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Stereotypes
Ok we have all heard them
"Firefighters are Whores and Drunks ......"
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 ?
"Firefighters are Whores and Drunks ......"
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 ?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
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What's not to love???
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Permalink Reply by Brad MacMillan on
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being paid doesn't make you a professional........being paid makes to "career" its what you do while working that determines if you are "professional" or not
This statement here is what they should bring up to the PFFA in Arizona. The PFFA should realize that it's the amount of professionalism and training that makes a professional, not volunteer or paid. If you are paid, you are a career firefighter. that's how I always say it to my friends or acquaintances that ask. I say I'm a volunteer firefighter and that I'm trying to get onto a career department. Some of them have said, "Oh, so like a professional department?"
I respond with, "my volunteer department IS a professional department, we're only paid-per-call, but we're very professional on-scene and on-call. A career department is a full-time paid department. They are both professional."
It's all about educating the public. Resetting those stereotypes and showing them when they actually need you when they drive out to those rural areas and get into a wreck or have to run from a fire and see how professional a volunteer department is. We had a guy come up and see us 4 months after we pulled him out of a horrible wreck. He had just gotten out of the hospital that day and was barely able to walk. It's reasons like him that I KNOW we're a professional department. He remembered EVERYTHING that he heard even though he was "unresponsive" and he said that he wouldn't have had trusted himself in better hands. That is proof we are professional. Not to mention all the numerous times you see in the papers about professional firefighters and realize that the department they're talking about is volunteer.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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So then let me understand what you are saying....? You do it for the money...for the paycheck....Man you must really have no life what-so-ever.....The training hours, the long days and even shorter nights and all the hard work....just for the money....Funny most of the people I know do it for the satisfaction and the pride in doing a job that not everyone can or would do.....do you have a built in meter that tells you when you have done X amount of work and that equals your check so then you quit for the day...? Just wondered....that's all......
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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on
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hey - i was looking for those statistics - do you know who cites them? so i can find it's author. thanks.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Here in Arizona it's even official. The Professional Fire Fighters Association does not accept volunteers as members
That is most likely because this is an organization comprised of union FF's and part of the IAFF. Most states have similar organizations and they are not meant to spite volunteers, but that when first organized professional was synomous with career/paid FF. Kind of like in sports, there are professional athletes, but doesn't mean some HS kids or college can't be professional.
The Motor Vehicle Department went along with them and rescinded the privilege of paying extra for a firefighter license plate if a firefighter is only a volunteer
That one is interesting, but I suppose it depends on the logo used. If the plates have the IAFF logo or states professional FF, then that would be one thing. We have FF plates here in WI where it just states FF and any Ff can get them.
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Man you must really have no life what-so-ever.....The training hours, the long days and even shorter nights and all the hard work....just for the money....Funny most of the people I know do it for the satisfaction and the pride in doing a job that not everyone can or would do.....
Yeah, but the nice thing is after all that we sit back and say "Wow, they actually pay me to do this". :-)
do you have a built in meter that tells you when you have done X amount of work and that equals your check so then you quit for the day.
Not a built in meter, but a shift calander and the clock that tells you when you are done.....It's great.
And then sometimes there are even times they call you up and ask if you want to come in and work again and get paid even more. :-)
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Paul,
What connection are you trying to make with working for a paycheck and having "no life what-so-ever"? The paycheck provides for quite a nice life actually. (Assuming the job doesn't kill me.)
Most of the firemen I know, and me, also derive great satisfaction and pride in doing a job not everyone can do. And did I mention the part about the paycheck? You're not under the impression it's either all about the satisfaction and pride, or all about the paycheck, are you?
About the "built in meter": When one of my lieutenants relieves me at night or in the morning, that's what tells me I've done enough work. (If you can call it that). As long as I get paid, it doesn't matter.
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Permalink Reply by EngineLadder on
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John the best is when they call you while your sleeping your first day off away.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Berning on
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The Name changes, but I have worked with that person on Career and Volunteer depts both. At either dept., he/she is THE special one. You know him, he has seen everything but the wind and ridden everything but the electric chair. IT does NOT matter if you get a paycheck, IT DOES matter what your attitude is. There MAY be more of these folks in the vollie world, but the paid side tends to have too many of the "its just a paycheck" attitude types.
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So this is starting to look like a C vs V thread right now. Is it really necessary? Glorified janitor? WTF?
Oh the best one is, the big news a year or so back when they were the first in the area to have CAFS. We have had it for 10 years and they borrowed are nozzel to pratice with.
I've seen some of the same type of comments from volunteers on our local newspaper website, were it was basically animosity about the career dept being in the news when the volly depts been doing similar training for years. The PIO for the dept notified the media of this training. So really that is the key part. News media are always looking for stories and this could have been what happened with this dept here with CAFS, is it really a big deal? Perhaps try being more involved with the media etc.
As for cutting staff to buy decent equipment, that is a stupid comment. It still takes staffing to utlize that equipment, and equipment alone does not make the dept. There are plenty of depts out there that don't have CAFS or the latest and greatest, but get the job done safely and effectively. Having paid staff is not the reason for lack of or niceness of equipment, most career depts are controlled with politicians who dictate spending. Even if asking for new and better, can get shot down because the job gets done.
IMO, I would take equipment and staffing we have that gets the job done, vs newer better stuff with less people.
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Laura looks like the volunteers screwed it up back in the day in AZ
"The inception of the PFFA came about as a successor to the Arizona Sate Firemen’s Association, which was founded in 1924. The Firemen’s Association was headed up by then Tucson Chief, Joseph Roberts. Interestingly enough, activists in that original organization were mostly Chiefs and the organization was open to all Fire Fighters, Professional and volunteer. One key activist in the AFSA was Phoenix Deputy Chief, Jake Siken.
During the 1960’s a divide emerged between the career and the volunteer Fire Fighters. The volunteers wanted to focus on fraternal activities and remain out of the political fray. Career Fire Fighters wished to get more political and fight for hours reductions and a retirement system.
In 1967 the inevitable came and the career Fire Fighters formed the PFFA. The first convention of the PFFA was held in Tempe in October of that year. The first Fire Fighters to come to the convention came from Flagstaff, Glendale, Phoenix, Prescott, Tucson, Yuma and Tempe. The primary focus of the first convention was to ratify a constitution and bylaws. A unique provision of the initial constitution required that the PFFA President and Secretary/Treasurer come from the same Local. Therefore at this first convention, Walt Torgerson from Tempe was nominated by the Phoenix President, Paul Sanders and ultimately became our first PFFA President. Sylvester Anderson of Tempe was elected as our first PFFA Secretary/Treasurer." http://www.pffaz.org/pages/history.html
If you want you tags so bad for your car start a Volunteer FireFighters Association and have your own tag made. And the reason The Professional Fire Fighters Association does not accept volunteers is because there are IAFF as in Union.
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John that's why I bowed out.....I don't get into the C vs V crap....we all do the job that was handed to us the best we can.........with what we have available. Hell the fire doesn't know the difference......it will kick our asses anyways if given the chance.
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