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Thursday, October 21, 2010
A Comment In Need Of A Post
"I love how you say firemen in the sfd are overpaid but truth be hold they are the lowest paid in the state. It's a disgrace how low the men and women get paid in that department. You are asking these men and women to place their lives in danger to save your family and personal belongings. To repay them you give them a sub par salary and benefits. Most of them have to work 2 jobs to survive. You don't call your neighbor when you are having a heart attack. You call the trained men and women of the sfd. In every other place in this state the people support the firemen and pay them a reasonable salary because they know any day they may die in the line of duty. The people of Salisbury complain and cry and shoe no support. It's no wonder why they quit and gp somewhere else. It's no wonder why these great people are disgruntled. You people are a joke and have no idea what kind of good service you have. Maybe you'll find out when your house is on fire and the sfd comes to put it out... Even yours mr albero."
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42 comments:
You stated that we are asking these men and women to put their lives on the line for us.
You are an idiot , these people applied for the job and that's the way it goes. They don't put their lives on the line for anyone. They spray a hose and get a salary for doing so. It's a job , get over it.
I know a lot of firemen and women , most are heavy drinkers. They should have ramdom drug testing and alcohol counciling . They are lazy people and need help mentally.(excluding government workers).
What good service we have? You guys are the joke , if they are paying you anything it's tooooo much!! Go on strike , nothing will change.
you should be able to get a part time job sine you only work 24 on and 72 off. What a sweet deal! I hope this new chief makes all you whine bags work like everyone else 5 days a week.Figure it up folks if they only work a day and off 3 that means they work a maximum of 91 days a year and the average person works 260. Oh and that 91 you have to deduct their sick days, vacation , and holiday time. Poor babies just get a life or real working hours like everyone else and it may even be a little safer when you go to a call.....cause I don't know how safe someone working 24 hours is in an emergency and oh if there aren't any emergencies they sleep after 11pm.WOW!!!!!!!!!!
Isn't it the city council that decides pay for fire fighters? I would love to get rid of half the beauracrats in city hall that don't do anything to earn their pay and believe me there are plenty of them, to hire more police and fire fighters and pay them all better. But when we have a city government that insists on being everything for everybody, the money runs short. I would eliminate all take home cars. I would eliminate all overtime. I would hire to cover the overtime cost. For every employee making overtime that is an apportunity to hire 1/2 of a full time employee. Many services that are paid for by city government, I would privatize. More and More public employees off of the government Teat. Taxpayers pay fewer pensions,salaries,benfits...So all of you complaining about police,firefighter,teacher pay, need to look at all the wasted money on positions that pay well but serve no purpose. Privatize MVA,Shore transit, all parking lots and meters on and on and on. Combine the City and County council. Combine city and county sheriff's department. If just one person would actually lead, we could have the best services and the best people working in them.
Well joe I'm glad to see u think you have a professianal site allowing all this bullying to the firefighters that's why I no longer read your site after this!
Police officers risk their lives, firefighters play with water.
The people who complain about fireman working 91 days a year i invite you to come take the test. Take all the training get up at 2 in the morning and see the 80 year old grandmom in full arrest and do all you can to comfort her family. Or the 20 yo who has just been shot and his whole life gone. or how about the you take a look at the cancer rate and heart attack and stroke rate for fireman. Most of us took this job because we love it yea we do make a living and some of a good one. But i didnt hear none of those fat cat politicians or people making all that money in the ninetys saying lets give them guys more money we had to fight for it.
anonymous 4:49, with all due respect, am I supposed to feel SORRY for you or the choices YOU made in YOUR life?
YOU have got to be kidding me, right?
I dont think 4:49 was asking anyone to feel sorry for him. I think he was trying to explain how some of the job is physical and some of it a mental issue. There are a lot of firemen with big egos and some that are as nice as can be. Some are in the FD for the wrong reason. They want people to think they are a hero and there are others that genuinely are there because they enjoy helping people.
