Fire? Take off boots, got a new rug!

[Guest]

I think we run into similar situations here in the States.....

Firefighter boots on my new carpets? Forget the fire

WILLIAM DICK

September 20 2006

The Herald, Scotland, UK

A woman refused to let firemen into her house to tackle a blaze because she had just bought new carpets.

Debbie Docherty stunned fire officers by telling them to take their boots off when they arrived at her Greenock home last July in response to an emergency call.

Depute fiscal Hugh Brady told the town's sheriff court yesterday how Docherty, 30, shouted at the firefighters from her verandah as they tried to get into the house.

Mr Brady said in court:

"Ms Docherty immediately told them that they wouldn't get into the house with boots on. The fire officers then went to the door and were still refused entry.

"Eventually they were allowed into the property but Ms Docherty continued to shout and swear so much that the police were called."

Docherty's lawyer Gerry Keenan told the court: "My client had recently had her flat decorated and had spent quite a bit of money putting new carpets down.

"She was telling the firemen she didn't fancy the idea of them coming through her house with their boots on. She also felt she had the fire under control and thought the presence of the fire services was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

Docherty, of Neil Street, Greenock, admitted breaching the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 by obstructing two members of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue services.

She also admitted a charge of breach of the peace.

Sheriff John Herald called for background reports and told Docherty: "The authorities are so concerned with members of the public obstructing the rescue services that they have brought in a new act and that makes this a serious matter."

The new law, which targets anybody who attacks emergency workers or tries to stop them from doing their job, has already led to several successful prosecutions in Scotland's courts.

[res6cue 67]

Yes, I've had this happen to us once for a false alarm, and I've heard firsthand of it happening at least once to a neighboring dept that covers a pretty affluent area. To be honest, it struck me as a bit ridiculous to ask the fire dept to take off their boots, and still does. But then I think about how many of our calls are clearly BS, especially when the homeowner is standing right there telling you they tripped the alarm themselves accidentally, and there we are tracking mud, soot and God knows what else all throughout their clean house. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating the removal of our boots before entering a house, but I do advocate some common sense and common courtesy. Nothing burns me more than watching guys walk through someone's home with no regard or decency, like bulls in a china shop. Obviously if it's a legit incident, all bets are off.

By the way, the article never really tells the reader what the incident wound up being, but I suspect food on the stove. The media kills me with their all too familiar hyperbole.

"to tackle a blaze"

I'm pretty certain that anyone with a sliver of a brain would not be thinking about their carpets if it were, in fact, a "blaze".

[dools16 1]

Yes, I've had this happen to us once for a false alarm, and I've heard firsthand of it happening at least once to a neighboring dept that covers a pretty affluent area. To be honest, it struck me as a bit ridiculous to ask the fire dept to take off their boots, and still does. But then I think about how many of our calls are clearly BS, especially when the homeowner is standing right there telling you they tripped the alarm themselves accidentally, and there we are tracking mud, soot and God knows what else all throughout their clean house. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating the removal of our boots before entering a house, but I do advocate some common sense and common courtesy. Nothing burns me more than watching guys walk through someone's home with no regard or decency, like bulls in a china shop. Obviously if it's a legit incident, all bets are off.

By the way, the article never really tells the reader what the incident wound up being, but I suspect food on the stove. The media kills me with their all too familiar hyperbole.

"to tackle a blaze"

I'm pretty certain that anyone with a sliver of a brain would not be thinking about their carpets if it were, in fact, a "blaze".

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[Sean11FD 3]

One time on an EMS call, some guy who was having a heart attack (who we later called "libberacci") wouldnt let us bring the strecher into his appartment because he didnt want us breaking his "fine china". He also demanded that i wait outside because my boots were "soo pathetically dirty" and i should "get them drycleaned before i consider walking in his house".