Fireman_XLT
Junior Member
I am a member of an all volunteer fire department in Florida.
In June, we were dispatched to a house fire. Just prior to dispatch, our fire chief was seen at a local bar, which happens to be right next door to our fire station. Once we were dispatched, he was seen by several citizens running out of the back door of the bar and to the fire station. The chief later arrived in a fire engine (not driving) to the fire and presumably due to his impairment, began making numerous negligent judgement errors that put numerous firefighters and bystanders at risk.
Our standard practice on a house fire is to secure a water source as soon as possible, since our trucks only carry 1000 gallons of water and it takes much more than that to fight a fire. The chief ordered several firefighters not to secure a water source and as a result, a nearby home was damaged. It is also standard practice to call utilities to secure power to the affected homes to prevent firefighters or possible victims. Our chief neglected to perform this task and had his firefighters spraying water and walking through a home that was on fire and being fed live electricity. This poses a serious risk of death.
Shortly after operations began on this fire, several firefighters noticed the odor of alcohol on his breath and learned he responded from the bar. The chief was asked to leave the scene and shouted, "this is bull****, I only had one beer!"
The lieutenant on our fire department brought this to the attention to the director who oversees the county fire departments. The lieutenant told us that the director and human resources person, after consulting a labor attorney, determined that they could not terminate or demote the chief.
Other than pictures of the chief holding a shot glass, and witnesses seeing him at the bar and smelling alcohol on his breath, no other evidence has been produced to prove his was impaired.
Is this accurate? A volunteer can't be demoted or terminated for putting loves and property at risk after drinking on the job?
In June, we were dispatched to a house fire. Just prior to dispatch, our fire chief was seen at a local bar, which happens to be right next door to our fire station. Once we were dispatched, he was seen by several citizens running out of the back door of the bar and to the fire station. The chief later arrived in a fire engine (not driving) to the fire and presumably due to his impairment, began making numerous negligent judgement errors that put numerous firefighters and bystanders at risk.
Our standard practice on a house fire is to secure a water source as soon as possible, since our trucks only carry 1000 gallons of water and it takes much more than that to fight a fire. The chief ordered several firefighters not to secure a water source and as a result, a nearby home was damaged. It is also standard practice to call utilities to secure power to the affected homes to prevent firefighters or possible victims. Our chief neglected to perform this task and had his firefighters spraying water and walking through a home that was on fire and being fed live electricity. This poses a serious risk of death.
Shortly after operations began on this fire, several firefighters noticed the odor of alcohol on his breath and learned he responded from the bar. The chief was asked to leave the scene and shouted, "this is bull****, I only had one beer!"
The lieutenant on our fire department brought this to the attention to the director who oversees the county fire departments. The lieutenant told us that the director and human resources person, after consulting a labor attorney, determined that they could not terminate or demote the chief.
Other than pictures of the chief holding a shot glass, and witnesses seeing him at the bar and smelling alcohol on his breath, no other evidence has been produced to prove his was impaired.
Is this accurate? A volunteer can't be demoted or terminated for putting loves and property at risk after drinking on the job?