They were work 91 days for 24 hours shifts which is 2184 hours per year. Normal 5-day-a week employees work 8 hours a day for 260 days which is 2080 hours per year. So that's 91 days these men aren't home sleeping in their beds or seeing their wives/husbands or kids. They have to work Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and every other holiday if it falls on their day to work which at some point it will. If it's just playing with a hose then by all means don't call 911 when your house catches on fire with your family or pets inside. Please grab your house and put out the fire. I'm NOT in the fire department of any type but it's appalling that people come on here and say these things. Men have DIED by doing performing their everyday duties that they chose YES, but if they didn't do it, who would? Who would have responded on 911 if we didn't have firefighters? We could sit here and bash police officers too if we really wanted to. No the firefighters aren't perfect, the police aren't perfect, I'm not perfect, and neither are any of you. This community is tearing itself apart by the negativity, name calling, and finger pointing. What did you do to help someone today? How did you make your community better today? Focus on something positive. Pay it forward.
Anonymous said...
.....Figure it up folks if they only work a day and off 3 that means they work a maximum of 91 days a year and the average person works 260......
3:34 PM
Guess what, I did figure it out. A 24 hour shift is 3 work days. SO... if that is the case then they work 13 more days a year then you and the average person works! (3 X 91 = 273) What an idiot you are!!
4:49 wow 91 days thats not even 1/3 of a year lol get a real job and put some hours in
The lack of support of the fire service demonstrated by the comments on this post is truly disturbing! The fire service is comprised of a body of individuals originating from many backgrounds. Some Fire/EMS personnel are unfortunately unprofessional and for example are habitual drunks... on the other hand some are the most compassionate and truly professional well trained individuals I have ever met. Whenever you have a large body of individuals you are going to have a variety in the quality of personnel. Physical fitness and drug testing would benefit the fire service. However to label the majority of firefighters as drunks is ignorant. The Salisbury Fire Dept as well as most area Fire Depts with career EMS personnel work a 24/72 schedule. This equates to three 48 hour work weeks followed by a 24 hour work week in a four week rotation. At the end of the month these individuals have worked 8 hours more than a person who has worked a four week rotation of 40 hours. Check your math before you make a post identifying your ignorance. As for sleeping on duty... of course they do... Would you really want potentially exhausted individuals providing emergency medical or fire rescue services to you? This is just part of the nature of the fire service and a 24 hour on duty rotation. This is why some jurisdictions have instituted alternate scheduling. As for these people not putting their lives on the line... Are you kidding me? I agree that the majority of EMS and Fire - Rescue calls for service can be labeled as routine and thereby non life threatening. However there are those occasions where the potential for injury or worse is present. These people signed up for the job and should be expected to do it. However questioning the bravery or heroism of that of the fire service as a whole is quite offensive and once again ignorant. Many firefighters want to jump up on some high horse and pound their chest and announce how noble they are and how dangerous the job is... Unfortunately for the fire service the ones doing this often times foster a poor image of the service. Regardless of the ignorant views displayed on this thread the US Fire Service is an overall noble organization comprised of quality people who want to have a positive impact on their community.
Most of us are simply done with the leadership of the SFD. See, Comegys, Gordo, Hoppes and we have seen enough. The over spending and the rough shod management of the department is abhorrent.
Get better leadership. Demonstrate that we should take you seriously.
Otherwise you will be judged by the leaders you have.
Gee, no wonder you don't get any support. If we give each of you a gold star will you stop your whining?
What work do they do in a 24 hour period? Eat wash dishes watch t.v.
Then they complain about getting up at 2am and doing THEIR JOB?!
Unbelievable!
Anonymous said...
Most of us are simply done with the leadership of the SFD. See, Comegys, Gordo, Hoppes and we have seen enough. The over spending and the rough shod management of the department is abhorrent.
Get better leadership. Demonstrate that we should take you seriously.
Otherwise you will be judged by the leaders you have.
7:00 PM
I agree with you on this. Don't forget to include Ireton in this mix and now his new chief Simpson! What a mess we have here.
I think Anon 3:34 PM must be one of the untrained volunteers that is not qualified enough to get a job and the Salisbury Fire Department and is jealous of them.
7:00PM-
Your post implies that the firefighters themselves have control over their leadership. Were you not aware that the mayor and city council just appointed the fire chief?? The fire fighters weren't involved at all (and neither were any of the citizens of Salisbury).
