Iowa Fire Department Threatens Resignation Over Alcohol Ban

[x635 4,066]

What losers! They ban alchohol, and the FD members quit? What is their motivation for serving their community?????

Iowa Fire Department Threatens Resignation Over Alcohol Ban

HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) -- The City Council tabled a resolution banning the use of alcohol on all city property except parks Tuesday night after the entire Hampton Volunteer Fire Department circled the council chamber and threatened to resign. 

Scott Strother, a firefighter who spoke during Tuesday's meeting, said the issue is not the ``zero tolerance'' resolution, but the fact that an advance story on the council agenda, aired on KLMJ radio, said the no-alcohol resolution would include all public buildings including the Fire Department. 

``Without coming right out and accusing us directly, they allude to the fact that we're all just a bunch of rowdy drunks, just by making public statements like they did on the radio here, dragging our name out, when we're not the only public building that they're concerned with,'' Strother said. ``They made that evident tonight, but ours was the only name that was named in the ad.'' 

Several firefighters placed their pagers and mobile radio equipment on a table then ringed the back of the room in a show of solidarity. The firefighters threatened to quit immediately if the resolution was passed. 

Fire Chief Jeff Ferris resigned Monday, leaving Assistant Chief Kent Wilkinson in charge. 

Ferris said he resigned from the volunteer fire department after 10 years, the last three as its chief, because of the proposed resolution. 

He said that in the past, alcohol has been allowed at the Fire Department on four different occasions each year, including a dance. And sometimes firefighters will drink beer after a fire call. 

``There's never been a problem there,'' he said. ``It's nothing that's ever gotten out of hand. I've always made them aware, 'If you have had something to drink or anything, don't come to a fire. Don't even operate an apparatus. Don't put me in that position.' And they've always abided by it.'' 

City attorney Mike Cross said representatives of Hamptons insurance carrier, Employer's Mutual of Des Moines, have told council members that the presence of alcohol in public buildings would be an issue in its continued coverage of the city. 

The city could be liable, he said, if an on-duty city employee was to have an accident while intoxicated. 

``Eventually the city's going to have to pass a policy affecting all public buildings, to avoid the consumption or possession or use of alcohol in a public building of any type,'' Cross said. ``And it's our belief that that has to be done, sooner or later. 

``The intent was to try and be proactive and prevent city liability with having alcohol in the presence of public buildings. And unfortunately it apparently turned out that the Fire Department was somehow singled out by the media.'' 

The council agreed to meet with the firefighters within a week or so, to smooth out the differences. 

``Hopefully by tabling the issue they'll be able to sit down with the Fire Department, and each side can hear the other side's position and try and get a better understanding of where they're each coming from,'' City Manager Ron Dunt said. 

``From that point, I don't know which direction it'll go, but it should help.'' 

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Ummm, is this really an argument you want to make?

If you don't like it, adios bro, leave your gear at the door.

[BFD1054 1,552]

mmm beer....ok now seriously lol. If you want to drink, go to a bar, if you want to serve your community, join the firehouse. If you want to do both (not at the same time), go to the bar after the firehouse. I can't believe that in this day in age, there are firefighters that would threaten to resign if they are not allowed to drink at thier firehouse. I don't have a problem with bars/alcohol in firehouses, just as long as people don't mix the two. At my firehouse, we have a bar, but it is mostly occupied by associate (non-active) members. The bar is upstairs, away from the bays & offices where the true firehouse activities take place, so it does not interfere. If the active guys want to hang out at the bar, thats fine, so long as they don't dare jump on a rig or respond in any way to an emergency.

These guys that are threatening to resign over this are probably not the guys you want protecting your community anyway. I think that is just absolutely absurd & as ALS said, leave your gear at the door, we don't need ya'.

[Guest rreimund]

I agree completely with ALS and BFD.

unfortunately, many of our brethren don't . That said, I think this issue is being driven by the insurance companies and municipalities due to a bottom line, liability perspective. This isn't about right and wrong, social mores, what's accepted and what's not, or about tradition. The bottom line is that it's about mitigating risk from a safety angle and a litigation angle. Villages have to protect themselves, the taxpayers, and also need to be able to afford the insurance coverage they need, which includes the Fire Dept probably moreso than any other municipal agency except perhaps the Police.

This will come up again, and very likely close to home for many of us. I think its time has come. <dons PPE to protect against potential flaming>

[DMA327 12]

I definately agree with ALS and BFD, what's the point of hanging out at a firehouse when your a firefighter?.... So you can be there when there are calls and speed up your response time for your fire department and people you serve. So what the hell is the point of drinking there?...There is no point. Once you've had a drink, you're totally useless. They try to put things like pool tables, ping pong tables, and other sorts of games in a firehouse so people will be there when there's a call. If people know they just hang out there drinking, I don't think the public would like that. Beer and firefighting at any time DO NOT MIX! Nobody wants to be known as a bunch of drunks either and say "oh well we're quiting because we can drink beer in our firehouse" Leave that for a social occasion, NOT AFTER A FIRE CALL!!!!!!

There's the door... SEE YA!

[Skooter92 7]

Let's figure this one out........

Have a soda...maybe save a life....check!

Have a beer....maybe risk a life (yours, your buddy's, some poor schmuck's)..........NOT!

The right to consume alcohol in a fire house....isn't a right. It's an anachronism.

Geez, ya wanna drink in the firehouse......maybe we should also go back to rubber coats, or better still, wooden manual pumps you drag out to the scene.

[DOC22 1]

FF saves a life he's a hero too soon forgotten. FF gets drunk wrecks a vehicle kills a civilian, FF gives all of us a BIG black eye! Go figure?

[firecapt32 282]

the average fire apparatus is close to @500,000.00 if not more. The average beer is $5.00 a bottle or less. ohhlets not forget the lives on the fire apparauts how much are they worth. Any Department that allowes drinking of any kind and/or allows someone to drive , is asking for trouble

have a drink STAY HOME