Rude things said

so we all know that civs tend to say stupid things or make dumb remarks like "we shouldnt have them on the pay roll, they sit there all day"

well i want to know sometihng you remember of a bystander being either one, really dumb or two, really stupid...

we all know the most common question when on scene "is there a fire?".. no mam we just like to show our trucks off to the public,

i also want to know your responce to the people that made that comment,

mine is...
i was sitting in school and a kid said " you know, my uncle is a cheif of a police station and he told me firefighters dont ever do anything, and you know what, hes right"

my responce " thats why 343 ff died in 9/11 right? because they werent doing anything"

another was that same day, a kid said "so if that means you dont have to go to college then that means you pretty much have to be dumb to be a ff"

my responce " wow, thats one of the most idiotic things ive heard, ill tell you what.. give me your adress and when your house catches we wont even bother comeing, because us firefighters are too dumb"

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Permalink Reply by John on February 5, 2009 at 7:15pm

Haven't heard anything like that in my neck of the woods, we always get complimented here for doing such a fine job, Even by our Law Enforcement.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on February 5, 2009 at 7:19pm

Got one better than that....from one of our own to boot....We were doing a Fire stanby at a neighboring department and they got a call for EMS...all their people were at the fire and they asked if we had anyone who could help.....My Chief (no less) stated..."Take Paul, He thinks he is a f_cking Doctor anyways."...We had a few words on return to the station.....I will never respect this person again...making a smart assed statement like that to me let alone in front of another department...well what goes around comes around......I am waiting for that day....Paul.....ps...he is no longer our Chief

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Permalink Reply by Craig on February 5, 2009 at 8:18pm

most of them figure we dont know how to spell or use good grammar

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Permalink Reply by Robert on February 5, 2009 at 8:37pm

I have heard some stupid things said about us firefighters. But At the same time I have heard many a good thing and they pretty much outweigh the bad stuff. And you know what I am not in this profession for the compliments or money. Yes I like those things as well. But the biggest thing is that we help people.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on February 5, 2009 at 9:43pm

Same here, I've had cops come up and tell me that they look up to us because they could never do this job. Makes me feel good.

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Permalink Reply by Dale on February 6, 2009 at 11:42pm

i was gonna say, some cheif

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Permalink Reply by Dale on February 6, 2009 at 11:42pm

well of course, i had a girl tell me today that ff's dont make much money, that i should think about something else, its hard to explain its not about the money

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Permalink Reply by Doug on February 7, 2009 at 12:34am

I don't know if you could say this is something stupid or not, but at a fire scene once two girls standing nearby started saying out loud what a hotty I was. I don't think they realized I could hear them, because I said, "Ladies, I'm not in this for the looks." And the looks on their faces were priceless, then they got red in the face, turned away and started giggling. But, my department usually gets praise from the public, and I can't think of any specific instances where someone said something stupid or rude to us.

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Permalink Reply by Bobbie on February 7, 2009 at 1:40am

Around here Firefighters are hugely respected and appreciated. Until recently I had no clue there were those who heard such ignorant remarks. My financee, a Firefighter in another state, told me he hears negative remarks quite often---I honestly thought he was putting me on after hearing what was said. While one does not choose this profession for the money or for popularity, it still sucks when others are rude and thoughtless. Totally clueless. However, there are many of us who greatly appreciate what you do and why you do it---not only when something bad happens to us personally but ALL the time. :)

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Permalink Reply by SMOKEnPipesJim on February 7, 2009 at 2:25am

Dale, Don't get all involved or concerned about what others say, or think, In Your situation, being a student You only open yourself up to ridicule from "know it alls" its what school is all about... why being involved has its benefits in building a well rounded intelligent hands on sort of person, You will Always have to defend yourself to those who dont have any community spirit, or any number of other positives one might use to describe being part of the volunteer fire services and potential Career hopeful... As an example, I left public school middle of myJunior year due in part to issues I had with some of my buddies and our collective attendance... Anyway, I quickly found myself enrolled in My Jr year at a Catholic school, of the entire population I knew One person from grade school... anyway ( I did graduate with my class, somehow) but I was one of 3 vollie kids, Both of the other two did the whole blue light thing on they're POV's , They just couldn't fathom My not wanting to "show off " One even tryed "taunting me once " suggesting I wasn't good enough to be allowed to have a permit, after school , I took them both out to my car, and pulled out two permits one for each department I belonged to, I then explained
That, I'd rather be observed as some doofus kid driving fast, then some doofus volunteer fireman driving like a maniac, Not to say I ever really drove like an idiot, especially when responding in My car, But Ican tell you I drove a 1969 Plymouth Barracuda forumula S fastback which was one of 26 Fastback models between 68 and 69 Built, It Had a 383 cubic inch Holley 4 barrel carbs and the car was fire engine red.. I can also tell you The car was
great handling up to about 136 mph when it began to feel like it was going to liftoff... I didnt "need" extra attention if you know what I mean..