3:24PM- As far as I am aware, the days of Prohibition are over. So, a firefighter (or any other citizen for that matter) that drinks on his off duty hours is welcome to do so. It's no different then me deciding to drink myself into a stupor every night and then going to work the next morning- I'm well within my rights.
And Mr. Albero, with all due respect, I didn't get that 4:49PM was wanting sympathy. I think he was only trying to illustrate the challenges of the job. Going to the dying grandmother's home and seeing the family grieving, going to a horrific accident (especially one involving children), going to a fire scene where someone has lost their home, sentimental items, and maybe even a loved one- that is tough- even tougher than the physical work- I hope you and all your readers can get that.
3:13PM- to some it may be a job- but for many, it is not just a job- it is a family tradition, something that they've aspired to be since childhood, something that has meaning. I think what people are asking for is support. I can't imagine going to work every day, knowing that my community is hypercritical, has no awareness of what the job entails, and straight up doesn't like me. Morale has an impact on how an organization functions.
#1. Thank you annon 3:34!!
#2. Kim Larkin, Glad to see you leave! You stink up the place anyway.
#3. I have been through the training and I have been a fire fighter. Yes you have your busy days, but the majority of them you spend sleeping, watching tv, playing around, and surfing the internet.
#4. If you want to talk about not being home for several hours or not on holidays or having a long work DAY with little sleep, then first listen to a veteran. We have spent YEARS away from our family! So you missed a holiday, we miss the birth of our children (I bet you could go home for that). You talk about being away from your loved ones, at least they live in the same area in which you work (not to mention the same COUNTRY). Veterans can't "call in sick." They can't go into the station and sleep off a hangover from the night before(and still be paid for it). You get 3 days off after 24 hours, vets are lucky to get 24 hours off after 3 months.
#5. Vets, just like you, made the choice to take the job. At least you can sleep with a blanket. Vets sleep with a gun! Just ponder that before you complain about your job the next time you take the chief's car to be detailed.
Anonymous said...
4:49 wow 91 days thats not even 1/3 of a year lol get a real job and put some hours in
6:00 PM
Another idiot heard from. I am sure they put in more hours then you do. Those 91 "days" equates to 2,184 hrs. How much do you put in without overtime?
8:59 as a matter of fact I put in 70 hrs a week NO Overtime pay what do you do
Anonymous said...
8:59 as a matter of fact I put in 70 hrs a week NO Overtime pay what do you do
9:20 PM
LOSER....With a lot of mouth. No wonder you hate the paid fireman, because you can't be one.
Vetrans are why we are able to get on this forum and speak and yes they absolutely deserve every thing they get and more. You will find alot of veterans in both the police and fire service especialy in the 60 and 70s. I was not asking for your sympathy from anyone when I wrote before just for you to have a understanding. And it is hard for people to understand our profession and im fine with that. But i sure want go to the dmv and ask why do you take smoke breaks every hour when people are waiting. Or go into you office and say hey what the hell you doing sitting on your ass.
For sure the fire service usally is not seen until a emergency happens. But we are out doing training or inspections or other duties that are assinged to us.
Are there bad apples in the fire services yes a whole bunch, many are self serving ego driven people. Many of which you call out on this web site , but dont forget those guys no matter what will be there if you have an emergency and will put there differences aside to get the job done.
I am a Veteran of OIF and OEF, I am a Police officer, and I am a Volunteer Firefighter....no matter who complains on this website about jobs...there is going to be someone who seems to have the urge to downgrade them in someway. Most of you people should try a month as a soldier deployed, a firefighter, or a police officer. Then lets see if you change your outlook of some these professions.
Firefighters do what everyone else in this world has to do... Your job doesn't pay well enough either go find another, relocate or improve your education. Isn't that how other career fields do it?
