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It is refreshing to see that the majority of posts are supportive of our Fire Services - as the wife of a firefighter, it frustrates me that there are actually people who don't support those in our community who are willing to risk their personal health and safety in order to protect ours.
These are hard-working people who, when they are stopping in at a grocery store, are getting food for their meals - hard earned meals at that. They spend the majority of their time training, maintaining the trucks and firehalls as well as being involved in the community (just to mention a few..). They don't get a prescribed lunch time where they can just step out for a minute on their own to grab a bite to eat.
There are much bigger problems in our community than asking why a firetruck is parked in front of a grocery store - stop for a minute and maybe thank them for their service instead of slamming them. Think about the risks that they face WILLINGLY for you and I - think about the families that are represented there and how that risk affects them. Be grateful that there are people out there that are willing to walk into danger just to get someone out. I am.
Sarah, I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said. You obviously have no idea of which you speak about. Yes, there is a sexual harassment case currently pending but anybody can lay a charge. It is up to the courts to decide any wrong doing. Why do you think this case has not gone to court yet? How long has it been? Why did her bigshot lawyer from Toronto drop her as a client? Could it be the one "alleging" the sexual harassment not find a lawyer due to the fact that she has no case? Just a presumption on my part. Grab some popcorn, cupcake. This is going to be epic! You and the C of W may soon learn a lesson in what goes around comes around. Don't be afraid to publicly apologise to the firefighters for your foolish "half truths, and defamation of character," when all is said and done. They are forgiving characters and will gladly accept it. You may even get one to ask you out on a date, if you're lucky!
People forget that firefighters need to eat as well. The day shifts are ten hours long. That is a long time to go without food. Firefighters don't get a lunch break where they can just leave the hall and take their own car to safeway. As for seeing the trucks driving around town. It is called driver training. How else are these guys going to learn how to drive these big trucks in tight locations. It is time to stop worring about what the firefighters do and worry about what we do ourselves. When we need them they are always there.
I find it totally unacceptable that firefighters are going through the city virtually sexually harassing women. Don't they already have a sexual harassment and discrimination case against them already? Obviously it is totally true what the female firefighter alleged. They are behaving like neanderthals and violating the human rights of women by honking and whatever other nonsense they think is ok being the manly men they are(n't). Grow up.
I bet that the emails and complaints have come from ambulance attendants trying to make themselves seem more important and smear the fire department. Do we have break periods in our jobs? Why can't the fire department as well?
First of all, we have a politician commenting on how a firefighter is going about their regular duties??? ok then.... now i don't want to poke fun at anybody, but there are a few people who think they are on top of all things in life, however i think differently. allow me to shed a light on the situation if i may, as my opinion comes from 20 yrs experience riding around town as a firefighter on fire calls, truck change overs, station cover ups, community events of all sorts including school learn not to burn programs, fun fairs, charity events of all kinds, ethnic group festivities, and many more public education events. also covering the police with assist calls( drug lab dismantles, bomb threats, etc), along with ems assists, in lifting heavy patients, rescue and extricating patients from all sorts of daily misfortunes. we drive to training sites to practice our profession, and in my department, we ARE allowed to pick up food, as long as it is on the way back from a call or training. should i be upset at anyone who thinks we should not be able to use our truck to get food?? no, i just hope the people who are in disagreement, should come by the station and have a visit. we would be happy to show you around and answer any of your questions. mayby then you will under stand that we work 10, 14, and 24 hour shifts every week, every year, over holidays like christmas, new years, thanksgiving, easter, rememberance day, family day, etc, and we don't complaim about it. imagine if your boss where you work right now told you you have to work for 14 hours, what would be your answer?? how about at your job when you work all morning and get to stop for lunch at noon.....just as soon as you get your food out and on the table, you are ready to eat....then your boss comes in and says get back to work(a fire call) how would you react to that??? think about our job, and think about yours.....not the same ehh?? not saying we are better, or you have it better, just that we have different jobs and different rules, and we as firefighters should not be compared to a politician, or any other job that is not an emergency service job. firefighters, police and ems people risk their lives for total strangers. we risk our lives to protect YOU and the ones you love. when you have time to look at how a firfighter goes about his or her job, then you do have time to waste, and on who's watch????
thank you for reading my opinon. it is not intended to harm anyone. if you want to know something, just ask.
