The Social Network & Community JUST for Firefighters
Police rushing into the fire...glory hounds, ultimate freelancers, or what?
We all know what cops and firefighters have in common....both want to be firefighters. But at what point is it too much?
First of all, this is not to bash cops or the jobs they do, and many cops have had some great saves prior to the FD arriving. In my city, the cops somehow get dispatched to calls prior to us getting the calls, there is some stupid delay in dispatch, but that aside yes, PD do go into buildings and since they are out and about can get on scene sooner. About a month ago there was a fire where two PD officer did make some good saves and did risk their life and had a positive outcome.....Problem is I believe the coverage on these officers has turned others into glory hounds.
Here is what happened yesterday. Fire tones go off for a structure fire and a report of people still inside. This was a house in our downtown area and very close run for 2 stations. As I was pulling out of the station a cop car goes flying past the intersection...well above 60 mph in a 35 zone (discussion for another day). We made our response and maybe a few minutes from toned out to on scene. The first in pump and battalion chief arrived seconds before we did. The first in pump went in, encountered high heat in the hallway, we set up positive pressure attack. Fire was extinguished quickly and as visibilty increased the crew found a person in the bed...obvious DOA. From a fire standpoint goes, it was a room and contents, confined to the room of orgin...great stop and this was the shortest on scene time we ever had for a fatal fire.
Problem is, 2 police officers went rushing in and had to get treated for smoke inhalation. While I can see their efforts if they are on scene for awhile but we literally were pulling up on the scene when they went in. They rushed in maybe 30 seconds before we were on scene...meanwhile our 5" LDH was run over because the street wasn't closed down. (charged LDH BTW)
See the thing is, we don't rush into a domestic disturbance, altercations, weapons calls, stabbings, shootings etc until the scene was secured. In this case the cops rush in and no gun, taser, vest, cuffs or baton is going to protect you from smoke, heat and flames, this scene was not safe for them to go in, but 2 officers rushed in literally seconds before FD arrived on scene. Problem is one day we will be pulling a cop out of a fire because they just rushed in.
So at what point do you say enough is enough? We have brought this issue up before and was addressed, but since a few good saves, there seems to be more undue risk from the PD. So I know many have similar types of experiences, would you address this stuff or just let it go?Is it worth it?
First of all, this is not to bash cops or the jobs they do, and many cops have had some great saves prior to the FD arriving. In my city, the cops somehow get dispatched to calls prior to us getting the calls, there is some stupid delay in dispatch, but that aside yes, PD do go into buildings and since they are out and about can get on scene sooner. About a month ago there was a fire where two PD officer did make some good saves and did risk their life and had a positive outcome.....Problem is I believe the coverage on these officers has turned others into glory hounds.
Here is what happened yesterday. Fire tones go off for a structure fire and a report of people still inside. This was a house in our downtown area and very close run for 2 stations. As I was pulling out of the station a cop car goes flying past the intersection...well above 60 mph in a 35 zone (discussion for another day). We made our response and maybe a few minutes from toned out to on scene. The first in pump and battalion chief arrived seconds before we did. The first in pump went in, encountered high heat in the hallway, we set up positive pressure attack. Fire was extinguished quickly and as visibilty increased the crew found a person in the bed...obvious DOA. From a fire standpoint goes, it was a room and contents, confined to the room of orgin...great stop and this was the shortest on scene time we ever had for a fatal fire.
Problem is, 2 police officers went rushing in and had to get treated for smoke inhalation. While I can see their efforts if they are on scene for awhile but we literally were pulling up on the scene when they went in. They rushed in maybe 30 seconds before we were on scene...meanwhile our 5" LDH was run over because the street wasn't closed down. (charged LDH BTW)
See the thing is, we don't rush into a domestic disturbance, altercations, weapons calls, stabbings, shootings etc until the scene was secured. In this case the cops rush in and no gun, taser, vest, cuffs or baton is going to protect you from smoke, heat and flames, this scene was not safe for them to go in, but 2 officers rushed in literally seconds before FD arrived on scene. Problem is one day we will be pulling a cop out of a fire because they just rushed in.
So at what point do you say enough is enough? We have brought this issue up before and was addressed, but since a few good saves, there seems to be more undue risk from the PD. So I know many have similar types of experiences, would you address this stuff or just let it go?Is it worth it?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
-
I would agree if this were the case PRIOR to the FD arriving on scene. I disagree when such actions are taken as the FD is rolling on scene and can watch those officers running in. That I have a problem with.
-
-
Meanwhile, we sit back and wonder why the Police get the majority of public safety funding... (insert a lot of rolling eyes icons here).
Sorry Gonz, I don't see where the debates on this forum, IACOJ, Firehouse, etc have to do with PD getting the majority of funding.
The reason you see cops getting more is because that is what the public is asking for. The see crime and can fear for their safety. The see a fire and don't give a second thought to themselves.
If a neighbor's house is on fire, a homeowner will feel for them, but seldom think twice about their own home. Heck how often have you seen non-working smoke detectors, despite the reminders? Now if the neighbor's house is robbed, now the homeowner is thinking about their own security. They now want to see the cops out there and they want that police prescene. Discussing the issues we see the majority of here has nothing to do with PD getting more funding.
-
Permalink Reply by Jared Rahr on
-
Where Im at, our volunteer dept. has 1 officer who is also a full time cop. And 2 other cops in our little town have been firefighters our dept. All of these guys have been known to help out as a first on scene unit, but they also know when they cant stop the fire, they just back off and let us work. Our dept. shares a station with the police, so a good professional environment has to exist otherwise we would drive each other crazy. We bust each others balls, but when **it hits the fan, we can always count on each other.
