DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Clap clap Keystone pipeline veto

As a firefighter/paramedic with 23 years experience, I have to say, that graph don't mean crap. It implies that the amount of firefighters needed is proportional to the amount of fires.

Are there less fires? Sure. A lot of that is the work of fire inspectors, and safety standards that have been created over the years. Smoke detectors don't have anything to do with it. They decrease fatalities, by letting you know there is a fire.


Most fire departments also handle EMS as well, and all firefighters are also paramedics...so we do 2 jobs. That chart doesn't show the increases in EMS calls. His article also says that firefighters aren't needed to respond to many calls. Evidently he hasn't driven a fire truck up to an accident on the highway, where a car is on fire.....and you need rescue tools to get the door open. And after you do all that you can hop on the squad to take another victim to the hospital too.

Even when there is no fire, and nobody trapped, that truck is parked to protect everyone on the scene.

Buildings also burn quicker due to all the plastics around today. You need fast action and a lot of manpower to knock it down quickly. When there is a fire you also need more manpower due to the environment. Strap on a tank, and 50 pounds of gear, and that tank runs out in about 10 minutes if your in a building firefighting.

Plus firefighters wear more hats these days. Water rescue, rope rescue, trench rescue, Haz-mat. When the crap hits the fan, you know who everyone calls? The fire department. We show up and people expect us to do something. Never did rescue a cat from a tree.

Yeah we sit around. People should be happy about that. Nothing is burning. Nobody is dead or injured.

How often you use your auto insurance? Home owners? How about life?

Get rid of it all, its such a waste...until you need it.

That dude is a libertarian..i'm probably closest to that as well. Seems to me that most places choose to fund a full time department. Maybe he should move somewhere where there are no services.

Unless his point is that we all should be part-time making a lot less. Just what I want to do is run into a building for minimum wage. Nothing like dying and knowing my family won't be taken care of.

I'll go drop fries at McDonalds instead. Most stressful thing will be lunchtime.

spoken like somebody not trying to lose their job.

That would be the equivalent of somebody posting a chart saying why we don't need that many soldiers in the military, then i chime and with some stuff trying to justify why I shouldn't get laid off.

DEA agents make the same argument with making weed legal.

Don't sweat it swish. I am out on disability due to that same job. I won't be losing anything.

It's funny though, all those things I said, and all you can say is i don't want to lose my job?

I didn't want to lose my life doing my job, thats for sure.

I'm thinking you should go volunteer. See if you have the guts to go into a burning building.

I was bled on, puked on, screamed at, and sleep deprived for years.

Your welcome though.

I'm not going to try and have a bigger stick competition with you, as i'm glad you were a fire fighter.

but if i can get hit with an IED, and shot at, i'm sure running into a building won't pose as a problem.

Please don't glorify what you do. a lot of people can do what you and I do, they just choose not too, thats why it's called volunteering. I shouldn't get any extra brownie points for serving, and you shouldn't expect it either.

So yes, All i NEED to say is about losing your job. because typically, thats what it boils down to.

You think a DEA agent wants weed to be legal? That means there's a chance that person is going to lose their job.

you think workers liked that robots are replacing them in factory jobs? of course they will be against it, thats their lively hood they depend on.

you think coal miners wants our country to find alternative energy sources? no, because that means their industry is gone.

So yes, people will start telling "war" stories about whatever field they work it, try to glorify it to other people that way it makes it seem like its so important.

Me being ex military isn't more important than a guy who paints houses.
you being a fire fighter isn't more important than someone being a teacher.

Don't take this personal, but if you do....all well sorry bout it.

Firefighters are braver than soldiers.
Firefighters dash in where others fear to tread. Life savers and heart breakers, all.
The IED is bad, try facing a propane tank at 1000 degrees.
The Firefighter fights his battles inside a 1200+ degree burning building with only toxins to breath. He fights with an SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) at all times, no breaks, all the while searching in the pitch black for that crying kid he can't find.
The Firefighters job takes him to the worst day of everybody else's life.
Soldiers get pay. Most Firefighters are Vollies.

I deeply solute you both for your service, both have been in situations that 90 percent of the real world will never experience.

I was once shot at while going into a burning drug house but managed to catch that bullet with my teeth, chewing it for moisture as I donned my airpack. pfft, no thang.

Ahhh, Da Hamma.....

LOL Yes, Da Hamma! And people wonder why I tend to see things in black and white because after 30 years in the Fire Service, it was them wimpy grey areas that got us killed and injured.

First off, I didn't ask for brownie points, thanks, or anything. I chose my career path. I have every right to point out that fires take manpower to fight. You boiling it down to fear of losing a job without even acknowledging my points blows my mind.

Why shouldn't you get extra points for what you did? People that serve in the armed forces should get a bit of respect. I thought it was total bs when the army wasn't beefing up the armor in humvee's or providing solders what they needed in iraq. People did something about it and it got fixed.

You basically want to take back my body armor, and protection and say, deal with it, you chose this job.

And I have news for you, maybe a bunch of people could be firefighters, or soldiers, but like you said, they choose not to..so what then when stuff burns, and we lose battles?

