Ever feel like you are speaking another language?

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
Background. ... we are in city limits, but on the outskirts of town. Most of the area around us is surrounded by a VFD. They have a couple or four paid FF on duty during day. They often eat at a restaurant we like for lunch.

Today, I park and see their "brush truck" in the lot. Hard to call it that, too big and heavy to venture far. I notice one of the gull wing compartment doors us open, just as a suburban swings into the space next to it. The door was actually overhanging the sub by a couple of inches, and was just about that much above the roof.

So....i go inside, see two guys from the FD sitting at a table, and go over to give them a heads up.

"Y'all left a compartment door open"

Deer in headlight look.

"There are still a couple of guys at the station, it's ok." (The station is a couple miles away, on a side street).

Can they comprehend English?

"No, not a bay door, one of the compartments on your truck. A car almost hit it just now." I pointed out at his truck in the lot.

He didn't want to look the fool I guess, and decided to start lying. "That's not us. There must be a couple other guys in here. We drove over in the big truck." Note, there was no BRT in the lot. And if 4 guys from the same FD are in the restaurant, you KNOW they'll be at the same table.

Anyway, 30 minutes later, they finish eating. You guessed it, they go straight out to the truck with the open compartment, inspect and close it, then drive off.

WTF would have been so bad if they had said "oh crap", gone out to check and close it, maybe even thank the person for alerting them to a problem, then resume their meal? Why deny, lie, avoid?

I feel like that tells me something about that whole department, top to bottom.
 
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UTfball68 said:
People are weird, and will do/say anything so they don't look foolish.
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This. More so now than I've ever seen it. It's almost like the lie is so easy to roll off the tongue that it's a strain to tell the truth. It's come from the top down in the country, in world religions, in schools, even in tiny little organizations. People just lie and scam their way through life. When they get caught, they shift blame, deflect the problem, deny and weasel their way out. Even if it's for something so stupid.
 
ManglerYJ said:
This. More so now than I've ever seen it. It's almost like the lie is so easy to roll off the tongue that it's a strain to tell the truth. It's come from the top down in the country, in world religions, in schools, even in tiny little organizations. People just lie and scam their way through life. When they get caught, they shift blame, deflect the problem, deny and weasel their way out. Even if it's for something so stupid.
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Just a white lie.....not one of them other significant ones.
 
Best case scenario I think would have been for suburban or another vehicle to hit it and then the two dipshits gets fired from a job that I personally believe shouldn't be a full time gig. I mean shit Lee co is like what 30 miles from corner to corner and why the hell does every VFD need paid a full time employee causing my taxes to go up to pay them to sit on their ass.
 
I wouldn't say stupid really, but cocky, ....sure. Nobody likes to be wrong. Especially not those whos job it is to be perfect all the time. A FD doesn't make a lot of mistakes on the big end so they're not going to be caught slipping on the small end either. Regardless, I respect the hell out of what they do.
I saw similar when I worked with the power company. I was with Sumter Utilities, combined with Gregory electric makes up the majority of the SCE&G subcontractors. E&G guys want through buttloads of schooling, always dressed to perfection, kept the cleanest trucks and so forth. Us with Sumter and Gregory were always dirty, tired and way underpaid. On storm duty one time in Virginia, we ride by and see a E&G digger truck working around primary and not grounded off. We stopped and said in a friendly manner "hey man you should be grounded", which is cimmon knowledge to be one of the first steps you take. They between the lines said F-off basically. We stop up the street a ways and seen a groundman running full speed to hook the truck ground up. Lol
 
Junkyard Dog said:
Best case scenario I think would have been for suburban or another vehicle to hit it and then the two dipshits gets fired from a job that I personally believe shouldn't be a full time gig. I mean shit Lee co is like what 30 miles from corner to corner and why the hell does every VFD need paid a full time employee causing my taxes to go up to pay them to sit on their ass.
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Because, especially during daytime, if they aren't paying a couple of guys to sit there, no volunteers will make a fire call. Can't get away from work, or it would probably be over before they could drive 20 minutes to get there, etc. I was VFD back in the 80's. Not unusual to have a daytime call and only 3 or 4 guys there. I've personally been on a inside hose line, with 1 guy with me, and one running the panel. That's it.

With all the rules they have now, there's probably not much the 2 paid guys can do until more help gets there. At least, in Lee county, for a reported house fire, they'll dispatch 3 or so departments, so they'll at least start with 3 trucks and 6 men..

Sometimes I listen to the scanner, and from our house, outside, you can hear the Tramway house siren go off when a call goes in. Nighttime, it's like 7-10 minutes before you hear the first truck siren pulling out. Modern houses can be about gone in that time frame. That's a long wait.
 
Like Kaiser said, back in the "Day", so many Men, worked in the Community, & could even hear the Station Siren. Drop your tools & run to the Station or Fire. As life changes, later Very few work in the Community, anymore. Used to be "Driver, get a Pumper to the scene & everyone else go to the scene"! Hopefully when the Pumper pulled up, there were 2 or more Fireman there to grab the hose. But I too, have Driven, pulled up, threw pump in gear, & garb a line, Before anyone else arrived. Now days, I'm not sure of the Exact Law or requirement, but it's mostly {Pumper can Not respond, with less than 4 personnel on board} ! Law or Insurance, maybe both.
 
So I see y'alls points but if you gonna have a guy there all day at a rural department,buy their ass a lawn mower and let them mow the grass and such around the station. Hell they'll probably take a little pride in it being its "their" station and they'd be earning their keep. I don't get why it's contracted out to a lawn care company.
 
