Sam Lanier made some interesting comments:
" Hello all,
A few things! The Incident Management Teams, by no means at all, sit back and watch the fires burn, on the CalFire side I'll speak of.
The CalFire engine crews, and any firefighter who risks being gone for weeks straight while getting criticized for the life risking work they do is difficult.
Having been a CalFire Fire Captain all the way down to Firefighter, and have been a long time incident management team member, I know first had the difficult decisions made to do the greatest good for the masses.
It is CalFire Goal to extinguish every fire within the first operational period and to contain 90% of all figures to 10 acres or less.
They are "Wild" and as such, it is impossible at times to catch with the initial attack resources. It takes time to find replacement for the local fire engine covering your home town to leave Mt. Shasta and drive twelve hours to help support the fight.
CalFire Captains don't make $130k and only work 3 months padding their check books. They work year round saving people from heart attacks, vehicle accidents, cliff rescues and the multitude of other incidents CalFire is little less known for.
The upper Management at CalFire, for the most part, also came from the ground up. The job CalFire has to protect and safeguard the lives and properties of the people of California is much greater then sleeping in hotels.
They work 24 hours shifts. CalFire doesn't work 12s. In fact, they work 72 hour shifts. The difference in Feds and Calfire, the employees got together in the 70s and organized for better conditions.
They became Unionized Firefighters, which gave them benefits EVERY firefighter should have. The Feds are not classified as Firefighters in the GS Schedule, and as such, the agency doesn't compensate as they should, recognize the risk of the job the Feds do, or supply them the benefits Firefighters by law are afforded.
Sleeping in a hotel is not what you think. I the best case, it's three to four hours of sleep, mixed wit withstanding in a shower trying to get somewhat clean. Calling home having missed your daughters first day of Kindetgaryen and a pipe have broke, while the dog is in the vet, and your wife is taking care of a screaming 3 year old that just wants daddy home.
And you don't get good sleep because you did everything you could to save the 30 homes you and 5 other engines tried to save. And you are just running that loss through your mind over and over.
So while e eryone is criticizing the kids who just started this job and didn't realize how people would disrespect the, remember, they are the neighbor kid you helped raise, that is just trying to help the greater good of California and will likely die of Cancer a few years after he retires!
2 comments:
You just made a perfect example of having to call people in from 12 hours away. No air attack right away. Come on. You know there are probems.
Unions, unions, my father was a volunteer firefighter. He laid his life on the line for his neighbor's homes because he cared, not for money or benefits. Attitudes have changed and the people have changed. Just not the same. would ANY of the current firegihters in the union, do it for nothing??? I doubt it!
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