I get to sleep through the night. If you want to trim the fat from local government, there are better ways than hassling some underpaid LEO or FF about using city vechle for personal use.

Again from the tax payers prospective.

UNDER PAID??????????? Like hell. In this economy I can't get a job yet you get paid to sleep, lift weights, watch TV, and now shop on my tax dollar. WOW the nerve of you.

 

[MS Medic]

Again from the tax payers prospective.

UNDER PAID??????????? Like hell. In this economy I can't get a job yet you get paid to sleep, lift weights, watch TV, and now shop on my tax dollar. WOW the nerve of you.

If they can't find a job they can go into EMS. Worked for me when I lost my job several years ago and I now have a carreer I love.

But seriously, how many of these joe citizens who want to complain about the cost of the BRT at the grocery store or resturant regularly attend the meetings of their city council or county board of supervisors? How many request copies of the city budget and monitor for fraud, waste, and abuse in other departments of city government?

And as to the so called watch dog group, I find most of them are like Osha. They have to find or manufacture phony problems to justify their existance. What is the national statistic of groccery store buggy pushers getting hit in the parking lot by someone who "did not see them" but Osha makes them where safety vests now

 

[46Young]

News flash: Most of us have walked into more crack houses at three in the morning w/o LEO or come close to getting hit on the side of the road working a wreck than any FF has run into burning buildings in this age of fire prevention.

If your sick of hearing those terms then go spend your time on a fire based forum and quit trolling several of ours with the IAFF talking points.

Really? These are but three that we had in the past couple of weeks. There were more, but these are the ones that were filmed and submitted.

http://www.thebigeyeinfairfax.net/

I'm not sickened by those terms. I actually find them cute and amusing, like that's the best anyone can do in poking fun at the FD. Corny. Often I hear about how EMS should seperate from fire, and that fire should be downstaffed. If that were to happen (which it won't otherwise I would have stayed single role EMS and knocked out an RN or RRT degree) I would be unemployed. If forum members are basically advocating that my family and I end up on the unemployment line, then I have no problem giving a little bit of that "love" back their way. Like when I say that I play for the winning team, make serious bank and such. That kind of stuff hopefully irritates one as much as wishing someone unemployed. I don't boast about such things in real life, but I like to break chops here when I'm getting mine broken in kind.

I also don't believe in FD takeovers of EMS, except in the case of gross mismanagement of the existing service. But, if the general attitude is that my job should be dissolved, then I don't feel so bad when another FD absorbs EMS. When I hear things like "All EMS should be seperate from fire" and "fire doesn't run as many calls as, or generate revenue like EMS, so they should be downstaffed to reflect call volume", that's actually the reverse of a FD absorbing EMS. You have one side that wants both services merged, sometimes displacing workers (some keep medics single role, many do not). You have the other side who wants to split the operation, and downstaff fire, also costing jobs. Who's right? It's a case by case basis, dependent on the real reasons why the FD took over EMS, and how they're running it. Depts in my region have been combined since they started hiring paid personnel for the first time.

I've went into many a shady residence, dealt with quite a few junkies, and have been by myself (and my partner) working many an MVA with a more than a few close calls. I did NYC EMS, I'm no stranger to that. Running into a burning building that could collapse at any time, or flash on you, is quite a bit different than beating back a crackhead or braving the highway. And I wasn't implying that EMS isn't important and at times dangerous, it was the FF's specifically that were under scrutiny, so I used the fact that we run into burning buildings to say "cut us some slack, and pick some more important battles". Taking an apparatus to the store isn't a big deal, and it's not breaking the bank.

I like FH.com. I go there from time to time. Contacts there helped me with the hiring process. When I first joined this forum, I wanted to shoot the bull with others that do EMS. Yes, I am also a paramedic, same as before I went fire. So it isn't "your" forum, but rather it's"our" forum. I quickly found out that there were a bunch of FD haters, envious or whatever, like I said seeking to put me out of work. That got me a little hot, so I go back at the mutts now and then. I was also taken aback by the education nazis. I, like many others were told that we're ignorant, unintelligent, piss poor providers for not having a degree. So I went back with situations where the individual would be better off financially in going a quicker route, especially if they can't afford to be in school for three or four years.