-
Permalink Reply by FETC on
-
Come on... Glory hounding is probably the last thing on a cops mind when he rushes in.
So the apartment building is on fire next door and your off duty.... are you gonna stand there and watch because your not equipped with all your PPE and SCBA? If you rush in are you thinking... hey I am gonna be a FN hero! NOT likely. We are in the business of helping people. So if a cop gets there before the fire apparatus and leans against his cruiser, how's that gonna look to the public? Yes, I see your point about getting injured and increasing the potential hazards of our job should they get into trouble from exposure. Maybe address it Chief to Chief and suggest a fire behavior class, fire extinguisher class with discussion on toxic exposure hazards. Hello Providence has great statistics on HCN/CO exposure levels that can kill you.
We have had cops rescue civilians over ladders, (yes actually stole one from the neighbors garage) and used it to pick a couple before our 4 minute arrival. Cops are out in the streets... they sometimes hear calls before we get a 911 call. And yes I heard the whining of a crew saying we don't pull over drunk drivers... leave the fire for us mentality.
Guess what, I shook the cops hand after the fire and said congrats on a great rescue!
-
-
Come on... Glory hounding is probably the last thing on a cops mind when he rushes in.
So the apartment building is on fire next door and your off duty.... are you gonna stand there and watch because your not equipped with all your PPE and SCBA? If you rush in are you thinking... hey I am gonna be a FN hero! NOT likely. We are in the business of helping people. So if a cop gets there before the fire apparatus and leans against his cruiser, how's that gonna look to the public?
Well if that apartment building is on fire and I'm off duty...I'm not rushing into the building as the fire rigs are rolling in on the scene.....as what happened in this situation.
I wouldn't expect a cop to be leaning on his cruiser either, I would expect them to be blocking traffic and not the responding rigs to the scene.
This is not a gripe about officers doing somethingminutes before the FD is arriving on scene...the FD was a block or so away from the incident when the cops went rushing in. By a block or so away, straight down the street, because we could view the officers getting out of their cars and rushing in. So you are going to tell me that when you are off duty and that apartment next to you is on fire and you can hear the sirens and SEE the fire dept coming in...that you are going to rush into that building with no PPE?
-
Permalink Reply by Travis on
-
well i no i was just giving my opionion cops they don`t have the right stuff to go into a fire if they go in with that smoke going into there lungs and they could die right there.Cops need to be doing traffic and not doing a firefighters job if they wanna do that job so bad then they should of became a firefighter
-
Permalink Reply by Julie Williams on
-
Maybe you should also read my post on page 3.So we can't stop traffic before the police get there?Do we just let people get run over because that's their job?I've known my fair share of firefighters who have went in without proper equipment,myself included,because it was a matter of timing.We've all came up on situations when we were miles from our department and equipment,but because it's what we do,we help anyway.If the fire department is there,let them do their job.I see nothing wrong with a life being saved,regardless of the hero being a cop,a grandma,a store clerk or a frickin dog for God's sake.So you pissed everyone off and now you think if you get on here with the whole firefighters are better b.s. you'll be better accepted.To some,maybe,to others,you've pissed them off more.
-
-
sorry everything i right people get pissed off
Travis, you basically created your own hell this way and now you are finding out it isn't fun. You started threads like you think at 16 that you should be allowed to go inside a structure fire. You "thought" that a volly should NOT have to go through a training academy to be on a career dept. When replies were made, you started a volly vs career pissing match. This is all stuff you could control. You were informed about your poor grammar skills, but yet still don't try and improve them. Re-read your posts after submitting, you have 15 minutes to make changes, take advantage. You created your own stigma of some know it all kid who thinks stuff should be handed out to him.
If you want to be taken seriously, start following some of the suggestions. Work on your grammar so it doesn't look like a second grader posted here. This is not a text messaging site, you get judged fast and how you spell and word things does matter. Secondly, don't take offense to negative posts and start some issue like you did of career and volly thing. Finally, if you want to be taken more seriously....eat some humble pie and apologize to the members for your actions and that you intend to improve your attitude towards the fire service and not be some know it all because you think it should be made easier for you. Just my suggestion.
-
-
I know.Well I a bad learning problem so take it easy with my grammer.I`m also sorry that I got people pissed off at me I don`t think before i speak ok so take it easy
-
Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
-
Yeah Ralph, you would think this would be the premise of this thread, but it isn't. This isn't about cops "stealing the FF's glory" this isn't about FF's being jealous, this does come down to SAFETY....yes SAFETY...that dirty little word in the fire service.
John, when you title a thread, "Police rushing into the fire...glory hounds, ultimate freelancers, or what?", it clearly has NOTHING to do with safety. And your original thread makes no reference to safety, other than a line about smoke inhalation....
-
-
I also mentioned that one day we will be pulling a cop out because they just rushed in. The title is an eye catcher, so people read the article, because I can get wordy at times. However with some responses you can tell they only read the thread title, not the situation. The issue about safety I would think would be obvious, but maybe some need it spelled out for them. Along with the situation I mentioned how we do not rush into domestic disturbances, altercations, weapons calls etc and I mentioned I am all for an officer making such efforts if the FD is delayed. However, these guys rushed in as the FD was coming on scene, the scene was not safe for them to go into, there was no reason to when the FD is there.
© 2024 Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief.
Powered by
