Comments on: Career firefighters next Tea Party target?

By: Erosion of Political Influence | Firegeezer

Erosion of Political Influence | Firegeezer — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 11:49:27 +0000

[...] articles: December 31, 2009: Firefighter “AIG” Problem March 22, 2010: Career Firefighters Next Tea Party Target? February 03, 2009: Gilt-Edged Pensions December 30, 2008: Will You Be A Diamond or [...]

By: Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:36:04 +0000

Thanks to Mike Legeros for commenting and providing a link from Raleigh/Wake Firefighting Blog! http://legeros.com/ralwake/photos/weblog/index.php

By: MNChief

MNChief — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 04:01:47 +0000

You can't please all of the people all of the time. I like what Rick's department is doing, documenting, publicizing and educating the public and the elected officials as to what it takes to run a modern fire department. ESPECIALLY that they started BEFORE the current economic climate. Starting now opens you up to charges of doing everything you can to protect jobs, whether that's true or not. BUT, it's better to start late than never!

Rick, I'd be interested to know what the attitude of the rank and file was towards the program when it was started.

By: Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 02:36:04 +0000

Thanks to Mike Legeros for commenting and providing a link from Raleigh/Wake Firefighting Blog! http://legeros.com/ralwake/photos/weblog/index.php

By: MNChief

MNChief — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:01:47 +0000

Rick, I'd be interested to know what the attitude of the rank and file was towards the program when it was started.

By: Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:30:30 +0000

Rob, your abbreviated post here resembles a longer post on the Firefighter Nation facebook page.

Here is an extended response from both posts:

I was trying to make four points.

1) There has ALWAYS been a percent of the population that is opposed to local government, the "negative 20%" quote comes from International City/County Management Association's (ICMA) Fire and Rescue Services textbook, published in 2002.

2) Behavior of some individuals at Saturday's protest towards the elected members of Congress matches the ICMA description of the negative 20%.

3) Digital/social media has increased the reach of the negative 20% in influencing the 40% bystanders.

4) As Daniel Luechtefeld pointed out on the FFN page, echoed by topv7051 and MNChief here, municipal firefighters are encountering more criticism as the economy continues to crater.

My question is how can municipal firefighters effectively respond to questions of current practices and procedures.

Mike

By: Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:25:28 +0000

MNChief:

Thanks SO much for you post. It is very helpful.

Mike

By: topv7051

topv7051 — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:29:26 +0000

Sir,

Your answers to the questions are 100% correct, and have been used to rebut the complaints in the papers. Even when we lay out the valid reasons for our actions, we are still panned for them at a rate of 50-1. Problem is, as Bill pointed out, the people who vote are polarized into one of two camps-either fervent supporters or those that complain for the sake of complaining. We are not dealing with rational people. The complainers have an agenda, and there is nothing we can say or do to convince them that we are doing the best we can. It is getting especially nasty here in Michigan, as the decline of the auto industry has devastated our communities and turned people against each other.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:43:58 +0000

There is allot of things not understood by the public about firefighting and what goes on inside the four walls of a firehouse. With that being said our department launched a new program four years ago. We started documenting in the press everything we were doing. Classes, training, meeting, fires, equipment we use and etc. The result was a better understanding from the public. We gain more support and we able to launch a number of programs from fire safety for children and adults to more advancing schooling for our firefighters. The county, which has helped with some of our budget came to use and even said they did not realized how much it took to run, train and so forth. They ended up giving us money to purchase a newer rescue truck. All I can say it educate your public about your department. If you are a citizen and want to know what goes on call the chief or stop in and ask questions. Get to know your department and learn what you do and do not like but, most of all not matter what support your department. These will e the people supporting you if you ever have an emergency. Improvements can always be made in any department but, it can not be done with out support and understanding.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:56:01 +0000

I cannot agree more, in addition, FF-Nation needs to be careful when quoting their sources, the likes of Salon.com etc. is known to be just as partisan, extreme and hatefilled as this so-called "negative 20%" that they claim to be fighting with this posting.