Junkyard Dog said:
So I see y'alls points but if you gonna have a guy there all day at a rural department,buy their ass a lawn mower and let them mow the grass and such around the station. Hell they'll probably take a little pride in it being its "their" station and they'd be earning their keep. I don't get why it's contracted out to a lawn care company.
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I can't speak for any department other than the two I am on, but there is a LOT to be done to make a fire department operate. Just because you don't see the work being done doesn't mean the firefighters are sitting on their ass all day. Yes, there is down time. Yes, some days we don't do much more than check the trucks and clean the station. But for every day like that there are day where we stay busy from breakfast to dinner. And as far as "earning their keep," anyone can cut grass, mop floors, do paper work, etc. Not everyone can run into a burning building and save someone, or cut you from your mangled vehicle after a drunk runs a stop sign and T bones you. THAT is what you are paying for. Everything on top of that is a bonus.

Duane
 
So let me clarify, I understand what a FF does for the most part. Payed or volunteer. I understand that they have duties other than squirting water on a fire. But, in the area I live in there are two rural departments ~6-7 miles apart , each with a paid 40hr/week employee. What I'm saying is I don't feel like that is necessary in this area and myself along with lots of other folks would feel better about seeing them benefit the department and community in other ways. It doesn't help that the only thing the public sees them do is drive a FD vehicle to the local grill to meet for a 2hr lunch 5 days a week. While a group of Mexicans is a the department mowing the whole half acre of grass. So I guess I just have a big case of heart burn with it and I'll have to deal with it . But I will say that I appreciate the job they do when the time comes ,along with police officers and such. Hell I don't want their job and think for the most part they are under paid. But I still think the paid FF in my rural area aren't practical for the size of the community and would like to see them earn their keep a little more. But it is my opinion only.
 
oscar80 said:
One benefit of having the paid guys there during the week is it lowers our fire insurance.

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That's pretty much it and 9 times out of 10 they're still going to build you a new house if it catches on fire. It either burns up or gets swamped putting out the fire. I'd be interested to see what their (insurance industry) formula looks like in regard to premums paid, relative to distance to fire dept, relative to X # of paid fire men, relative to actual fire related payouts.
 
I can say, without being an actual fire fighter, almost every single comment on this post comes from an ignorant point of view. You have absolutely no idea of what is expected of firefighters, and the broad job description their job entails. Putting out actual fires is less than 5% of what they do.
My girlfriend of 5 years, and my best friend of around 25 years are both part of our local fire department, and I can say without reservation they have the most demanding job I could ever imagine.
Maybe, show respect for the people who are there when you know no one else you could call for help.
Paid or volunteer the people you are questioning are doing a job 99% of us (myself included) couldn't handle.......
 
I will have to say that I'm going to agree with @Junkyard Dog, in that the firefighters that are on duty should not be abusing the privilege that is afforded to them by having the freedom to go out to eat. If you feel they are abusing that freedom, you have the right to call their Chief and address your concerns. I don't agree that they are unnecessary for the community size, though. That paid member may also be an EMT (as many are), and the monies generated from tax-subsidies allows the FD to not only staff their station, but also provide a higher level of service to the community. Seconds count.

Having been a volunteer in a town of 1,700 people, and now serving as a career firefighter in Wilmington, I can see both sides of the fence and this conversation. There are always eyes on public employees, especially those charged with public safety. We are held to high standards, and I've had conversations with the public that questioned why we were always riding around or at the grocery store. If my initial response does not shed light on anything and they still question me, I provide them with the number to our Chief, thank them, and walk away. It's not my job to justify our numerous responsibilities, so I handle it in the most diplomatic way I know how to.

That being said, for some unknown reason, we don't mow the grass at my station, and neither does Parks & Rec. It is contracted out to a third party, but it's the only station in the city that is. Every other station is provided a mower and other tools to maintain the landscaping. However, my station also houses the FD garage, all of the administration, and the training division, AND occupies an entire city block. In addition to that, my engine (between three shifts) has run 1,114 calls since January 1st, and it's one of three units assigned to this station. The other engine has run 1,393 calls, and the ladder has run 462. What that doesn't reflect is the 260 hours of MANDATORY training hours a year we must log for firefighting alone, then EMT (80 hours/year) and safety (20 hours/year). Stack on top of that a station tour and educational presentation to local 3rd graders every single weekday for six weeks through Sept. and Oct., truck maintenance and testing, hydrant inspections, building safety surveys (not inspections), being responsible for our 50' fire boat and equipment for the dive team, and then finally the typical daily household duties of cleaning our quarters and meal prep. What's worse is they want us to do even more!

Ok, I'm off on a tangent. Just know there's more happening behind those bay doors than the majority of the public witnesses.
 
junkxj said:
I can say, without being an actual fire fighter, almost every single comment on this post comes from an ignorant point of view. You have absolutely no idea of what is expected of firefighters, and the broad job description their job entails. Putting out actual fires is less than 5% of what they do.
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I am a firefighter
:flipoff2:
 
@maulcruiser thats a busy arse station. I run about that many a year on the bolance.

Comparing a vol to full time paid is apples to oranges. Most vol houses don't have to worry with building inspections or hydrant testing (for the dept I was at). Those guys do have a lot of down time.

It's all about the ISO rating for insurance
 
The county in which I live(Lee) is very small , one of the smallest in the state , but it has a fair amount of industry and I'm sure that generates a good bit of income to the FD in the form of taxes. But my point of view is based largely on comments of good friends and community folks who are on the department and don't agree with the fact of a full time employee and had rather see the $$$$ spent else were to benefit the department. Hell the guy who mows the grass owns a lawn care business and is a life long friend of mine and is assistant chief. Used to let crew stop and mow grass on their way in no charge to department then they wanted to bid it out. He won bid go figure. It's that the employee makes xxx a week/year it's the fact that after he/she retires that just someone else for the tax payers to supply benefits to. Can't blame him, he's playing by the rules.
 
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