dougeng41

To clarify. The County did not refuse to dispatch the METU. I requested it and was advised through the proper dispatch procedure that the vehicle was not yet placed in service and that it was not available. This is no different than any other fire apparatus or ambulance. The County did coordinate the dispatch of two Bee Line buses in its place. Many of you need to climb out of your glass house and visit the real world. Stop posting and spreading rumors before knowing the facts.

This is quite shocking, the whole situation. I'm asking myself "is this really happening?" It's surreal. ny10570 who we now know his name is Lenny Joyner, see his photo on the Denver news story, has been a regular productive member of this board for years. We know his political leanings, his compassion for others, his decency....yet most of us didn't know him personally.
I wish I had.
To those members here who had the honor of knowing him, condolences to you all. We all share in your grief.
For all of us here who care, who feel, please take care of yourselves now. Don't be tempted to grab the beers or anything else to drown the pain away.
Talk about it. Write about it. Share your feelings with those of us here who care for you and want you to be okay. That's what this site is about. A Fraternity of sorts. Times like these are the most testing for everybody. Talk about it at the firehouse, the precinct, the ambulance quarters.
Lenny got called home to God way too early, yet he obviously died doing what he wanted to be doing. Living his life the way he wanted it to be. Quite an adventurist it seems. I imagine he was quite ecstatic to reach that peak, to see that view, to be closer to his God.
Our board has another hero now. And his name is Lenny Joyner. God Rest In Peace.
Edit: Last name proper spelling.

Where in the definition of "Volunteer" does it say lack responsibility? It seems to me to be the ever growing "attitude" within volunteers. Whether it is a new mandate for training , or a change in operations for better overall function of your home dept. It seems to me that the "excuse" of "I'm a volunteer, why should I have to take OSHA," or "I'm a volunteer why should I have to be at my ambulance when I am rostering that time." The last time I checked when I became a volunteer at the age of 16, I joined because it was something I enjoyed doing and wanted to help. Just because you don't receive any type of monetary payments does not mean you cant uphold yourself to the same standards as everyone else. I for one feel that without changing that outlook, volunteers will be a rapidly dying breed. Now for those that don't me, and may think I am "voly bashing" get your facts straight. I have been in my dept for 10 years, and put as many hours as any other active voly. I have not forgotten where I came from, and continue to provide the service and have the attitude as of a volunteer just as I would at work. The main objective of this topic is to answer the following ques. and agree or disagree with the above statement, (Because I am a volunteer I don't have to uphold responsibility.) Is this attitude moral oriented? Is it something that can be changed? If so how?

That is correct. A quad has a (1) pump, (2) a water tank, (3) carries hose, and (4) a full compliment of ground ladders. To make a quint, an elevated aerial ladder device is added to the mix.
Quads were very popular from the time of motorization to about the early 1950s since many smaller departments really didn't have the need for an aerial ladder. Before steel aerial ladders were made, practically all aerial ladder trucks were tractor drawn, with a few straight framed aerial ladder trucks in the mix. Aerials prior to the invention of steel aerial devices in the 1930s were made of wood and only had two sections (sometimes but very very rarely three). Quads trace their origins to the old horse drawn city-service ladder trucks equipped with chemical booster equipment. So with motorization, departments that needed a good "ladder truck" and wanted to combine the rig with a pumper, would purchase a quad.
So with that said, just to go a little further for the understanding of the terms, a triple combination pumper back in the days of early motorized fire engines and trucks comprised of three elements, a pump, a set of chemical booster equipment or a booster water tank and carried hose. Prior to motorization, pumpers (steamers and early horse drawn gas pumpers) were separate units from hand drawn and horse drawn hose wagon, carts and booster carts (or the latter two could be combined in a horse drawn unit).

May I say, what we have here is a "culture clash" of sorts. Most of us know the following, but for the edification of the member who asked the question;
There is no such thing as a career chief's turnout coat that says "Ex Chief." The only way a career chief would still be wearing a turnout coat and not be a chief anymore, would be through a demotion (voluntary or involuntary) and the new coat he would be wearing would display his current rank, or through a move from being a career Chief to a career Commissioner.
In volunteer fire departments, the selection of chiefs is a different process than in the career civil service system (which is primarily based on testing). The election of a chief does carry a significance to the members of those departments. Words like "honor" carry a lot of weight in both systems. But, a member would probably say he was honored to have been selected to serve as chief, and therefore might chose to wear a turnout coat that displays "Ex Chief", as a way of showing his gratitude to the department for that honor as they see it. Additionally, the other members of the department will probably recognize that "Ex Chief" simply by leaving the "Ex" out of the title. It's a way for other members to show their respect; especially if they believe that "Ex Chief" was a good chief while in title.
In this particular instance, there is no way to lump the two different systems together, or for that matter to even try and compare them. They are distinctly different, so maybe we should just note those differences.....maybe not judge them....and just say.....
"It Is What It Is."