Don’t Kill a Firefighter Just Because You Are Stupid!

I have had a bad case of writers block and just haven’t been able to settle on a topic for a new post and the then rains came. Man did it rain here in Colorado for the last couple of days; it has rained on a biblical level. One area south of Colorado Springs received 9 inches of rain in four hours.

 

In addition, through all of this, I watched video after video on Facebook and local media of the devastation brought by the waters. We have been in a drought for a few years now with watering restrictions and constant warnings of how dire our water supply is. This storm won’t relieve our drought but will cause millions of dollars in damage and has already claimed three lives.

 

Having lived my entire life in Colorado Springs I recognize all the landmarks in the background of the videos but that is all I recognize. Many of the peaceful little creeks that ring my town have been transformed into actual rivers. We don’t have any rivers in Colorado Springs we have creeks generally most of these can be crossed easily by foot.

 

However, for the last few days, these creeks have been transformed into raging rivers even streets have been transformed into tributaries of our newly formed waterways and through it all, there is the ever-present fire truck. Each fire truck contains four firefighters and they have been at it for over 48 hours now.

 

Dedicated men and women that put themselves at risk for the benefit of others, which they are happy to do, in fact we live for big events like this. Each fire truck and each crew become roaming lifesavers and problem solvers. There isn’t a lot of time to react in many of the situations encountered, it is up to the company officer to make the call, and that to me is the essence of being a firefighter.

 

Sizes up a situation in seconds determine a course of action and go to work. This is the life of a firefighter; we are trained to react at with calm, safe, and educated guesses, yeah guesses. Calculated guesses based on years of experience and a Rolodex full of past outcomes. Many of the tasks that firefighters take on in these huge events are standard rescues. You see the firefighters in dry suits or turn out gear wadding through knee-deep water and carrying or leading stranded motorists to safety and the you see the incredible rescues like the one outside of Boulder Colorado. An entire span of road just dropped out from under three cars.

 

Now here is where training and practice come into play. Every year in the spring the Colorado Springs Fire Department stages swift water rescue classes. Crews are taken down to the Arkansas River, a favorite destination of tourists seek a white water thrill ride, and taught and refreshed on swift water rescue.

 

Generally a really fun day on the water and most years that is all it is a rehearsal for a date that never comes. However, the fire crews in Boulder had to use their skills to rescue three stranded and helpless citizens and what an amazing job they did. Pulling the last man out of his car just as it fell back into the water. Those kinds of rescues make it all worthwhile.

 

However, there are other rescues that occur and they are the senseless ones. These are the rescues of idiots’ people that apparently were born with no common sense whatever. These are the dolts that drive into flooded streets and think they can make it across a road that has ten, twelve inches of standing or running water on them.

 

These morons just drive right into the water believing their minivan has the miraculous ability of an amphibious Army vehicle. Oh and then the car begins to float, drift, and flood. Then this helpless twit crawls out on the hood or roof of the vehicle and screams for help. A completely unnecessary waste of resources that put firefighters and the public at risk. Firefighters lose their lives in these situations.

 

 

By Kevin Simpson
Denver Post Staff Writer

August 26, 2000– Water rescue experts nationwide contend that no amount of training or equipment could have saved Denver firefighter Robert Crump, whose spontaneous attempt to rescue a woman in swirling floodwaters cost him his life.

“I don’t think it’s possible to prepare for an improvised rescue,” says Don Cooper, deputy chief of the Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Fire Department and secretary of the National Fire Protection Association’s technical rescue committee.

Although that assessment was echoed by other authorities, the Denver Fire Department will examine the circumstances of Crump’s death and try to learn from it.

“I think everyone on the job will look at flash floods differently, look at storm drains in a different light,” says Randy Atkinson, a spokesman for the Denver Fire Department and also president of the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters.

On Aug. 17, the 37-year-old Crump and fellow firefighter Will Roberts were directing traffic during a flash flood at East 50th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard when they saw Loretta Martinez stranded and clinging to a metal post.

The two waded into the intersection to retrieve the 45-year-old woman, but Crump was pulled under by the swirling waters of a 12foot-deep culvert. Roberts guided Martinez to safety and then, with a cable tied around his waist, tried in vain to locate his partner.

Crump’s body was found six hours later in a drainage ditch two blocks away.

“When you see somebody out there, by nature you have an inherent feeling that you have the duty to respond,” says Scott Frazier, commander of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s urban search and rescue unit. “When you see somebody in trouble, it becomes your moral obligation to do something. I can’t fault them.

“I applaud them.” Cooper emphasizes that Crump’s venture into the floodwaters with his partner should not be judged as a classic “water rescue” operation. Both firefighters were sent to the scene not to perform a rescue, but to manage traffic.

