How Bad Do You Want to Volunteer?

[NYCEMS9115]

http://www.emsworld.com/article/article.jsp?id=16493&siteSection=1

It is crazy what this guy did. I hope many are smarter than that.

[paramedicmike]

It's crazy what he did?

Try moronic. Stupid. Insane. Criminal. Irresponsible. Brainless. Half baked. Foolish. Asinine.

Take his kids. Send him to jail. Take his certs.

What a F$cktard.

[WolfmanHarris]

Leaving aside the stupidity and irresponsibility, this is the sort of incredibly warped priorities that leave one wide open to burn-out and PTSD. Work-life balance folks. If you're putting the job (paid or volunteer) ahead of your family, you need to look closely at your life before you lose it all.

[Cookie]

Idiot

[snoopy911]

Very well said DocHarris! This guy needs to check his motivation and priorities, now! Before anyone gets hurt. How ironic is it that he neglected his own children to care for someone else? I hope he learns his lesson. Thank God the children were ok. You can't take your eyes off a 2 year old for 10 seconds let alone to leave the house for the length of a call! People like that don't deserve to have the privilege of a parent.

[DwayneEMTP]

The problem is, his lawyer will turn this into, "I just love my community so much, I just have such a strong need to serve, that I forgot myself for a minute....I was just trying to help."

When the truth would read more like, "My dick is just so tiny, my self esteem so MIA, that I was willing to sacrifice my childrens safety just to pretend to be important for a few seconds...."

Pitiful.

Dwayne

[Timmy]

Coming from a smaller rural community volunteerism is a vital part of country life, not just within the fire service but right across the greater community and in all walks of life. I can certainly understand his willingness to want to help his community but leaving your kids in an unsafe manner like this just stinks, it's irresponsible, ignorant and dangerous. Certainly in my fire service we view it as only volunteering, everything else comes first (family, friends, work ect) if you cant respond then you cant respond, there is not expectation to drop everything and run, if you have time and your in the position to respond then great, your more than welcome. Certainly a situation like this would not be tolerated.

I guess coming from a smaller community were everyone knows everyone its easier to address and implement a plan when theres a fire call. We have a firefighter here who can take his kids to Mr and Mrs Jones from next door when theres a fire call and know they will be safe and well looked after. On the occasion weve had a large fire or were short on numbers the communications officer will contact the wives of the firefighters and ask them to come down to the station to look after the kids for a while, here we can secure the kids in the training room, the wives bring there kids down, they can watch DVDs on the projector screen and everyone can leave there kids at the station knowing there safe and looked after while were doing our thing at the incident.

The thing I love about being in small community is everyones wiliness to get in and help, especially recently with the catastrophic bushfires and large flooding weve enjoured, the community just pulled together so well. You can always rely on people who have no direct involvement with the fire service to be there willing to lend a hand in anyway they can, everything from the wives looking after the kids, to having meals ready for us when we return, to employers giving volunteers paid leave from work to attend the calls. Anything to make it easier for us to do our jobs, especially as we are short of volunteers.

Edited March 24, 2011 by Timmy

[Chief1C]

Several wives of the firefighters pick kids up at the station when there's a fire call, or a wreck.. One hand helping another.

[Dustdevil]

About 20 years ago, a local volly decided she'd take the infant she was babysitting with her to respond to a grass fire. They both burned to death when she crashed the grass rig. Very sad.

I don't find it particularly productive to speculate on punishment for this guy But it is absolutely necessary that he be dropped from his position for displaying a gross failure in judgement. He simply cannot be trusted anymore.

More importantly, his agency needs to assure that there is written policy against this kind of thing. If there isn't, the director also needs to be fired.

[Richard B the EMT]

Work-life balance folks. If you're putting the job (paid or volunteer) ahead of your family, you need to look closely at your life before you lose it all.

Amen to that!