Editorial: Real heroes don't whine about their jobs

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Taylor Armerding: Real heroes don't whine about their jobs

Taylor Armerding

Real heroes don't have an obsessive need to remind you how heroic they are.

That simple reality seems to elude too many firefighters.

FULL EDITORIAL: http://www.eagletribune.com/puopinion/loca...eyword=topstory

[SgtGumby311 0]

Read the comments under the article.....That seems to be where the real story is.

[IzzyEng4 427]

This is a hot bed up in Mass, a lot of it based on the problems facing Boston FD.

[Raz 14]

Knowing nothing about what spurred the editorial to be written, the man has some good points.

[FFPCogs 863]

Yeah that's a bit scathing to say the least. There is some truth though to the authors "opinion". His facts may be biased in terms of the actual "work" firefighters do, but to the public he probably makes perfect sense. And the public in the end pays those salaries.

I mean c'mon out on disability but able to compete in a BODYBUILDING competition..that's just an abuse no if and or buts. I understand the union's duty to protects it's members..but let's keep it within reason. In this instance what this guy did is FRAUD and seemingly illegal plain and simple, and union support of that behavior only reflects badly on the union itself. When things like this come to light no matter how rare, union officials and members must distance themselves from and correct PROVEN misconduct/illegal behavior by any of it's members from the outset. There will undoubtedly be a public backlash, and based on this guys article it has already begun, which will have unfortunate results for the stature and financial well being of career firefighters. Budgets are getting tight and if further recession fears grow are sure to get worse. Career firefighters and every other dept and board ect funded by tax dollars are going to have project a squeaky clean image as well as justify their expenses if and when fiscal dilemas arise. ANY abuses real or percieved will only hurt them in the long run and may cause long lasting negative impressions for all firefighters. We are ALL beholden to the taxpayers like it or not...so we should do our best to keep them "happy" and eliminate any further ammunition against the fire service.

Take care

and as always

Stay Safe

Cogs

[firefighter36 52]

A lot of people take the easy route and blame the departments as a whole, or the cities, who then project the problem on the unions. All professions have their bad apples, and since we are public employees, people quickly play the "I pay your salary" card. Ultimately, we all pay the price, and come under some intense scrutiny.

Obviously, we get paid for things that may happen, and we are not spending every minute of our shifts working. The public and city manager types seem to take this very personally, mostly for lack of understanding our jobs. Add in a bad employee committing blatant fraud, and well the whole thing blows up in our face. It is proven that internet use in corporate America can account for as much as 20% productivity loss. We don't see private employees' W-2s being foiled, nor do their bosses report their work habits to the news media. With the economy, we are under the microscope, and as crappy as that is, it is something we have to deal with head-on, by educating the public.

I think most of the career brothers and sisters make a fair living wage, thanks to their union. The union is able to bargain for terms of work, salary, benefits, etc. It is also there to represent an employee regarding discipline, which may in fact be making sure that they are punished fairly according to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, not to get them out of trouble without facing consequences.

Aside from non-forthcoming politicians who lay blame on us for their (mis)management of public budgets and tax dollars, we can sometimes be our own worst enemies, and our injured-bodybuilder pal from Boston is a fine example of this. I do think, however, that the reporter has little or no clue of what he firefighting business is all about, and it shows in his anti-union rhetoric and his playing of the "I play your salary" and "You sleep at work" cards. Those are two insults that I don't take personally because they show right away that the person playing them clearly lacks understanding of the mission we are tasked with.

Just my $.02

Edited August 9, 2008 by mbendel36

[gamewell45 258]

A lot of people take the easy route and blame the departments as a whole, or the cities, who then project the problem on the unions. All professions have their bad apples, and since we are public employees, people quickly play the "I pay your salary" card. Ultimately, we all pay the price, and come under some intense scrutiny.

Just my $.02

All the more reason why its important that we police our own from within our ranks, whether you are public or private sector if at all possible. The public tends to stereotype based on the actions of a few without looking at the overall picture. As some in here have suggested, image is very important when it comes to the public as in most cases, they indirectly control the purse strings.

[NWFDMedic 58]

All the more reason why its important that we police our own from within our ranks, whether you are public or private sector if at all possible. The public tends to stereotype based on the actions of a few without looking at the overall picture. As some in here have suggested, image is very important when it comes to the public as in most cases, they indirectly control the purse strings.

