D.C. Firefighters to patrol high crime areas....

[SIGguy229]

So whats so wrong with this? Yes I know that fireman are not cops and they should not be acting like cops but what is wrong with having them cruise the streets in there rigs making there presence known. Just having witnesses around deters crime and having witnesses around with radio's going directly to dispatch is going to help a little. Seams like a lot better option then them setting in the fire house doing busy work or nothing at all. Hell they go into these areas if they get a call and most there calls probably come from these places so they are just that much closer anyway.

Have you been to D.C.? I'm talking about the places that aren't on the sightseeing tour. I have. Those firetrucks will attract bullets...so why would you use a screwdriver for a hammer? The same principle applies--use the tools for how they are designed...otherwise you will break them and not be able to use them again (like when the firefighters get injured or killed doing a job they should not be doing).

They will not respond to a "shots fired" call even if they are one block away--they will wait until D.C. Metro arrives (en masse) and secures the scene. Then the unarmed firefighters/EMS personnel will move in to render aid.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[mcp1810]

And I used to think Marion Barry was the worst mayor anyone could have. I stand corrected.

[Maverickx50]

Great to see how well their gun control laws are going for them.

[foxytwo]

This is the kind of thinking that local, state and federal governments hand to us and call it necessary, or for our own good.

[kb2wji]

"Although not ideally suited for high speed pursuit, this heroic fire fighter was able to P.I.T. the evading felon's vehicle, ending what possibly could have been a police matter....back to you in the studio"

[dukalmighty]

If It's a "Uniform" Presence they are looking for they might look into seeing if the Cub Scouts,Boy Scouts,Brownies,and Girl Scouts would like to get involved

[Guantes]

I expect to see more of this kind of misguided actions.

[Old School]

Maybe we could bring our military home from around the world, let them cycle back into civilian life, take the money we were spending in these foreign countries, put it into hiring more state, county and local law enforcement officers ( prior military types make good cops) to deal with the problems here in this country and get back to America first.

[64zebra]

Originally Posted by muddy View Post
So whats so wrong with this? Yes I know that fireman are not cops and they should not be acting like cops but what is wrong with having them cruise the streets in there rigs making there presence known. Just having witnesses around deters crime and having witnesses around with radio's going directly to dispatch is going to help a little. Seams like a lot better option then them setting in the fire house doing busy work or nothing at all. Hell they go into these areas if they get a call and most there calls probably come from these places so they are just that much closer anyway.

Have you been to D.C.? I'm talking about the places that aren't on the sightseeing tour. I have. Those firetrucks will attract bullets...so why would you use a screwdriver for a hammer? The same principle applies--use the tools for how they are designed...otherwise you will break them and not be able to use them again (like when the firefighters get injured or killed doing a job they should not be doing).

They will not respond to a "shots fired" call even if they are one block away--they will wait until D.C. Metro arrives (en masse) and secures the scene. Then the unarmed firefighters/EMS personnel will move in to render aid.

yeah Sig, exactly what I was about to type. They don't go into crime scenes while they're unarmed because of the danger factor, so lets put 'em out there doing recon while unarmed with their radios to scream for help when the shooting starts. I'm not saying firefighters can't handle their own physically, on the contrary. I've had their assistance in some fights, but there is a big difference between the 2 jobs and just because someone is wearing a shirt/hat with a logo and is in a vehicle with lights on top doesn't mean some gang banger is going to put his guns away and go home for the night when he sees them.

I've never seen or heard a dirtbag say "oh crap its the fire department, RUN", especially not a felon, gang banger, dirtbag that is doing their thang in DC.

The tools that came up with this idea need to be put on a street corner with a radio, unarmed and do recon.

....and lets talk about a $300,000 (yes they cost that much) fire truck getting riddled with bullets....real brilliant when the taxpayers gotta foot the bill for that repair job because you want them to be parakeets in the coal mine

[Chevy-SS]

This is what happens when you start running out of money. You gotta cut back. It's happening all over the country. Police and firefighter unions have done such a good job garnering ever-increasing pay and benefits, that cities and towns are being forced to take extreme measures to try and cover those exorbitant costs.

Get used to this kind of 'solution'. Everyone can yell and scream about "public safety" all they want. But we can no longer afford to pay. Cities, towns and states are flat broke.......

-

[kb2wji]

This is what happens when you start running out of money. You gotta cut back. It's happening all over the country. Police and firefighter unions have done such a good job garnering ever-increasing pay and benefits, that cities and towns are being forced to take extreme measures to try and cover those exorbitant costs.

Get used to this kind of 'solution'. Everyone can yell and scream about "public safety" all they want. But we can no longer afford to pay. Cities, towns and states are flat broke.......

