I have personally be called things I wish not to repeat based on my job, how did these rumors start ? I am aware that the Fire Service is very family orientated. For fun what is the stereotype you hate the most ?
The thing I hate the most........ Full time Firefighters w thinking because they get paid and do it for a living makes them a "PROFESSIONAL" I started as a Paid Part Time Firefighter, (Volunteer) and I am still proud to say I was one! Even though I have been a full timer for 22 years. I use to fight a lot more fires in the 10 years as a volunteer, then I ever did in the same time as a full timer. The reason for that, I'm off duty alot more then I'm on duty! in a rural area where i live there are very few false alarms and very few Firefighters, so when I was on scene I was on a hose line.
At work, full time, I take my turn driving the trucks, running medical calls and most of all, false alarms. And with 80 stations in the city, the chance of being first in to a fire is very slim!
So to all you full timers out there, love your job, resect fire and belive in the fact that firefighting may be done with different techniques, but we are all firefighter! The choice of being a "PROFESSINAL" is a choice, not a position!
I have seen the enemy, and it is we. We allow pretty much anyone to be a member without insisting on real commitment. We turn a blind eye to those jollie vollies you discussed. We fight each other on standards for our industry.
We permit the shenanigans in our stations, we enable those who show up drunk on scenes, we won't push our people to set a better example in the community.
What's the stereotype I hate the most? That our job is not a profession, it's just a bunch of good ol' boys who like to hang around on the public dime and get paid to sleep. Or get paid to watch TV. Or don't get paid, but go hang out and run up and down the road, running people off of it for kicks.
If we want to shed the stereotypes, we have to rid them from our ranks.