ArchAngel333

I don't believe that anything we signed on to do should be based on the perks we feel we are entitled to. The "I'm volunteering my time and should be rewarded" attitude is destroying volunteer FD and EMS organizations. Doing it because you want to do it and you like doing it for the right reasons should be the only reason you do it.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I am sure the majority in my shoes would echo this sentiment. I became Chief of my department because I wanted to opportunity to help my department better itself. I am given a car to help me do my "job" which to me means responding to calls, meetings, training, equipment pickup/delivery and other department business. When I know I will be out of town for an extended period of time (24+ hours) I always leave the car with someone else or keep it in town so it is available if needed. If we know there's a weather event happening or something else is expected that we planned for, I will even leave my car with someone during the 12 hours I am at work. The way I look at it is that the car is my department's - not mine.
The sooner all of us realize that what we do is for our organization and not for ourselves, the sooner we can make progress.
/Rant

Would you look past this if that Chief's vehicle was delivering donations to Newtown? What if he was buying gifts to bring to a Children's Hospital here in Westchester? This is such immature, cry baby bullshit.
For the record, I don't agree with the abuse of a take home car, but since nobody knows the facts here - let's stop speculating.
FACT: Some municipalities issue take-home vehicles for all kinds of staff members, including PD, FD, DPW and management folks.
FACT: Many of these municipalities don't have rules or regulations concerning the uses of these vehicles, and frankly don't even care.
FACT: A Westchester Fire Chief in Connecticut may be closer from point A in Westchester to point B in Connecticut then if he went to another location within Westchester County.
FACT: I see police officers, fire chiefs/commissioners, EMS officers, DPW bosses and governement officials using their take home cars for all kinds of things.
FACT: I never lose sleep over any of this. Neither should any of us. The same guys who are union firefighters that will come here asking all of us to "put aside our volunteer and paid BS" to help them keep their jobs also commonly take jabs at volunteers for dumb s*** like this. You can't play it one way all the time then flip it around and not expect people to call you out on it. Does it bother anyone else that WE are all our own worst enemies?!
Does it bother anyone else that Westchester County is literally a laughingstock to fire departments (paid and volunteer) outside of this area because of our never-ending bickering and dick-measuring contests?
Ugh!
Note: edited for grammar and layout improvement.

Maybe he had some business to tend to with a Dept. nearby, and ran in to do some shopping on the way home.
We've beaten this horse to death in the past a number of times, already. I honestly don't believe we'll cover any new ground here.

I just ask for facts. You clearly don't have them in this specific instance. Maybe no one has made the effort to track accidents per mile for firefighters career or volunteer. Maybe you have the connections to get the NFPA to look into this. I don't know how to make this any clearer. I don't give a rats arse who is more dangerous behind the wheel, I only want to see the statistics proving it. Lets look at NYC. I can't find a single instance where a volunteer fire company was involved in a fatal collision. I know of three involving FDNY. Now maybe the volunteers don't even have enough road miles to make a statistically significant comparison to FDNY, but on the surface it sure seems like the volunteers are safer. No one in their right mind would consider that a fair comparison. Similarly the MTA is the deadliest city agency. They've killed far and away more civilians than anyone else and are always governed by VTL. Their drivers receive more training and have more time behind the wheel than FDNY. But their road miles are so high it would be impossible for me to just guess at which agency is statistically more dangerous.
Do career fire departments actually put more road miles on than volunteer FDs? They absolutely have more calls, there are stats documenting that. But do they have more miles? I'm still can't find anything addressing that. What I can find shows that far more land area is covered by volunteers.
Absolutely every paid firefighter must first get to work, but unless I am mistaken, those accidents are not included in these numbers. Volunteers responding to their station for a run are included. Similarly volunteers headed to the station for a parade, meeting, drill, etc are not counted.
Again, you are correct that volunteers do not meet the same standards for selection, training, and accountability. However there is NOTHING demonstrating that volunteers are crashing more frequently than career firefighters and even less proof that the training gap has anything to do with it.
So you're just going to pout and go home? There are a lot of flaws in the volunteer fire service. First and foremost that it is an inferior level of service than you would receive from a paid department. The deciding factor between the two is cost. If you could get a functional paid department or reasonably close to what you're paying for a volunteer dept you'd stick with the volunteers?? You'd be a fool. That being said there is still a very large need for professional volunteer fire service in this country. The key is professional and that starts with addressing flaws and inadequacies within your own service.

As someone already said, "figures lie, liars figure". This in no way calling anyone a liar. Only to point out the fact that anyone can make any statistic valid to their point of view.
As a VOLUNTEER firefighter, I have been passed by other emergency vehicles from ALL services, PD, EMS, and other fire, as well as every day citizens while responding in the apparatus. While responding in my POV, I yield to emergency vehicles but have also been escorted through traffic by PD. As a CAREER(PAID) EMS worker, I have been passed many times by POV's, PD, and FIRE.
As a driver with a CDL, I am subject to higher standards and penalties regardless of the vehicle I am driving. My license is my income.
I get paid by the hour, not by the call or number of patients I transport. Just because YOU called 911, does not make it MY emergency.
The point is, CAREER or VOLUNTEER, on duty, or off, it is an INDIVIDUAL's responsibilty to drive safely, with due regard, at ALL times.

You said the overwhelming majority of these wrecks are on the volunteer side. Do you have the stats? With the sheer number of volunteer fire departments I would expect more volunteer accidents than paid. Add in that every volunteer is driving to the scene or station, are volunteers more reckless. I don't have any real info on this, but would be curious to see the breakdown of accidents per firefighter or even department. I doubt its out there, but per mile driven could also be really interesting. I'm sure the bias towards younger firefighters and older equipment bumps up the rate of accidents for volunteers. All in all a comprehensive review of this would be very interesting.

Several years ago I took an EVOC course with Lt Mike Wilbur and during the course he asked How much time are you actually saving if you drive the speed limit as opposed to driving above the posted speed limit? The answer was not much. Every operator should be familiar with the NYS V&T Laws regarding the operation of emergency vehicles I can't remember the correct section right now but it is included as part f the NYS EVOC course. Seven years ago I was involved in a rollover accident with our tanker, the County PD did a reconstruction and found no fault with me (the driver), the rig or the roadway. To this day I blame myself only as I was the operator of the vehicle and I broke a cardinal rule of apparatus drivers which in my book is getting the rig and most importantly the crew to and from the scene safely. This accident and lawsuit should be a lesson to all operators, I am surprised that there was no mention of punative monies which comes from you out of pocket.

Did you not read the first sentence with the word volunteer emblazoned in all caps for all the world to see how we're the scum of the earth? Perhaps not.
Top to bottom, left to right. Group words together as a sentence. Many sentences comprise a thought. Maybe they didn't teach you that in elementary school.

Yeah, because no career FF ever drove recklessly, ever, in the history of the world, right?