So please if you find yourself in a situation where crossing a flooded road seems like your only choice, don’t do it. don’t put yourself at risk or the firefighters that come to your rescue.

 

Firefighters Only Rent Firehouses.

More and more of my firemen friends are retiring, this is the result of hiring large recruit academies in the early 80’s. I have gone to a few retirement parties to wish my friends well in retirement land and to see other retirees.

 

Retirement parties serve many different purposes outside of the larger event the retirement itself. I wasn’t going to allow my crew to have a party on my behalf for a few reasons. First because of how I came to retire, retirement wasn’t actually in my plans, in fact I left 5 years ahead of my schedule due to my alcoholism.

 

I won’t retell that whole story but suffice it to say that I showed up to work hung over smelling of alcohol and was asked to retire rather than be fired. Because of that I didn’t have a lot of pride left in at the end of my career. In fact I suffered massive guilt and shame in the end.

 

So why would anyone want to come say good bye to me? I was a drunk and got caught at work, no honor in that I told myself. I didn’t want to suffer what I had seen others go through simply because of what others thought of them. I worked with one fireman that had put in his 25 years and was going. He didn’t want a party and so we honored his request and on his last day after all that time passed quietly.

 

So quietly that the only person that did show for the non-party was a Deputy Chief and he was the operations Chief as that. The Chief rolled in on his motorcycle on a hot summer day, we were all in the kitchen having just finished lunch when he walked in. He was in street clothes and very nonchalant about his visit.

 

I offered the Chief a drink of water and after a few minutes of light banter he reached in his pocket and carelessly pulled out a small leather billfold and flipped it across the table to “Blue” the fireman that was serving his last day after 25 years and said.

“There you go Blue, congratulations.”

 

Blue picked up the small billfold and opened it, it held a small gold badge and that was that. The Chief finished his water and was gone. I thought to myself is that it? After all those years, all that hard work, that is how he was shown the door.

 

The other style of party required a facility bigger than a firehouse, it required a hotel sometimes or maybe the Elks Club. Oh and it was a big deal, dignitaries of all sort showed for these, there was much speechifying, gift giving and drinking. This type of party was usually reserved for the gold badges. You would have to of been one hell of a lowly fireman to rank a party like that.

 

So I wasn’t going to expose myself to that kind of public ridicule. I wasn’t going to let anyone kick me on the way out the door, because I knew how many people I had let down and how many people were going to be glad to see me go. I felt so worthless at the end of my career that my actions had canceled out every bit of good I had ever done.

 

I was so selfish and full of self loathing at that point I just wanted to fade away like old Blue did. What a terrible feeling that was and I remember speaking about it in an AA meeting. Following the meeting I was pulled aside by a former Army Ranger.

 

“Tim can I tell you something?” He asked.

“Sure Dave, what?” I answered.

“Well I heard what you had to say today about your retirement party and I felt compelled to say something about that. That party isn’t for you Tim. It’s for them, it’s for the people you worked with to be able to come say good bye and to honor your service.” He said.

“It will be to embarrassing Dave, nobody will come.” I said.

“That is where you are wrong Tim. The ones that love you and respect you, they will come because they remember what you have done over the years. This thing is for them and if you don’t do it you will always regret it my friend. Just my two cents worth, but if I were you, I’d do it, for them not you.” He shook my hand, winked and walked away.

 

I respect Dave immensely and so I took his advice and had a party, not for me, for them. The day of my party came and my guys at station 7 “The Hero House” were really kind and had arranged an amazing celebration for me. I sat around nervously waiting for it, to happen.

 

At the appointed time the first guest to arrive was my very first Lieutenant, he walked in the kitchen and I wondered why this guy was there, I hadn’t seen him for probably 20 years and I was just a probie for him. Why would he be there?

“Hicks Bob what are you doing here?” I asked. We had always said his name backwards Hicks Bob, instead of Bob Hicks.

“Aren’t you retiring today TimO? He asked.

“Well ya I am.” I said.

“Well that’s why I’m here for your retirement.” He said.

He came over and shook my hand and we visited for a few moments, until more and more firemen began to fill the kitchen and the whole firehouse. There were too many of them to spend a great deal of time with each one.

 

I was stunned, I really was. In my head I had expected to endure a small gathering that would have to eat too much cake and ice cream to prevent it from going to waste.

 

As I moved around and visited with so many old faces I felt like I was in a Museum of Firefighting History. There were so many greats in the crowd, the men that had “boot strapped” me through my very difficult early years. The men that had given me so much and taught me enough to stay alive.

 

I was absolutely blown away, why would these guys come for me? Then I had to think, if the best I had ever known came to wish me well maybe I wasn’t the piece of shit I viewed myself to be. Maybe I had done some good, maybe I had made a contribution to the job I loved so well.