Ranting about how important your job is apparently is not working
If the SFD did not insist on having the biggest overpriced toys, then maybe the city would be able to pay you more to play with those toys. And as far as the classes and training you have to go through is no different for you than any other person out here working. We all go through training and classes to ply our trade and hone our skills in our chossen fields of work.
ok 5:34 so now take ;your 2184 hours and deduct your 7 hour sleep time at nite and your nap in the afternoon, and your vacation, and your holidays, and your sick time. How much do you work. I hope this new chief puts you all on 5 days a week and makes you take call the other 16 so we do not have to pay you to sleep, watch tv, play with the internet, ride around town wasting tax payer money. And as for take the test? Please most of us have taken four years of test in college and alot of those people are medical people that actually take care of those people that you bring to the hospital. Stop your Whoa is me attitude and either stop whining or trying to make people feel sorry for you...we do appreciate your response to emergencies but there are other professions that are more dangerous and just as caring as yours. We just get sick of you using taxpayer monies without earning it. When I go to work I have to work my ENTIRE shift. Not ride or play or sleep. Hope this new chief changes this and you all are made to do the same.
Anonymous said...
If the SFD did not insist on having the biggest overpriced toys, then maybe the city would be able to pay you more to play with those toys. And as far as the classes and training you have to go through is no different for you than any other person out here working. We all go through training and classes to ply our trade and hone our skills in our chossen fields of work.
11:38 PM
The SFD did not insist on Big Toys for Big Boys. That was the work of Bill Gordo and Bubba Comegys, David See and Rick Hoppes backed by The majority of the Mare and Council including Barrie Tilghman and Jim Ireton. That's right Jim Ireton supported the wasteful spending of the Salisbury Fire Department and still does!! Please don't let Jimmie Gurl fool you.
9:58 the real loser you have no job
So Dear New Chief:
1. Get rid of Bill Gordy
2. Get rid of Rick Hoppes
3. Make 8 hour 5 day a week shifts with call
4. The State of Maryland makes their eployees take trainning on their days off...so let's do that.
5. Stop the wastefull gas all over town. They can pack their lunches or order from a delivery site.
6. Did I mention get rid of Bill Gordy and Rick Hoppes?
7. Ignore Gary Comegeys who is also in cahoots with #6.
8. And to the new chief....you need to check into who is authorizing all the car detailing. As much down time as these employees have they could do the detailing and earn their keep.
Salisbury needs a more efficient run fire dept and it is way way out of control.
To 8:39am. I'm curious as to how you would set up this new system... So you would have paid staff cover alarms for 8 hours and then what? Are these people supposed to hang out for the rest of the night for free being paid on a by call basis? Or perhaps you are implying that volunteers will handle the calls? Please elaborate.
I would like to point out that these persons do not always get to sleep for seven hours a night as stated. Especially if we are talking about Salisbury Fire Dept. In addition to this there are many professions that offer their employees paid vacation and holiday pay. Why is this supposed to be something held against these men and women?
Unfortunately there are many loud mouth non professional attitudes presented to the public by firefighters. However like stated in earlier posts some of these firefighters are well trained professionals that are in the business for the right reasons. Just like any profession there are black sheep which cast a bad light on oftentimes a honest hard working majority. I am not sure if you are disgruntled at work or are envious of a profession where those individuals are permitted down time while on the clock. If you are then take the necessary steps to change your profession. I would like to point out that most departments do not allow naps and down time until all daily duties have been completed. These usually include activities as basic apparatus maintenance and cleaning, equipment maintenance and cleaning, equipment inventory and function tests, station cleaning and maintenance, the actual taking of calls for service, associated reports resulting from calls, and so on. Every department is slightly different but you get the idea. This is in by no way a complaint. I gladly show up for work and complete my assigned duties as I signed up for the job, and likewise take advantage of downtime when it sometimes occurs.
Public funds are not just paying for these firefighters to be physically working at every moment of every shift, these funds are paying these individuals who have undergone much training to be ready at a moments notice to respond to any given alarm for the benefit of the community they are employed by. These funds are paying for a professional service that is on call 24/7. If you want to see them physically work more hours while on shift then I don't know what to tell you, call 911 more I guess.
(Just a side note I am in no way affiliated to or employed by the SFD.)
Part 1) To 8:39am. I'm curious as to how you would set up this new system... So you would have paid staff cover alarms for 8 hours and then what? Are these people supposed to hang out for the rest of the night for free being paid on a by call basis? Or perhaps you are implying that volunteers will handle the calls? Please elaborate.