For crying out loud, one of my first threads was asking for tips and tricks on the ALS level to help us with the job. I posted a simple shortcut for dopamine math. I was attacked by the education nazis about why we shouldn't use shortcuts, don't be lazy, do it the traditional way, blah blah blah. I should have expected as much. In each of my EMS jobs, I noticed plenty of attitudes, posturing, backstabbing, throwing each other under the bus, general frustration and disgruntlement. Although each of things will go on to some extent at any employer, it is much, much less evident where I am now.

 

[46Young]

Again from the tax payers prospective.

UNDER PAID??????????? Like hell. In this economy I can't get a job yet you get paid to sleep, lift weights, watch TV, and now shop on my tax dollar. WOW the nerve of you.

I know you're playing Devil's advocate. I would turn around (off duty, away from work and out of uniform) and point out that it wasn't me who tried getting rich flipping houses, creating or purchasing grandiose, exotic mortgage products, overextending myself on credit to have all the best toys and cars, and I'm also not the one who voted in politicians that continue to enable all of these entitlement programs. I'm also not the one who pulled all my money out of the stock market, intensifying the drop, when I should have been actually buying more shares (a steep drop in the market is like getting thos fund shares at a deep discount), thus forcing many that were soon to retire to hold on to their jobs for another 10 years or so. How about all the money the illegals make here tax free and then send back to their countries? how about each and every person that works off the books, even odd jobs, and doesn't pay taxes? I'm sure bartenders and servers keep most of what they make. How about always giving aid to foreign countries when we get little to no help on our own soil?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Ru...5534C560&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=37

Assign blame where blame is due and don't project your problems onto me. I have a zero balance on my two cards, since I pay them off every month, just like all my other bills. I also eat out and support my local economy in general.

 

[MS Medic]

:nosoupfortroll:

Need I say more about this thread

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

My favorite informative "do not feed the troll" sign

:nosoupfortroll:

Need I say more about this thread

 

[medic417]

That's mean calling 46 a troll. Just because you don't agree with his IAFF crap doesn't mean he shouldn't be allowed to throw his 2 cents into the discussion.

 

[MS Medic]

The problem is not my disagreement with him. The problem is that I see him on both of the ems forums I am currently on and he constantly hijacks threads and tries to turn them into discussions about why we should all work for fire based EMS. Yet, I have never found a ligetimate response when the logistal problems of fire based EMS are discussed. It constantly turns into spewing retoric.

 

[medic417]

The problem is not my disagreement with him. The problem is that I see him on both of the ems forums I am currently on and he constantly hijacks threads and tries to turn them into discussions about why we should all work for fire based EMS. Yet, I have never found a ligetimate response when the logistal problems of fire based EMS are discussed. It constantly turns into spewing retoric.

And while I agree he does always post IAFF propaganda, he is right that those of us that know for a fact that fire based is not the best way always spout our anti fire propaganda, so where is the difference?

 

[MS Medic]

And while I agree he does always post IAFF propaganda

Hence the appropriate aplication of the term troll. Would it be acceptable for you to go to a fire service based forum and constantly bash fire based EMS and hijack their threads about fire service issues?

 

[medic417]

Hence the appropriate aplication of the term troll. Would it be acceptable for you to go to a fire service based forum and constantly bash fire based EMS and hijack their threads about fire service issues?

But sadly fire and EMS are intertwined thus the reason that each person should be able to express their opinions based on their experience.

If we banned the fire then we would have to ban the volunteers. Then we would have to ban the rural paid. Then?

 

[MS Medic]

But sadly fire and EMS are intertwined thus the reason that each person should be able to express their opinions based on their experience.

If we banned the fire then we would have to ban the volunteers. Then we would have to ban the rural paid. Then?

That is irrelevent to the issue of trolling. Once again, would it be appropriate for us to go to a fire service based forum and bash fire based EMS and hihjack their threads?