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Permalink Reply by Nursenancy911 on March 22, 2009 at 11:01pm

Some people are wired differently and have a desperate need for adrenalin. Most of us can control it but there people out there like this guy who should have never been a fire fighter. There is no way to justify or explain.

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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on March 22, 2009 at 11:06pm

I hope that this "alleged" POS is convicted of the charge and never sees the light of day again.
Think about it: what comes to mind when you see AIG? Bailout? Illegal alien?
People have defined their image of it.
Unfortunately, when a story such as a firefighter setting a fire goes out as an AP wire story, the public sees THAT and form their opinions. The entire fire service comes under their critical eye and their criticisms.
Ben: I agree to a point.
However; Caleb Lacey, the 19 year old volunteer firefighter that is charged with this crime is a member of the fire service until he is removed (most likely) from his fire department.
And THAT is the atypical profile that we will have to fight off as we battle for funding and public support.
And that is all too sad.
A small percentage destroys the greater good.
TCSS.
Art

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Travis on March 22, 2009 at 11:38pm

we dont want this guys genes in the pool

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Permalink Reply by rick on March 23, 2009 at 12:11am

one person makes us all look bad they need to put him in a burning building and let him feel what those people felt
god bless there familys

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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on March 23, 2009 at 11:58am

There is a similar discussion about this going on here: http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/we-need-to-stop-the-h...

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Permalink Reply by Jake Fireman on March 23, 2009 at 12:18pm

Hey this guy is NOT a firefighter and not part of the brotherhood...at least not the brotherhood that I am in. And as someone stated, he will live the rest of his days in prison...Ill bet not as a hero of any stature. Ahhhhhh the "gene" pool .. if only we could control that!

Damnthing....excellent idea about writing a one page (or more) essay on why you want the job!!! I like the part about writing correctly even more. For those who disagree...sorry! But the fact is that I want people who can write in a professional ,well thought out manner, using good grammer to work with me. I correct so many reports that I feel like I'm a high school english teacher at times. It does matter! Far beyond the usual "legal" document aspect. I've had candidates on oral panels that told me they wanted to be a firefighter for the following reasons:
Cool job
Good days off
People respect you
Women like a guy in uniform
It's in my blood (my favorite, as if they were given a certain status because a family member is in the fire service)
I heard the announcement on the radio and it sounded good
I'm tired of the job I have
I'm unemployed and this sounded good
I can take a lot of pain (?????)
My mom wanted me to try out (?????)
My girfriend wants me to be a firefighter

I received a request for a day off memo the other day that went like this:

Capain:

I resectfuly request next monday of for personnel reasons.

FF bla bla

I dont know what rank Capain is. I've never heard of resectfuy. Monday should be capitalized, and I think he meant personal unless he is going to HR for some reason and needs the day off.

hmmmm. not a hero! ( sorry I couldn't help myself)

OK OK OK I'm off the soap box now.

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Permalink Reply by John Schander on March 23, 2009 at 12:19pm

I'm sure that this idiot showed some kind of signs that he was capable of this crap, I guess nobody saw them. It's like when somebody commits suicide, and after people realize that they didn't know what they were seeing. I know from personal experience. I was running a county wide arson teamand I had a member who was a little too interested in how fires got started. I booted his butt, and later he was convicted of starting fires in the next county over. He didn't kill anyone but he did alot of damage. Unfortunately as long as we do this work we are going to have idiots that pull this crap,and people will look at us differently. The only thing we can do is to watch out for the ones who are always first on the scene, at the station, or in the "area" when the call goes out, and watch out for the ones that are always talking about wanting to make a grab, like their life depended on it.I'm not saying that his dept members are to blame and that they should have been able to stop him. I just wanted to relate my experience and to let everyone know that alot of times these guys show some of these signs and we can help stop this if we know what we are seeing.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on March 23, 2009 at 10:05pm

I guess I forgot to address one more thing; who is responsible for policing this?

WE ARE! First we talk to them, then we document that we talked to them once or twice, then it is time for suspension/fines.

Everybody has to play their part. Peers need to report wrong/inappropriate conduct. Supervisors need to document the conduct, and managers need to be ready to take the punitive action to correct/ rehabilitate the individual.

Damned soap box. It jumps under my feet at the oddest moments. Once again family, be safe... wear the seat belts.

Mike

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Permalink Reply by Nursenancy911 on March 20, 2010 at 1:55am

Some people are wired differently. As a volunteer, this guy doesn't have the psych screening that might have caught it.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on March 20, 2010 at 2:22am

I know this is a late response, but the post was reactivated by someone... Anyway, was wondering what you based your statement on, "most ppl that set fires are firemen and it is sad...". I would be willing to bet that there are more pissed off women who have a grudge against someone they are involved that ends up in their using arson to express themselves... While there may be a percentage of sick folks out there who are attracted to fire and manage to get into the fire service. This is why the larger departments have their candidate undergo intensive psychological testing to ensure that the individual does not have... issues. I am under the impression that this individual was working as a volunteer firefighter and as such, was exempt from any kind of mental stability evaluation process.

CBz

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Permalink Reply by J. D. Rinard on March 21, 2010 at 7:12am

Sad indeed!

Be trainable and stay safe out there,
J.D.

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