These people put their lives on the line to save us if for some reason they are needed. If the truck is outside a grocery store (not running) and a few guys are inside together, who cares? I think there is alot more wasted money going on in this city we should be worried about rather than our first responders. So what would the outcry be like if they were late showing up to an emergency because they had to rush back to the hall to get the truck. Everybody would be whining "Why were they not prepared?" Instead of complaining when we see them at the grocery store, lets try going up to them and saying thank you. That would be a nice change in this city.
These firefighters are all over the city joyriding. I've seen them at grocery stores. at pyrogy and cabbage roll churches, shoppers drug mart, driving the biggest vehicle they have. this is ridiculous. They have a chevy suburban and their own vehicles parked at the station. These guys should get a brain!!!
It's about time someone shed light on this situation! Firefighters should have the right to go get food during their shift in a fire vehicle. They however should not be able to get a run number for doing so. This is what causes the taxpayers money. Every time a fire truck leaves the station they get a run number regardless of what they are leaving for. Funding is partly based on call volume, and getting a lunch should not generate a run number. It is not a fire call!
I think it is important to note that the purpose for the fire trucks to be at the grocery store is to buy food to prepare their meals - and they do travel to the grocery store as a crew - just in case they have a run, then they can go straight to a call. They carry a radio with them so that they can be dispatched. Often that means that groceries end up being left behind. They shop only at the stores closest to their hall so that they are still ready to respond quickly. Most of the runs to the grocery store are done after they have completed a call and are on their way back to the hall.
Well, I can see that once again the WFD is being targeted, wow shocker! It is unfortunate that the media paints our WFD with such ugly colors. Shame on the city council for spending tax payers money on such trivial issues. Just so everyone is on the same page, WFD puts in $10.00 or more of THIER OWN MONEY to purchase food for the shift. So if the issue is that they are driving the trucks to buy their groceries well, okay then...have them use thier own and when it take an additional 5 mintues to attend to a call well we can point fingers to the city council for the delay in repsonse times. Oh, and then maybe if it is one for their houses they need to attend things will be looked at differently I suppose. My final thought, if you are not educated about an issue please do your homework and for once try supporting you local emergency services, you never know when you will need them.
A concerned windsorite.
Are you people serious??? "ratepayer" is absolutely correct! I live a block away from the fire station on Lauzon Rd. Im quite certain, they are NOT "cruising the neighborhood", honestly....there MUST be something out there that will occupy your time other than following a fire truck around the city......God forbid one of you need their assistance,
Seriously.
It's sad that these cronic complainers (Coun. Al Maghnieh included) can get a nice long story in the paper when only a small fraction of the good & selfless work our Firefighters do beyond work hours does. Want to hear about misuse? These same cronic complainers are the first to dial 911 when they get the sniffles as they are too lazy to get themselves to a doctor.
Yes they shop together, the driver stays in vehicle , if there is a call they drop their groceries and go altogether. It makes sence to me also.
To WOW,
I accept the correction of paramedics - old habit about calling them attendants ;). But as to your comment about the media never covering the fact that they are waiting in the hallways for beds - your are wrong! In the last few years, your Department head or Chief ( don't know the official title) as well as the hospital director have been in both the print and tv media talking about the issue you raise of lack of beds and the ultimate result of having patients waiting with ambulance paramedics in the hallway.
The 2 situations that I speak of, when we got to the hospital there was no ambulance or stretchers in the hallways with patients. It seems to me that you are taking a situation that happens sporadically - peek times - isloated time frames and painting the whole picture with that brush. This is the same thing that this article and Al is doing.