 

I was also reminded that we only rent the firehouses we occupy during our career. We are temporary inhabitants and we will soon be forgotten it is our destiny to make room for the next batch of heroes to come and take our place. To save the next life and fight the next fire.

 

I am so glad I did it.

Waldo Canyon Fire Reignites!

As you all know Colorado Springs burned up this past summer, we suffered great loss in lives and property because of the Waldo Canyon fire. Now that some time has passed the inevitable is occurring, the search for blame, who was at fault, what went wrong, how did this happen and so on?

 

I’ll tell you how it happened; a freaking fire broke out under the very worst conditions imaginable and this event was an act of God, no human power could have stopped it. Yet some in the media in an effort to drum up business have decided now is the time to find fault and to stir up the population, time to gather up the torches and pitchforks and head for the castle.

 

A local newspaper has decided to dig up the dirt on not only the City of Colorado Springs but on the Fire Department as well, here is a link to the story if you care to read it and below is my response to the reporter Pam Zubik.

 

http://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/misfire/Content?oid=2598215

 

Very interesting article Pam. I am a retired veteran of the CSFD with 25 years on the job I can see how the strategy of using “No comment” by the top brass can be frustrating for you and we all wonder about that. Why not just answer some questions? I think the issue of liability is probably the biggest hindrance to the cooperation of any elected or appointed official.

 

After all Colorado Springs is self insured, so having to cover the huge cost of just fighting the fire were big enough, adding the possibility of a very expensive legal judgment or multiple judgments causes silence. An outside agency could possibly place “blame” on the city or on the FD, so why risk it? That would not only lead to huge costs to the city and vis-à-vis the taxpayers, but could jeopardize the careers of some highly placed people. That exposure is just too great plain and simple.

 

As to the actions of the firefighters themselves I feel as if you want to play it both ways. You indentify the heroics of the men and women that fought this fire to the point of exhaustion and collapse, yet you still pick around the edges of incompetence, in dare I say a snarly way. There is a touch of contempt in your wording and the way you select the quotes you use.

I know the vast majority of those men and women, hell I went through the recruit academy with Steve Riker in 1984 and let me tell you about those people. Even you noticed in your piece that when left in a void of leadership these people made decisive calls under enormous stress knowing that they were placing not only their colleagues at risk, but the population as well. I am sure you have put in hundreds of hours to research this story, to write, rewrite, edit, coalesce and massage it into shape.

But these men and women had seconds to react and did so with courage and sacrifice. The good old fallback position of Monday morning quarterbacking exercised by outside observers always seems to find much fault and a sparseness in the form of compliments. You haven’t even touched on the emotional damage these fine people suffered during the course of this event. Has it ever crossed your fact finding journalistic mind that what you do can be damaging to these people? Dredging it up, tearing at those scabs and pointing that finger, can reinjure people, so maybe consider that. Why would they talk to you when they can see the knife you hold behind your back?

You may have cause to judge the administration of the fire department or that of the city, but think of the line firefighter standing in that inferno risking their lives and know they did their best, they laid it out their lives that night just like their hoses, so I would ask, that you poke away at those in charge if you need to, but by God leave out the firefighters, they couldn’t have given any more.

 

Wildfire in Colorado

Colorado Springs Wildfire.

I am a Colorado Springs Wild Fire Junkie.

I have had quite a few friends ask me if I wanted to be involved in the most destructive fire in the History of Colorado and the short answer is hell yeah I wanted to be involved.

I think the feelings I had were mixed. Did I want to be working 16 hour shifts swinging a Polaski? No, I did not. Did I want to sleep in a sleeping bag on an asphalt parking lot? No once again. Did I want to choke on dirt and smoke to the point my eyes turned redder than a drunk’s on Sunday morning? No.

What did I want to be involved in then? I wanted to be involved in Tuesday night’s action, that is when I felt it. That excitement that only firefighters and junkies can know. That insane pull that something outside of you can have on you.

I was monitoring the radio transmissions of my old friends that night when 65 mile per hour winds pushed the beast down on top of them. I heard the eerie voices of men and women I know well coming from my computer.

You would have never know by listening to just their voices, what was really happening up there on the side of a mountain that night. A friend of mine from recruit academy days was the IC that night of one of the divisions that had been strategically placed in harm’s way. I listened as way old pal calmly gave reports on the fires behavior. Never a hint of what he was really seeing (we would days later know exactly what they were facing). Then I heard it, an ever subtle change in his voice that would have gone unnoticed by 99% of people.

