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DC Firefighter's Assoc. is Local 36 not Local 1619
 

sneed is pres of local 36 NOT 1619
 

Well, I got it right in two out of three places. What do you expect from a hack like me.

Thanks for catching it. I changed it.

Statter
 

The Chief takes full responsibility, claims human error and promises to do better. Does this mean that the next time sombody gets put on charges all they have to do is admit responsibility, and promise to do better? I Doubt that defense would cut it at a trial board.
 

Boy, we are screwed...sad.
 

And as someone else said here a few days back, Rube is using his "humans" as pawns and schills in his never-ending "Lemons to Lemonade" road show! He's even said that he's writing up a new lesson plan using this incident!
Real 'compassion' there! He's more worried about his full-time public relations job than his part time fire chief job!

I think that the union president is right to bring this to the attention of the City Council! Why doesn't the news media pay any attention to this outright misuse of city salary and benefits for a person to pursue his own agenda rather than perform the job he was contracted and hired to do?

He is supposed to have all this "education" and "experience" yet he didn't even have the common sense to have a standby line and crew available as per safety regulations! And he is the FIRE CHIEF and as such he is responsible for the whole thing!
 

This clown of a firechief says he doesn't want to see any of his members get hurt yet he has done ZERO. ABSOLUTELY ZERO! to see us get a working real appropriate disability retirement.

He's just waiting on articles he can publish and speak about. What a joke.
 

One word..."BOHICA". Its actually an acronym. Bend over, here it comes again. We're screwed.
 

When are you guys going to blame the real idiots in this whole circus? How about the line officer and the firefighters and the fire academy that teaches these un-safe acts !!!! You always blame the boss because he didn't get you that raise you wanted or the extra overtime! Call a spade a spade and put yourself on trial for being stupid! We see it everyday on the covers of magazines and even here. Unsafe acts start with the person commiting the act! We are getting killed,why so we can blacken our helmet in a 10x10 room!!! It makes me sick to my stomach! There I'm done. Pat from Maine .
 

Seems to me from the video these firefighters were unaware that their nozzle can shoot water farther than 6 feet. There is ZERO reason to enter that mockup, even if it is to show people how we extinguish a fire. Use the reach of your nozzles, knock down the seat of the fire, then enter a room.

These videos are getting more common and someone is going to get killed doing this.

Stop trying to dirty up your gear at training ops folks. Be safe and use common sense.
 

And this coming from the "Happy MEDIC"! Another "ems" that can't hack firefighting! Remember...the last three letters in "PROBLEMS" (like in what is going on in DC) is E.M.S. !

You stick on band-aids and WE will keep on "doiing it"!
 

And old saying..."Those that CAN, do. Those that CAN'T, teach!" Another non-firefighter out there giving sage advice from the safety and high-dollar position of a lecture room or office.

When was the last time YOU saw fire, Happy Medic? And "on a video" or "from across the street at an incident" or "on the news" doesn't count.
 

As a former BFC in this Dept. I am amazed by what has happened to what once was a great FD.Remember Cherry Rd /What happened to the need for training?The less you go to fires the more you need to train!I feel for the Sgt,did anyone pass on situational awareness to him?This is learned from experience ,from talks in the sitting room or drills.What is going on?Oh its some people beliving how graeat theyare.The Chief surly took that course. A former DCFD BFC
 

Idiots for even entering that box
 

Powerful vitriol aimed at The Happy Medic for stating the obvious, whether one has any firefighting experience or not. There was no need for those firefighters to enter that structure; they could have easily extinguished it from twenty feet away. What was to be gained by entering it?
It seems as though there is plenty of mistakes to learn from here, from the command element on down to the nozzleman.

-WFDT
 

What about my retirement, What about pay increase, What about my fire chief who isn't doing things the way the last guy did, or the guy before him, or the guy before him.
Have we all become a group of finger pointers?
When was the last time you went to training that wasn't provided on duty? When was the last time you read NFPA 1403? Or read any text on firefightering that was required for a promotional exam?
It is refreshing to see a firefighter, whether he be a chief or a rookie accept personel responsibility, instead of spending his efforts to accuse someone else of failure!
 

Dirty Training gear...Bwah HA HA ha. 1/2 our department has that and "cooked leather helmets"

I bet if a gear manufacturer sold gear that was "dyed" to look "seasoned", and Cairns sold "seasoned" NY'ers they would n't be able to keep the stuff in stock. Could you imagine the advertising:
"Tired of being a 2/20 that wears gear that doesn't match the stories? Buy "Seasoned Gear" now, looks like its ready to replace right outta the box. It is available in crispy and extra crispy.
But wait! Buy it now you'll receive a FREE 20 oz bottle of "smells like smoke" a dab or 2 on that gear makes it smell like a 3 alarmer.
Now you too can look and smell the part of the stories you tell. Theres no fire thats too big to brag you were part of. EVEN if it was before you were born!
Imagine all the probies sitting around the table listening to your acts of heroism, slaying the beast & walkin the walk.
You can BE THE HERO today, without any prior experience.
CALL NOW!! OUR operators are waiting your call.
 

