Misuse of the rec room

[FFEMT150 214]

So a series of recent events have made me start to scratch my head and wonder "what the heck is going on around here?" I was raised with the old tradition of respecting others property and cleaning up after myself. There have been some recent incidents in my volunteer agencies where others have made some "messes" and forgot that their mothers aren't there to clean up after them. (this is not a dig at any one person, just a general observation so don't get upset, you know who i am talking about) Is this just a local problem I am seeing or does this happen everywhere? When I was working as a career EMT I would flip my lid if someone left a mess for me to clean. If you could find out who the slob was (and not the elusive sly little devil know as "Not Me") they would get written up and face suspension. How do you all deal with these "not mes"? What consequences (if any at all) do they face? Is anyone else tired of sitting is someone elses filth? Sorry, Just needed to vent for a min. Anyone else need to shout?

[dwcfireman 656]

This is not just a local problem. Just about every firehouse and EMS station has this problem. Sometimes its difficult to pinpoint the culprit, other times you know exactly who left the mess. One solution that my department has undertaken is the installation of security cameras. There's a camera posted at every door and in every hallway. You can't hide. When I used to live upstate the problem was so bad that the officers simply locked the rec room and no one could use it. The latter was drastic, but it was necessary.

Edited May 17, 2011 by dwcfireman

[PFDRes47cue 653]

So a series of recent events have made me start to scratch my head and wonder "what the heck is going on around here?" I was raised with the old tradition of respecting others property and cleaning up after myself. There have been some recent incidents in my volunteer agencies where others have made some "messes" and forgot that their mothers aren't there to clean up after them. (this is not a dig at any one person, just a general observation so don't get upset, you know who i am talking about) Is this just a local problem I am seeing or does this happen everywhere? When I was working as a career EMT I would flip my lid if someone left a mess for me to clean. If you could find out who the slob was (and not the elusive sly little devil know as "Not Me") they would get written up and face suspension. How do you all deal with these "not mes"? What consequences (if any at all) do they face? Is anyone else tired of sitting is someone elses filth? Sorry, Just needed to vent for a min. Anyone else need to shout?

This is definitely a problem that is found around the country. Not many people hang out at my FD back home so the issue is not really existent. When we do hang out there, we hang out in our own companies room. Our company Steward is responsible for cleaning that room but in general the members keep it tidy. The FD that I am a mutual aid member with while at school, does not have the problem either. A lot of people are always hanging out at the station but they clean up after themselves. I think a lot of this has to do with respect. If you respect the leadership and their rules, you try to keep from disrespecting them buy keeping the station clean.

Some places have a house keeping committee. This committee serves to clean the building when needed.

Don't feel alone, most places are a mess. Good luck!

EDIT: removes some info that was not totally accurate.

Edited May 17, 2011 by PFDRes47cue

[abaduck 123]

...we will download the key access log and speak with everyone who accessed the building since we last saw it clean. If no one comes forward we will suspend people...

I'm entirely sympathetic to the problem, but if an agency tried to suspend me on that basis - simply that I was one of the people who had been there in a certain time window - I would resign forthwith. You do NOT punish the innocent to get the guilty. In school I once had a teacher try to give me a punishment, as part of a class collective punishment, for something I had not done. I refused point-blank, and I both taught & learned a lesson about justice, and standing up for yourself when you know you're in the right.

Sorry, but this is a subject I've always felt strongly about.

Mike