-

While in some cases this may be true, in many cases its quite the opposite. Many jurisdictions in my area have gone the other route. I know a few departments that took a pay cut. My own department has stopped paying overtime, and is now charging us $.30/mile to drive our cars home (if we choose). "Ever increasing pay and benefits"? Not quite. The cost of our benefits has gone up every year, and the quality of coverage has gone down. I dont think its fair to state that the police and fire departments are why cities and towns need to take "extreme measures to try and cover the exorbitant costs". Just as an example, my city recently had an audit done. Turns out our department gets paid 34% less than we should for a city / dept of this size. Police and fire departments do usually take the largest chunk out of a cities budget, but it wouldnt sting so much if there wasnt an enormous amount of waste in other area's.

[obxned]

So after a couple of hours on one fire, followed by a few hours of clean up and prep for the next fire, these guys need to go out and fight crime? This is great - when my house catches fire I really want firefighters who are half starved and sleep deprived to come to my aid. Yup, that will really work out well.

[SIXTO]

This is what happens when you start running out of money. You gotta cut back. It's happening all over the country. Police and firefighter unions have done such a good job garnering ever-increasing pay and benefits, that cities and towns are being forced to take extreme measures to try and cover those exorbitant costs.

Get used to this kind of 'solution'. Everyone can yell and scream about "public safety" all they want. But we can no longer afford to pay. Cities, towns and states are flat broke.......

-

That is such a load of crap. It isn't the police and firemen that broke the American back. Most are trying to maintain what they already have, nobody is gaining anything right now. Want to talk about my 10k health insurance deductible? How about that awesome pension I have? ( it really is pretty good, but I pay for it myself) How about me not eligible of social security benefits?

People have been buying the load of crap from the tea party, whom I supported at first, until they started slinging lies and gross misconceptions much like the party of jackasses.

Yes, cities and towns are going broke. No doubt about it. Look towards the elected officials and their pet projects. Take a look at social and entitlement programs. Stop blaming major and fundamental budgetary pit falls on the pee on beat cop or fireman. In fact, stop blaming it on their unions. There are two parties that sign every contract.

All that is of no matter. This story isnt about budgets or saving money. DC still has plenty, like everywhere else, their management and elected leaders are incompetent.

[Sig 210]

People have been buying the load of crap from the tea party, whom I supported at first, until they started slinging lies and gross misconceptions much like the party of jackasses.

Yes, cities and towns are going broke. No doubt about it. Look towards the elected officials and their pet projects. Take a look at social and entitlement programs. Stop blaming major and fundamental budgetary pit falls on the pee on beat cop or fireman. In fact, stop blaming it on their unions. There are two parties that sign every contract.

Bingo, Sixto.

The far outers insist that 12 percent of the workers in the US can bankrupt the cities, counties, states and nation. It's all distortions and lies.

This story isnt about budgets or saving money. DC still has plenty, like everywhere else, their management and elected leaders are incompetent.

Spot on.

[Secret Spuk]

This is what happens when you start running out of money. You gotta cut back. It's happening all over the country. Police and firefighter unions have done such a good job garnering ever-increasing pay and benefits, that cities and towns are being forced to take extreme measures to try and cover those exorbitant costs.

Get used to this kind of 'solution'. Everyone can yell and scream about "public safety" all they want. But we can no longer afford to pay. Cities, towns and states are flat broke.......

-

Chevy... my friend...

This is not about money. This is about management... Well let me take that back. It is about money, but not the lack of it. It's about getting more funding to fight the crime problem that is a result of poor management.

There is a known fact... proven by the knapp comission in NYC. If you pay the police low wages you will akways end up with a corrupt police department. If a man or woman is willing to fight the ill's of society, place themselves in harms way, risk death and desease and injury, sacrifice those holydays everyone enjoys so much, in sum and substance do the dirty work that most people cant, wont, or are afraid to do. Why would you not want to pay them a decent wage, and benifits? Why would you not want to take care of them when their usefull years are gone?.. We do it for solders dont we? I am personally tired of hearing about overpaid teachers, policemen, firefighters, and Emergency medical personel. Were would we be without them?

OK Back on subject now. sorry for the rant. In my humble opinion... the level of crime in the most patrolled city in the world. The city with more police departments than any other in the country. One of the smallest cities in the country. The high crime level is not by happenstance, or poor planning. I believe it's mearly a tool for funding. Desperation moves like putting firemen on patrol is just for show, and a talking point for getting more funding. The horror of this foolishness is a firefighter may be injured or worse for political reasons. And in my opinion a politician wouldnt make a pimple of a firefighters a$$.

Crime has become a business. Crime has become a legitimate growth industry. While there are many business's making huge profit from crime, ultimately it's the police who are responsible for controlling the level of crime. The police are mostly controlled by local politics. And we all know that politicians would never ever aid, or insure that big business makes a big a profit as possible.

In my mind the scary part is the discussions of allowing private firms to do limited policing as they already have in the corrections field.

OK I'm way of topic here... sorry... But Crime can be controlled, it can be tamed, it's not nearly as big a chore as it's being made out to be.

Spuk!