The community needs to use common sense and realize that the unpredictable does happen and it happens with frequency. Look at the big fires, the horrible car accidents, look at the number of heart attacks or ..............
Paramedics aren't all sitting in the hospital and when they are - I'm glad the fire is also responding to the emergencies because our community needsit . We need police, fire and paramedics.
Thank you ALL for doing what YOU do for US!
ratepayer - just to clarify, they are called Paramedics and if they weren't sitting in hallways with patients waiting to get a bed they would get to your house faster. Just an FYI that the media doesn't like to write about for some reason.
I have personally seen firefighters at all the grocery stores around town, they shop in their own neighborhood and do their own cooking TO SAVE US MONEY. I have also seen the RUN out of the store responding to a call...they take their posse` with them so they don't have to go back to the station to get them while YOUR house is burning...makes scents to me!
It appears to me, that this issue is nothing more than an opportunity for AL Maghniegh to continue being in the media spotlight. It is only reasonable to expect the Firefighters to be out on the road, at the store, at the school, at the public community event or what have you, ALL together. The ability to get to the call quickly - regardless of a car accident, medical or God forbidden a fire is paramount. Maybe councilor BIG mouth should go and spend some time at the Fire Station and talk to the Firefighters and the Chief instead of yapping in the media.
All I know, is that if they show up at my house when there is an emergency, I hope that it is quickly, with all of the firefighters and all of the necessary equipment.
As for the medical calls that an earlier post mentioned, it was the fire dept that showed up first at 2 heart attack calls for my family members - alot sooner than the ambulance. I know when I call for help- I need help and quickly, it's about saving lives, not playing the political games that YOU and Al are playing.
People in our community need to remember - the professions of being a firefighter, police officer or ambulance attendant is about helping the community and if they are not busy on a certain day, then that means that our community had a good day.
Give this a rest !!!!
I agree with Dave that more ambulances and paramedics are needed but this issue today is fire fighters driving around or "cruising". I love that the public is so bothered by this; do we not have better things to be worried about? Worry about unemployment rates, closure of our local pools and libraries or food bank insufficiencies, rising hydro rates. Do you have any idea what the big-wigs that run these departments are making? (County officials, HR departments, etc.) Maybe worry more about that than if these guys and gals are going to get lunch. Stats show trucks on the road have a faster response time and yes, they all have to go together. These emergency service workers could one day be responding to my residence and god I hope they are fed so they have the stamina to put out the fire.
If my house is on fire, I would appreciate them being ready to go at a moments notice, even if it's during a grocery run. They are on the job 24/7. Maybe the city could employ people to do the groceries and other errands for these people who are risking their lives everyday for our tax dollars. FYI I think they're tax payers too.
I personally think that if they are taking the truck down to the local Timmies with a group of their co-workers than its not a big deal! At least they are all going together so that if there is an emergency call they can drop everything on the spot and respond to the call promptly!
Cut the guys some slack, they have a tough job (yes they chose it) and its not like they cruise around for long distances away from their station... I think this is no big deal! Everyone needs to get out of the "office" so as to freshen up the mind!
To the Windsor taxpayers with respects to your firefighters.
Some have quoted that they risk thier lives fighting fires. Yes that is sort of true, however the risk is a calculated one and they are generously rewarded for thier efforts. The frequency of those risks are debatedable. Considering that they work 24 hour shifts. As a taxpayer can you work your job for 24 hours straight. I think not.
Respond to medical calls. Hmmm this last election the firefighters union had actively campaigned that they should be responding to all medical emergencies (due to the lack of ambulances and paramedics) because they can save lives. A recent ONTARIO study released actually disproves this fact and suggest that they should be responding to fewer medical calls.
We don't call a plumber when we have a problem with a light switch. If the fire department are need to respond to medical calls then perhaps the problem is that More Ambulances and Paramedics are required.
I encourage all to read this report and notify your city and county councils and demand changes to the local system.
Old traditions and past practices just doesn't cut it any more.
https://emsontario.ca/cms/images/stories/Fire_PaperOct2011.pdf