You forgot to mention that shiny new Fireboat he managed to get those poor overworked boys though.

Remember when he literally played firefighter? He climbed up upon the roof of a burning building, then later took the FD's physical fitness test to deflect any criticism for a politician being allowed to do such foolish and dangerous stuff:

http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX…

wweeoooo... wwweeeeeoooo.... wwweeEEOOOOOO
WWWWEEEEEEEOOOOOOO WWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOO WWWEEEEEEEOOOOO GONK GONK GONK GONK

They are there to help you angry hippie.

This I,A is not fake.

"...a huge waste of resources to respond to minor medical emergencies..."

Like what, the gas money necessary to make the round-trip? Assuming there wasn't another, more pressing emergency happening at the same time elsewhere that simply could not end successfully without the aid of that one ambulance and that one fire truck, i don't see how there's much of a foul here. And i definitely don't see how very much money was spent/wasted.

I also have to assume that not very many of the responders were held over for some overtime because of this.

All the same, i'm definitely not familiar with the costs, etc. of taking out the vehicles and putting EMTs and firefighters into the field to diffuse a situation such as this, so i'm genuinely asking: What am i missing? Where's this "huge waste" come from?

And what if the pseudo-cop and the citizen DIDN'T "have the situation under control" like you assumed, and THAT'S why the cavalry was called in?

Maybe she had really bad heartburn.

@HiT, I'm not going to find them for you, but there have been a number of studies that question the model that the PFB operates on, namely, the investment in very expensive fire equipment that is used in normal operations for first response, when something like 90-95% of the calls that the PFB handle are medical.

There's always been an obsession with buying the latest shiny toy instead of actually thinking about the way our fire dept operates, and whether there's a better way of doing it. That's why, of course, we have a shitty (for taxpayers) pension fund for firemen. That's the operating budget, and that's no fun. Look! A fire truck! oooOOOOOooooo....

Of course, I'm down with just about any post that carries the sentiment, "Fuck Randy Leonard."

Let's see... which would you rather have happen if you were ever in medical distress: A. More people coming to help you than necessary. B. Fewer people coming to help you than necessary.

I'll hang up and wait for your answer...

"...the city of 100,000 people boasts new roads, more neighborhood sidewalks, a state-of-the-art traffic system and award-winning parks. All of it has occurred with no tax increases – even as major capital improvements have been funded."

Sandy Springs, he said, “outsources everything with the exception of public safety, mainly because of liability issues.”

“However, police officers and firefighters are on 401(k), defined contribution plans, not pension programs. The city owns no buildings – not even city hall— and little equipment, which means it doesn’t have to worry about depreciation on property or assets. So the city has no long-term liabilities.”


wnd.com/2013/08/georgia-town-offers-model-…

There is a rule of thumb some people use which is always call for the fire department even if it's a medical emergency and you're also calling for an ambulance. The reason is that apparently, police or ambulance might take their time getting to you, but the fire department is expert at getting there ASAP, and they do have the ability to deal with lots of types of medical problems -- CRP skills, carrying oxygen tanks, etc.

The Fire Department sucks at ambulance service. Firemen are clumsy, thick headed, dim witted, brutes. The private companies do an outstanding job, with compassion, sensitivity, and proper medical care.

My dearly departed great uncle was a fireman. It's a dangerous job and he went to the hospital on several different occasions for severe smoke inhalation. Nevertheless, the shift is 24 hours on / 48 hours off, and most of the time at the station is spent watching TV and eating elaborate meals. My Uncle was the cook. His mother taught him well, so they drafted him for that job at the station house. His regular gig was to steer the ladder on the tail of the truck. A few years before he retired, he was stationed at the East end of the Hawthorne bridge where he could engage in his favorite pastime; fishing. Firemen are actually sworn peace officers, and as a retiree, he was entitled to carry a concealed firearm without a special permit and he drove like Mr McGoo.

I believe there was a period when our Fire Dept, compared with othere cities roughly the same size, led the nation with the amount of guys on Medical Leave.
Then you had the stories about the Head Chef who was collecting 'Disability' and the photos in the paper of another guy on 'Disability' who was serving over in Iraq, carrying a stretcher.
Etc etc etc.
An honorable profession, but no one is seemingly keeping an eye on them for anything.

Seriously, I've called 9/11 for and ambulance and had the Fire Department show up one engine's length ahead of the ambulance. A big, fat, stupid fireman asserted jurisdiction and roughed up my friend who I found at a bus stop after suffering one of his epileptic seizures.

He had soiled himself while unconscious and the fireman didn't want to handle him too closely, so yanked him up by the arms. I protested that my friend was still recovering from very recent back surgery. The fireman replied: "I didn't do any worse to him than he did to his self, already." Then he stepped aside and let the EMTs take over.

The ambulance guys were gentle, kind, and most professional.

Screw the firemen. Those stupid pricks deserve to enter burning buildings, and nothing more. Get them the hell out of the medical field.