And don't get me wrong, I understand totally your point about a job. Sure nobody wants to lose a job.

While i understand your point, the DEA agent isn't suddenly at more risk with weed becoming legal. The factory worker isn't in more danger because he has no factory. Hell the coal miner is probably more healthy, and in way less danger.

But sure, cut all the firefighters so the remaining ones can be in twice the danger because of less manpower and no backup.

I don't need a big stick, but you miss my point, and say all i'm doing is 'glorifying' my job.

Thanks for serving. Thank God you had air support and bomb disposal teams.

lol...call me a noob, but what the heck is Da hamma?

When I was wee, me Pappy told me there are two kinds of people in the world, There are hammers and there are nails. Me, I'm Da Hamma.

I don't see it that way. That's not saying I think soldiers are braver.

Often times they do - unless it is too dangerous.

Some of them do - no doubt. That IS part of what they signed up for, right? Now, the "at all times, no breaks" thing....someone on this thread mentioned they have about 10 minutes of oxygen in their tank. Is that right?

Again, that's what they signed up for. And there are many days where they do very little.
I don't know where you're from, but here, the volunteers still get paid. They get paid for just showing up at the department if there's a call, and they get an hourly rate if they go on the call. Is it a "full time wage" type of pay? No, it's not. But volunteer firemen get paid.

I look at firemen, and their equipment in much the same way I look at our military. (not exactly the same, mind you)

Both (and don't judge til you read the rest of this), but BOTH are huge wastes of money. UNTIL you need them.

Firemen, the equipment we have to pay for, the training, etc....just a huge waste. Ideally, that equipment just sits there. Until someone calls 911. Then, your mind is changed. You're darn glad that equipment, and people that know how to use it, or sitting there.

Same with our military. All the training, the equipment, fuel for training, ammo, technology........when it's just sitting there, it's a waste. Until it's needed, and then you're darn glad it's there.

Really, no different than insurance. I hate paying for insurance......but I can't be without it because there is always that "just in case" thing. And, I will say, insurance agencies, reps, companies, adjusters etc........they DON"T put their life on the line to do their job like firemen, cops, or soldiers, so there IS that difference.

I'm thinking more like six penny. Ten penny on a REALLY good day!

Being a carpenter, I know my nails.

I thought you were a cement guy.

Thats just his hard head.

Arch, we are hijacking this thread so I will stop here.
The Tank on a firefighters back is a half hour to 45 minutes of compressed air. Thanks for thinking we would enter a burning building with an oxygen tank on our backs, now that's Brave!

Okay, so I'm not an expert. I said oxygen. Edited to add this: Blame brownie elf for the "10 minute tank" statement. (and no, he didn't say oxygen. He just used the word tank)

It's a nickname that if you have to give to yourself, you probably don't deserve.

lol..yeah i guess the hijacking is my fault.

They are 30 minute tanks. Thats what we had. He is correct that their are bigger 45 minute ones as well.

That 30 minutes is pretty much if you are sitting there. Start chopping a hole thru a roof, or advancing hose line up some stairs and it runs out WAY quicker. Think sitting, or say running. Your sucking more air.

Well actually that would be a concrete guy. But actually, while I did finish some concrete, my main job was layout and setting concrete forms. aka Concrete Carpenter until I got into the management end.

When you work for smaller companies, as I did when I first started in the business, you usually end up doing different things in the occupation. As time goes on and you work for larger companies, you usually do more in one special area.

Since the math and communication skills are more needed when dealing with inspectors, blue prints and such, I did a lot more of the layout, carpentry and management end as time went on.

Also, when winter hit, a lot of concrete work couldn't be done. With larger companies they always gave me the option of working during those very cold months. I always chose to work rather than draw unemployment. During those times I also did a lot of carpentry work.

So for most of my time in the business, I did a lot more carpentry work than pouring or finishing concrete.

That's a pretty long explanation to prove you know the difference between an 8 penny nail and a 16 penny nail.

Actually it was a six penny and a ten penny, so I guess keeping it short really didn't help. lol

Just a general comment.



Why did the price of gas drop over the last year?


The reason OPEC doesnt want Candaian and Dakota oil to hit the market is because they want to control the price, just like John D did at the beginning ofthe 20th century. They flooded the market. Once the upstart companies mothball and the pipeline is dead, expect to see the price of gas go up.



My theory is screw OPEC. We need to keep gas about $2 a gallon. If we build the pipeline and allow Canadian and Dakota oil to flow, we will put a big dent in to supply and demand


Once we mothball those plants, expect $3 plus again because it isn't cheap to get them running again, especially since the Arabs can flood the market any time they choose. At least for another 150 years or so.

j/c

Wait, so they couldn't pass their own legislation to overturn his Veto?

54% of the senate is republican, it takes 67% to overturn a veto.. why is that such a surprise?

62 voted for it the first time, all of the republicans plus 9 democrats.. one republican didn't vote

So unless they changed the minds of a few more democrats, how were they expected to override a veto?

only 54?

huh, i thought there was more than that.

Don't need it anyway,