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Comment by Paul Montpetit on March 21, 2010 at 2:58pm

Don't beat yourself down...we are all human and I am sure that what could be done...was done...remember sometimes you are the hammer and other times you will be the nail....we had a report of a "grass fire" on friday...when we pulled around the corner from the Firehouse all we could see in the sky was thick black smoke...what was a grass fire was now a barn fire....8 hours later we were back at the station....Hang in there....Stay safe.......Paul

Comment by Eric Laroche on March 20, 2010 at 5:42pm

Hi Selena, I Just like Brian, I come from a small "part time" dept in Canada too. And it happens quite often we respond to places we know people. No matters if they are friends, co-workers or customers we often know them before we meet them at the scene. In some cases it might get you to act better some other times, it might get you in some emotionnal state wich gets you "out of the game".

I agree with Brian You didn't start the fire, and I'm pretty sure you did all you can to prevent this situation to get worse. It takes only one blow for wind to set the fire to something else. If your a firfighter, I think you may have no reason to fell guilty. If you are an officer, only you know if you took actions that led to that situation.

you posted very few details for us to give you tracks on how to improve your department. But I'll speak about my experience. Throughout 15+ years in a fire service I can tell you we were underfunded for many years. since about 5 years, city council gave us about everything we asked for. We now have more equipment and guys are giving more efforts to the department since they feel it matters to someone.

Also, I know what it means to lose everything in a fire. Because I did. Because of a bad decision of an officer, who told my mother to just open the windows and vent the house and everything would be fine. Less than an hour later, they were coming back. 26 years later, Every time the bell rings, I rush out here and I do, just like you, my very best to prevent that the history repeats.

Brian is right, you can't save them all. Maybe there's still things you can do for this event not to be a failure. Be proud of what you do/did. And again don't listen to the bad comments, use your time to improve if needed, not to feel bad for some mad people...

Comment by Sally on March 18, 2010 at 9:20am

Make sure she's contacted the Red Cross. They can help her get food, clothing, housing, furniture, etc. Seriously, make sure that's the first call she makes today after she contacts her insurance company. She doesn't have to pay any of it back to the Red Cross.

Comment by Brian Mackie on March 18, 2010 at 8:53am

Hi Selena
Firstly, sorry for your friend's loss. Remember, it could always have been worse. Things happen, and I am sure, while maybe a little guilty, should not feel you let them down. Response times are what they are. Unless you can change the way your dept. responds, the fact remains that you still have to go to the station and get dressed and wait for enough people to get there and then head out.
Lots can happen in that time. Wind speed and direction, how much fire load there was, (did you friend keep the property neat and tidy, or were there lots of stuff laying around close to the house)

I am sure if you posted some of your specific concerns, people at this site are here to help. Thats what we do. Since I dont know the situation, I can only assume that you folks did all that you could with what you have. You didn't start the fire. Don't expect to save everything every single time. That simply won't happen. Let me know if you need to yap or vent. I certainly know the feeling, coming from a small town fire dept. too. (in canada by the way lol )
OH, and I suspect that you might hear silly or insulting comments from the public. While sometimes tough to do, let it slip right back off. Never wear those kind of comments k. They simply DO NO KNOW. Good luck k