I would like to point out that these persons do not always get to sleep for seven hours a night as stated. Especially if we are talking about Salisbury Fire Dept. In addition to this there are many professions that offer their employees paid vacation and holiday pay. Why is this supposed to be something held against these men and women?
Part 2) Unfortunately there are many loud mouth non professional attitudes presented to the public by firefighters. However like stated in earlier posts some of these firefighters are well trained professionals that are in the business for the right reasons. Just like any profession there are black sheep which cast a bad light on oftentimes a honest hard working majority. I am not sure if you are disgruntled at work or are envious of a profession where those individuals are permitted down time while on the clock. If you are then take the necessary steps to change your profession. I would like to point out that most departments do not allow naps and down time until all daily duties have been completed. These usually include activities as basic apparatus maintenance and cleaning, equipment maintenance and cleaning, equipment inventory and function tests, station cleaning and maintenance, the actual taking of calls for service, associated reports resulting from calls, and so on. Every department is slightly different but you get the idea. This is in by no way a complaint. I gladly show up for work and complete my assigned duties as I signed up for the job, and likewise take advantage of downtime when it sometimes occurs.
Public funds are not just paying for these firefighters to be physically working at every moment of every shift, these funds are paying these individuals who have undergone much training to be ready at a moments notice to respond to any given alarm for the benefit of the community they are employed by. These funds are paying for a professional service that is on call 24/7. If you want to see them physically work more hours while on shift then I don't know what to tell you, call 911 more I guess.
(Just a side note I am in no way affiliated to or employed by the SFD.)
Firstly what is "with call" and how do you propose this concept work? Is this concept supposed to just save money at the sacrifice of timely service? Secondly how much money in fuel are they actually wasting? I challenge you to find a single department in Maryland which requires its employees to pack all their meals and are prohibited from traveling to a restaurant or grocery store while working.
These firefighters think just because they do this job which they signed up for , they are entitled to humiliate and degrade a pizza man that was just trying to do his job while they are playing softball. They set such a great example of how a servant of the community should treat it's citizens. If they tried to do that to someone who wasnt on the clock and cant afford to lose their job, there would have been an incident for sure. If the persons involved are reading this, you know who you are and I do as well .
3:29 Most people get a 30 minute lunch and 15 min break if time permits. How are you different? I understand you take the engines cause "you might get a call" but really is there some reason you cannot take your lunch, or use the microwave or call a delivery for your food? You are on our dime when you are working, and you are on our dime I guess when you aren't working...would that be anything like abusing the system?
I have seen several fireman on the fire trucks at WaWa getting Coffee, at Rita's getting ice etc etc. That is abuse of the equipment, and taxpayers money. Are you listening new Chief?
You can have 2 8 hour shifts and rotating call of the paid firemen/ and paramedics and then vollies can do what they do now. May even rotate the vollies for a weekend shift or let them volunteer for a shift if they desire. but remember they are volunteers and it is really the paid crews responsibility to cover 8am to 12mid. Trust me it could be worked out but you got such a sweet deal with 24 on and 72 off you have plenty of excuses for not wanting to do it or thinking it would work. I guess we are just jealous that we can't sleep while getting paid, or be on the internet etc. You guys are just good at whinning...hope your next trip out (at our expense), that you can pick up some cheese to go with that whine!
joe can you move this post up in hopes the new chief can hear us the public!
I feel bad for the paid staff to the SFD. You continually criticize the "firefighters" when in reality most of the roots of your perceived problems with wasteful spending, policies, etc have to do with the fire dept leadership and the municipal leadership of the City of Salisbury. I'm glad I live in a community that generally supports its fire and EMS personnel. It's no wonder morale is low in a dept that serves an ungrateful and hyper critical population. Questions... Can these "abuses" of tax payer monies not also show up with the local Police Dept, Public Works, etc? Can the Police go pick up food while on the clock or do they have to stay in the station completing busy work as well? There is generally something positive to be said for persons providing public safety services to be out in the community and visible to the citizens. Not the case in Salisbury I take it.
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