OT: On fire

With credit to

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fire started on some grassland near a farm. The county fire department was called to put out the fire. The fire was more than the county fire department could handle. Someone suggested that a nearby volunteer bunch be called. Despite some doubt that the volunteer outfit would be of any assistance, the call was made.

The volunteers arrived in a dilapidated old fire truck. They rumbled straight towards the fire, drove right into the middle of the flames and stopped! The firemen jumped off the truck and frantically started spraying water in all directions. Soon they had snuffed out the center of the fire, breaking the blaze into two easily controlled parts.

Watching all this, the farmer was so impressed with the volunteer fire department¹s work and was so grateful that his farm had been spared, that right there on the spot he presented the volunteers with a check for $1,000. A local news reporter asked the volunteer fire captain what the department planned to do with the funds. ³That ought to be obvious,² he responded, wiping ashes off his coat. ³The first thing we¹re gonna do is get the brakes fixed on our fire truck!²

Reply to
Dave Balderstone
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Now that was funny Chuck

Reply to
CC

I love it.

Trust me, the above humor is very appropriate for what is happening right now in SoCal.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Forwarding straight to my SIL & grandson who are very involved in their VFD!

Reply to
Norman D. Crow

He's probably heard some variation of it from brush to structure fire already. It's not quite as funny to me after losing a friend and medic to brake failure on a pumper on scene a few years back.

Just got notified our department got its Assistance to Firefighters Grant for 2005 on yesterday. So don't anyone go bad-mouthing Homeland Security until the money's spent on new turnout gear, y'hear.

Also got our EMS grant from another source last week. I know it's our own money coming back - finally - but it will get us a leg up on some needed gear for extrication situations.

Reply to
George

I'm very sorry to hear that.

I think all humour comes from tragedy at some point... Maybe it's how we cope.

Good stuff. I've got a tremendous respect for the guys that make up VFDs. That means you.

Reply to
Dave Balderstone

Glad someone is getting some of that money. Our grant-writers have so far had very underwhelming success. Personally, I have several theories about that, but this isn't the place.

Reply to
Dave Hinz

Surprisingly, departments with huge budgets do as well as those of us making do on old stuff and hand-me-downs. Get out there and write!

Reply to
George

Not to be picky, but the HS money should not be used for that. If you need basic turnout gear, the town should happily provide it for the work done by the FD. What needs to be done is to somehow educate people that the local VFD is saving them a ton of money and should be supported.

HS money was intended to be used for the "extra" gear needed in the event of attack or major disaster but since there is not enough from local sources, you have to spend it as needed for basics.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Heh...our annual budget is $90,000 or so. And for political reasons that I'm not going to go anywhere near into here, I'm staying way the hell away from the grant-writing process in our department at this time. Let's just leave it at "profound disagreements".

Reply to
Dave Hinz

You need to look at the whole "revenue-sharing" business. Locals would have to raise taxes to provide money, risking their political lives, especially as those without mortgages actually have to write a check for taxes. Not to mention, we get to vote directly on whether we wish to tax more, rather than indirectly by voting for people who promise us other people's money. Imagine if we all had to write checks for what is withheld now? We'd be a lot smaller government.

With grants and revenue-sharing the locals can have it both ways. They can blame high taxes and low revenues on the same source - not them!

As to appropriate use of HS funds, it recently went from FEMA to HS as the _administrator_ of the grants. I have no problem making the connection between response in a disaster and a properly-equipped and trained force of firefighters and medics, so I consider it a legitimate use to allocate funds for equipment and training, as do they.

Our PPE and training for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear comes from a different pocket in DHS. It also comes with a shelf life, so we're curious what happens "after."

Reply to
George

Having been an officer in both very large and very small companies what has always frustrated and amazed me was that the bigger the company, the bigger the checks. It's not simply because there are more firefighters, a bigger population or any of those things that seem obvious at first, either. I've watched as squirts were purchased with grant funds in a large suburban company that had nothing taller than some 3 story apartment complexes(...and had the luxury of squirts in neighboring companies on two sides), while more rural, and much smaller companies had trouble getting funds for a TP. We're not talking anecdotal episodes here either. Look at the larger vol companies and the cool gear they have, which they were able to purchase out of their budgets. Then look at the hand-me-down gear in the small vol company. It's just a matter of the way things go... the bigger and richer you are, the better you can afford the nicer things (logical), ...and... the better you can qualify for the bigger grants and give always (illogical).

Reply to
Mike Marlow

Argh! meant to say "give-aways"

Reply to
Mike Marlow
[...]

There is a german saying: The devil alvays craps on the biggest heap.

Reply to
Juergen Hannappel

I'm sure they have, but it's still humorous, although I understand where you're coming from. Don't know how they do with grants, but their VFD has a rodeo every year for their major fund raiser, been going on for a good many years now.

I got this reply from "Phully", well known to many here on the wRECk:

THE NANNUP FURNITURE GALLERY Handcrafted Jarrah and Marri Furniture snipped-for-privacy@swanriverfurniture.com.au

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TEL: ++++ 61 8 9756 0460

Har ahr har - love that one Nahmie . . . sounds a bit like our volunteer brigade . . . bunch of heroes that we are.

Our lot went out to rescue a couple of blokes in a four wheel drive that had gotten bogged out in one of the forest blocks - and immediately got the fast attack vehicle bogged as well - then they had to get the 3.4 out ( 5 ton

4WD fire truck) - after a four hour walk, because the radio was broken - and it took them all night, then another day to get themselves out . .. .

At least we all get to go to Alistair's place for a big barby for all the heroes - and us hero worshippers . . .. cos when all this was going on I was still sound asleep at home . .

Just love it . . ..

Reply to
Norman D. Crow

Selling burgers and brats during local festivals sure helps the coffers, though with the appetites of some of the firefighters, profit is often in doubt.

Two raffles a year as well.

We're actually a paid outfit, of course. Township levies around a half mill. Helps pay for the expendables and the $10/run response money. We have a non-transport EMS vehicle here, with the nearest ambulance 30 minutes distant, but that's equipped by our regular service, and we respond if we're home for free. Did my first fishhook this weekend. Push through quickly, and snip. Works great.

Reply to
George

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