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Post by wilum47 on May 15, 2008 6:56:24 GMT -5
Dan,
No offense taken Not the least. I understood the point you were making and it would be a typical excuse the bureaucrats would use.
I'm one of those guys that just love taking advantage of "What you mean" sarcasms as you get to know me. Besides, it gave me a chance to brag about Maynard, not the heritage of Keg chuggers Clipper remembers us as. Errr.............. not to say we don't get thirsty once in a while.
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Post by Clipper on May 15, 2008 8:47:49 GMT -5
Well Willum, the days of the keg chuggers is gone, with the evolution of all the training necessary to be a volunteer firefighter. Not that there is not still plenty of beer drinking in most firehouses, but it has become a much more "professional" atmosphere with the strides made in methodology, and equipment used to fight fire.
I had been a volunteer for several years before becoming a professional firefighter. I was trained to get the truck to the fire, engage the pump and throttle up the engine. At that time, my experience with hydraulics and pressures was simple. You cranked up the throttle and pump until the firefighter at the nozzle started to lift off the ground, and then throttled back until his toes touched the ground, haha.
With the advent of larger diameter hoses, higher output pumps and increased volume flows, the necessity to know more about flow and friction loss, has become paramount to operating the pumpers.
In all honesty, the only major difference between a professional firefighter, and a volunteer firefighter, is the pay. NFPA, the state, and insurance companies have raised the training requirements to a point where volunteering with a fire department, takes a significant dedication of time for training and certification. God bless ALL firefighters, and especially the unselfish volunteers who do it for free.
As a former EMT instructor, and both volunteer and professional firefighter, I respect those that take the time to serve their communities. I myself, let my EMT certification drop, and quit teaching the course when the hours involved got to be more than I could comfortably fit into my life.
As far as insurance ratings, in many cases the only difference in ratings, as determined by fire service available, is not volunteer vs. paid, as much as it is response time, and distance to the nearest fire station.
I know from experience, having taught a Red Cross Advanced First Aid course and EMT courses to members of both Frankfort Center, and Maynard, while teaching at BOCES, that BOTH departments are much more than beer drinking "good ole boys". They take their responsibility seriously, and dedicate themselves to the safety of their communities.
When one thinks of a volunteer firefighter, think of the one standing in the wind and rain, at 3AM, extricating someone from an auto accident, and providing them with emergency care. Don't envision the volunteer firefighter as the one that you see once a year, in the beer tent at the field days, with his parade uniform on. Field days serve two purposes. They provide much needed financial help to the department budget, and they give the firefighters ONE WEEKEND a year to be recognized and to have fun with other departments and their families. A small price to be paid for the service they provide.
God bless ALL firefighters and EMT's, both paid and volunteer.
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Post by dan on May 15, 2008 20:35:00 GMT -5
Thank you for the very fine words Clipper. Your assessment of the training and dedication that is necessary for both volunteers and professionals is right on. Now, not to beat a dead horse but....... I was just informed that a Frankfort town councilman that has been fighting this for quite a while has been trying to get an audience with Picentie. He has been calling his office for days and not getting a callback. He showed up at Picenties office today and got to talk with him. Picentie got rattled and rushed him out saying that this is the first that he has heard that Herkimer County is against this annexation. Yeah right........ I find it hard to believe that he hasn't read a paper or talked to a human being in 3 years. He did get elected by someone, right?
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Post by Clipper on May 15, 2008 21:25:50 GMT -5
Well Dan, I am not familiar with this particular issue, and can't speak to it from an informed position, so I will sit back and read. I simply wanted to clarify for our members the amount of dedication and training required to be a vollie, and the fact that the capability of a volunteer is far from being simply a good old boy that like his beer.
I also want to compliment all of you posting to this thread. As Dave pointed out to me earlier, it has been very civil, although opinions differed widely.
This forum has been very civilized and courteous, with few exceptions. I have been one of the exceptions, and can learn from you guys. So far the biggest upset has been between me and Thelma. I am sorry for my part in that mess.
I read on the Topix Utica forum everyday. It gets really wild and ignorant on that site. Hell, our Bristol Topix page is nothing like that. Even Rome is much more civilized than Utica. I thought the OD forums got crazy and bad, but topix has it beat 10 times over.
I really appreciate the civility and respect that everyone on here has for the other. There was a thread on Topix about the OD forum users "following their leader to Clipper's corner". Well, I could not determine whether it was written in sarcasm or not, but no matter how anyone got here, I am glad we are all here and all together. I don't consider myself any kind of leader. My temper and lack of tolerance for ignorance makes me a poor choice to lead anything.
Once again, I just thank you guys all for making this forum as fun and informative as it is. It is the highlight of my day to read your posts and to chat back and forth.
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Post by dan on May 15, 2008 21:32:49 GMT -5
Well thanks again for the compliment Clipper. I think civility breeds civility, and whether you know it or not I have held you up as a GOOD example of how to moderate. I was going to bring up the asskicking I took on topix, but you beat me to it. :-)
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