It's a shame that a few bad apples can ruin the bushel. Career firefighters are, for the most part, respectable and honorable men and women. Their unions are there to fight for everything they can get, that's what unions do. Unfortunately, the media doesn't help either, for career or volunteer departments. How often do you see in the news "Firefighter arrested after drinking binge"? Well you don't hear about the "Wal-Mart greeter arrested in drinking binge". If that even made the news, it would be a "local man". And if you think the fire service has cornered the market on disability, you ought to go into any local sanitation or highway department one day.

Edited August 10, 2008 by NWFDMedic

[Guest alsfirefighter]

LOL. What an article. I'm wondering if it was objective...or maybe she had a very close relationship with a firefighter that didn't go so well. She also sounds like someone who didn't look into the other complete side and the things we do put up with at multiple levels. Some things, she has great points on and some others..well I think maybe a little biased there sweetheart and I don't think they'll remind you they put their lives on the line everyday...which they actually do, fatality ratings have nothing to do with good equipment, excellent training and a plethra of other things in place to keep us out of that top 10....but I wouldn't be wanting a car fire in that town.

Find me a firefighter that calls himself a hero. In fact most that I'm friends with will tell you we aren't heroes and we don't fit the description of one. This is what we do. Heroes or oridnary people that do extraordinary things during unordinary times.

[FFPCogs 863]

It's a shame that a few bad apples can ruin the bushel. Career firefighters are, for the most part, respectable and honorable men and women. Their unions are there to fight for everything they can get, that's what unions do. Unfortunately, the media doesn't help either, for career or volunteer departments. How often do you see in the news "Firefighter arrested after drinking binge"? Well you don't hear about the "Wal-Mart greeter arrested in drinking binge". If that even made the news, it would be a "local man". And if you think the fire service has cornered the market on disability, you ought to go into any local sanitation or highway department one day.

Absolutely 100% true !!

But (yeah that damn but) because of the ingrained, hard earned and well deserved respectability that comes with the Class A FD uniform (cops and EMS too) we in the public safety services are held to a higher standard like it or not. We have chosen to become the protectors of our fellow citizens in our communities, and as such more is expected of us. When just one of those bad apples is "caught" it casts a very long shadow over the rest of us in the public eye. To the public it is assumed that all firefighters (and cops too) who work so closely together and in the case of career FFs actually live together at times, know all about each other. So when one or two do "abuse the system" it is also assumed that we all know about it and either participate ourselves, condone or ignore it. This is the perception right or wrong...which has been fed by TV and movies. It doesn't matter if it's true...it only matters that people THINK it's true.

Also as budgets get tighter at home people naturally begin to question why FFs (and cops) get paid so well when they only actually "work" a fraction of the time they are on duty. Again this is the perception....and until proven otherwise perception IS reality. The wave of respect and admiration that washed over ALL firefighters after 9/11 has long since receded. Society in general has a short memory, as the realities of their lives hit home today. Money's tight, homes foreclosed in record numbers, jobs being lost..all of these things add up to make the public scrutinize public sector and especially emergency service employees much more diligently.

All firefighters paid and volunteer know the truth and the dangers faced everyday in the fire service. We all know and respect what career FFs do to actually EARN those salaries. We also all know that abuses do occur and that 95% of the time they aren't tolerated, but that other 5% is what makes the news and determines the public's perception of us like it or not. It is up to us to change those perceptions or face the consequences of inaction.

Cogs

[NWFDMedic 58]

And on the cover of today's Times-Herald Record, the top 10 overtime earning cops in the county. I haven't seen them publish the OT pay of the county's DPW workers.

[gamewell45 258]

It's a shame that a few bad apples can ruin the bushel. Career firefighters are, for the most part, respectable and honorable men and women. Their unions are there to fight for everything they can get, that's what unions do. Unfortunately, the media doesn't help either, for career or volunteer departments. How often do you see in the news "Firefighter arrested after drinking binge"? Well you don't hear about the "Wal-Mart greeter arrested in drinking binge". If that even made the news, it would be a "local man". And if you think the fire service has cornered the market on disability, you ought to go into any local sanitation or highway department one day.

If the issue at hand helps to sell newspapers or get higher television/radio ratings, then rest be assured, its going to appear in the media whether we like it or not.