Being a member of the fire /rescue services is the the same way.. Look You don't need to even graduate to be a volunteer, youwill to geta job though, You may not NEED a college degree , But You might have to do some hunting to find a job who doesnt want you to have a degree... what "we" are expected to know is whats important
while not an electrician, you need to understand how to be safe around it, Not construction engineer, You need to be able to recognize which forms can create problems and are in danger of collapse under fire as well as other conditions, Your not a chemist, yet you will be expected to Know enough about chemical interactions and reactions with other chemicals and "outside" the lab... Doctors go to med school for a whole lot more then 6 years, and most "get lost" out in public, when a medical emergency occurs... Paramedics & Emt's well, have a lot less time in school, yet do the heavy emergency medicalwork, Out inthe field, In streets, alleyways, cold and darkness conditions most doctors would refuse towork in... I think YOU can get mydrift here, you name it and we have to know it or at least how best to deal with it often using tools the folks with years of schooling will only use in the best of conditions, or with tools we ourselves have adapted from they'res to ours.. In Todays career firehouses Its not the same as 100 years ago, we report to work , relieve our man, replacinghis gearwith our own, Change
our radio battery, Test our SCBA and Pass device, check out Oxygen and spare bottle, our Automatic defibrillator battery and pads, check to be sure we have available bagvalve masksamd spares and check the rest ofthe med bag stuff, we dealwith our accountability tags & riding lists approach the watch desk again and check watch list and do our check off lists for SCBA Check the houselogs for events while we were off , Hydrant off duty lists road closures
anticipated, then we meet in the kitchen for a cup of coffee... and Roll call 0800 and we are officially at work.. after discussing any current events and issues, The officers retire to the book room and deal w ith paperwork , the firefighters start housework, which is assigned by Riding assignment. The two engineers have apparatus andtools as well as sparevehicles, Fuel readings, The general apparatus floor and general firehouse maintenance, One guycleans the kitchen, fridges, cabinets, etc. One does theofficers rooms and bathrooms... the tow others gotthe main bathroom, showers lockerroom, bunkroom and day room.. on saturdays the grass and otheryard work naturally, runs are extra we do 1 to 2 hour of inspection eithersmoke detector surveys or training or relocations to cover companies offtraining or for maintenance at the shop... Letme tell you we dont sit around too often we grab a bite out usually since we areout and about we try to do some company drills, drivertraining, Boat training, Haz Mat decon etc. .

Far as Police Vs. Firefighters goes I know a while lot of guys who left the Police to get on the job I onlyknowone who left the FD to become a cop.. Seems to me he's just jealous That he had to spend his career sleeping in his patrol car... and all that outside overtime the cops get , having to stand up and actually direct traffic while the
water company digs holes.. .... Dale Keep in Mind that yes 343 firefighters Lost they're lives
on September 11, 2001, But, so did police and Medical personel and a few thousand civilians as well... we need to remeber them all..

Take what others say with a grain of salt, ignore the need to one up others who know they can get a rise out of you over it... I would'nt have said gimme your address....., because if anything ever happened he might accuse you of not showingup or telling the Company not to respond, when in fact, The company might have been delayed over another incident or call... Let your actions speak for you.. and show them who the better man is there's a chance That you might very well respond to a car accident, and possibly find he was involved.. Youmight choose
Not to treat him properly You might yearn to tell him I told you so... BUt you won't , You will treat him as if he were your brother , I would hope.... and prove yourself better then he...

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Permalink Reply by Rob on February 7, 2009 at 2:53am

At a house fire at which flames can still be seen from the second floor and crews are calling for a second line to the second floor:
Newspaper Reporter: Do you know what caused the fire yet?
Me: No
Reporter: Why not?
Me: Because it is still burning, I just got here, and the chief told me I had to talk to your dumb ass!
Reporter: (in a suprised tone) Oh, um I see. Can you let me know when you know?
Me: Maybe. and walked away... Have I mentioned how stupid reporters are at times.