Arlington County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association - Local 2800 IAFF
Read this below, then follow the link to the full article. I will let you draw your own conclusions. I think I have offered enough opinion by now. I will entertain comments.
Arlington County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association - Local 2800 IAFF:
Arlington County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association - Local 2800 IAFF:
The underlying message in this inquiry is that EMS has to be made a better place to work so that firefighters want to work there. The current mentality of requiring personnel to go to EMS school is a concept that has been tried before and failed miserably. All indications are that the current requirement is also failing miserably. Not only are new firefighters not being allowed adequate time to learn the job of a firefighter (thereby compromising service delivery on the suppression side), they are simply tolerating a two year mandatory stop over in EMS. Obviously, that mind set lends itself towards compromised EMS service delivery. People become firefighters because they really want to do the job. You need to create a system that will create that same desire towards EMS. Mandatory assignment to EMS is a poor policy that compromises both fire suppression and EMS service delivery! (Read More)
4 comments:
Rhett, That letter is almost 4 years old. How was it recieved? What has happened since then? Were any changes made as a result?
I am looking into any changes this letter might have provoked. I shared it because I thought it gave insite on what another department was going through. A lot of what was in the letter is applicable to Roanoke.
The reality is that there has been a tremendous need for ems over the last 10 years. The majority of 911 calls are ems related. The public sector is oblivious to the staffing issues or the morale of these responding men and women. They only know or perhaps only "care" that when they call 911 there is a response. The days of being a firefighter, Just a firefighter are over. The argument can be made that the "paramedic/firefighter" has just as much right to learn the firefighter job as well as what they have been schooled in. The only way to do that is time on apparatus. As long as you live in a free America and you are not forced to come to work at gunpoint and you recieve a paycheck for your time. I say quit the crying and start to educate the citizens and just do your job or go find another career. In the meantime Thanks for all you do, and may GOD bless each of you and your family. Peace
Thanks for your comments. I hope you do not misunderstand me. I am not ani-EMS. I was hired by the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department. My points are that the department is still adjusting to a merge which happened 11 years ago. It appeared as though Arlington went through similar issues. We all love our jobs. Otherwise we wouldn't do it. I use my captive audience as a sounding board for thoughts, issues, and ideas.
I hope I didn't misunderstand you. Thanks for your kind comments. We know Roanokers are proud of us.
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