But I heard it. His octave was up a bit and just a hint of stress, as he ordered his guys to “Bug Out”. A Bug Out in firefighter parlance means get your asses out of there and fall back to a safe distance.

And suddenly I felt like a junkie about to ring the doorbell at my dealer’s house. My mouth went dry and I rushed to my front door yanked it open and stared out at the mountain just a few miles away. Freaking smoke obscured my view. I ran back to my computer, unplugged it from the power cord and ran back outside and across the street.

I stood there staring out at the dull orange glow that was back lighting the smoke and I listened. Then I heard a voice I didn’t recognize. It was foreign to me, and I heard this man report that he was having a personal conflict with one of the IC’s Chief Schanel, my Chief for many years, and this voice said that they didn’t agree with Schanel’s decision making and that they were going to move another location.

Very strange I thought. Why would you announce over an open channel that you were having a dispute with a commanding officer and that you were not going to do what he was asking?

Then a few minutes later I heard Schanel give the command to his troops that they were going to hold the line, that they were going to make a stand and that they would not let the fire pass.

My neighbors that all know I’m former firefighter had now begun to cluster around me and watch as well. Then it hit me, these guys that were redeploying themselves didn’t live here, I don’t know where they came from or who they were, but this fire wasn’t consuming their city or their houses, no it was just a damn big scary fire and then ran.

Then I wished so hard and prayed so hard that somehow I could be magically be transported to the fire, that God would reach down his hand and pick me up and drop me right in the fire, right next to my old friends. That I could somehow replace the runners. I would have gladly stood with my old friends and fought for my city, fought for my friends, and fought that freaking fire.

But God didn’t answer my prayers. But he did answer many others. Not a single firefighter suffered an injury worth reporting, or if they had they didn’t complain about it. 80% of the homes affected were saved, and they were saved by the men and women of the firefighters that live in Colorado. Denver fire, Manitou Springs fire, Colorado Springs fire and many more I am not aware of at this writing.

One thing I know for sure is that since my retirement I have never wanted to be a firefighter again as much as I have the past week. It has been killing me to just watch. Damn I retired too soon. I will share more in the days to come.

Scumbags are robbing the homes of firefighters in Colorado while they are fighting the fires.

So can you believe this one? Criminals are targeting the homes of firefighters fighting the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs CO. for break-ins and robberies.

Is there a lower form of life than a scumbag that would rob the house of a firefighter fighting to keep them safe? This news makes me sick to my stomach. Should these dirt bags be apprehended I am struggling with ideas for a fitting punishment.

The notion of some form of burning or public flogging comes to mind. Nothing that would lead to death but defiantly something that included long periods of pain and humiliation.

Now I’m not sure if these same cockroaches are responsible for another heinous crime, but I suspect they are. The victims of the fire that had only moments to flee the raging fire were forced to grab what they could from their homes and leave.

Many have taken up residence in local hotels and motels and guess what, their vehicles are being targeted by thieves for break-ins as well. I am sure the criminal mind sees this as an amazing opportunity for reward. A reward that entitles them to a special place in hell.

I hope they enjoy the crack, heroin, crystal, or whatever it is they buy with suffering of other human beings. I also hope they overdose on it and contract HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted disease from the reckless sex they enjoy while high.

I hope they become haunted by visions of tormented souls and never rest in peace another day in their lives. I want them to have their drug addled minds filled with torment and anguish, I wish insanity and misery on their rotten souls that is assuming animals like these have souls.

I simply can’t imagine how a person could do this. I think under these circumstances that forming a vigilante group to patrol the parking lots of these hotels and motels would be a reasonable response. It would allow the victims to sleep well and would allow a properly motivated group of people the chance to break some kneecaps.

I would gladly and lightly restrain these douchbags until the proper authorities could arrive. As a retired firefighter/paramedic I would be able to keep them alive until they could be incarcerated.

This so enrages me I am beside myself with anger. I can’t put into words how this strips me to my very core, how this insights my thoughts to violence as I am not a violent man. I spent my whole career helping strangers and even sometimes friends and just have no concept of this kind of behavior. I am shaking as I write this.

I will spend some time in prayer today for my friends, the victims and the criminals.

On another note a friend I talked to today asked if my daughters might have some clothing and toys to give to a 6 year old girl that had lost everything in the fire other than the clothes on her back. Another friend mentioned that at his son’s baseball game this morning there were two little boys that couldn’t play because all of their equipment had been destroyed by fire as well.

So I thought, how can I help? I came up with an idea. On July 14 2012 I am organizing a Christmas in July toy and clothing drive for the children that have lost everything to the fire.

Many of my friends in the media are already on board to help get the word out and the idea is exploding. I will keep you all posted on the event as it advances, so stay tuned.

Maybe I can help some good to come out of this terrible fire.