You guys should go check out Crappy Medic's blog. Quite entertaining and weak. I can't believe he actually wrote a blog about this incident as if he has something to offer. I left him a nice comment that probably won't be there for long.
 

"The Rube", will make money off of this, write a article, do a lecture, etc. The City Counsel & the Mayor will sit back & do nothing. While the Lawsuits pile up.

Well... at least Mr. Nichols has something to do.
 

With all the discriminatory, diciplinary actions, suspensions, demotions, and terminations to members, and officers on DCFD, let's watch....as this goes un-punished....Let's see if Fenty swings his ax this way.....I doubt it....but, their days have numbers...
 

DC Firefighters and Local 36 are the joke not Chief Rubin. They are out of control and on their days off they ride into PG and make our lives miserable. Most of the volunteer chief officers are backstep wannabies or bandaid boys from DCFD/EMS. (Chief 33, 17, 25, 11, 19...) They cant even put out a four by four box on fire let alone command a fireground. It was only a matter of time until they did something stupid like this.
 

I like when Rubin says " I think a back up line would be appropriate!" No Rube, It is standard to have a back up line for that. I pull lines everday for bulls@@t car accidents but you as the clown in charge can not make that happen for a training exercise. You have lost touch with the rank and file and I hope that you go down in flames!
 

This absolutely had nothing to do with Rubin... There was no need for a backup line, as there was NO REASON for anyone to have entered into that TINY LITTLE CUBE! Why did they??? WHY??? If anyone has any explaining to do, it's the officer of that crew. Is DC's Sneed related to the Sneed in Fairfax County? If so, that explains a lot...
 

"This absolutely had nothing to do with Rubin... There was no need for a backup line, as there was NO REASON for anyone to have entered into that TINY LITTLE CUBE! Why did they??? WHY??? If anyone has any explaining to do, it's the officer of that crew. Is DC's Sneed related to the Sneed in Fairfax County? If so, that explains a lot.."

Thanks for your opinion Kenny, I meant Brian, no, no... Larry. Uhmm...that Kool Aid is good !!!
 

I have an idea! How about Rube, Steve (Edwards) and Mike (Happy MEDIC) Ward all form a crew and make a training video where THEY show US how it's SUPPOSED to be done! WOW! With all of their PRACTICAL FIREFIGHTING EXPERIENCE that they have compared to US who ONLY do it EVERY DAY for a living!

Those guys from "We Know It All Inc." could REALLY give us some GOOD pointers!

Oh! Wait! The Three Stooges ALREADY made some firefighter movies! I'll go rent them! Actually, Moe, Larry and Curly did a BETTER job!
 

OK enough said already. The constant criticism and smart mouth
attitude isnot in any way the appropriate method to get resolve. First of all the President of Local 36 Sneed you are and idiot. You represent the rank and file of the best dedicated Professional DCFD Firefighters. The comments here here are nothing more than free lance hose jockeys with no respect for fire/fire spread. In your position you should be speaking in terms of Positive thoughyts and reason to find out what actually occurred in thet Demonstration. Yes something did go terribly wrong. Fortunately the Injuries to the Firefighters were minor. If you had any sense of reality you wouldnot agree or initiate/support those immature juvenile bias sterotype ignorant vile words. The criticism of Chief Rubin is obviously the way it is within the DCFD. Having said that he is the Fire Chief and due recognition, and RESPECT for his position is warranted. No one says you have to like Chief Rubin or his Management Style/Decisions. But the bottom line is all DCFD Firefighters/Paramedics should/must stand behind their Chief. You have forgotten the Traditions and recognition of DCFD Nationally still stands today. DCFD is and has always been one of the Nations Elite Fire Suppression Depts. You and your gang over aged juveniles only want to speak negatively. As for the comments about EMS. What Planet have you been living? In Today's Fire and EMS Service, has it occurred to you with Population growth and infrastructure issues the EMS Faction is of absolute Vital importance. EMS serves the Taxpayers in a direct fashion one on one. If you are on the scene of a working Structure fire it is critical to have EMS there to serve the Firefighters with immediate Medical Attention. In today's Municipal Fire and EMS Depts Nationwide everone is Trained as Firefighter/EMT and Paramedics. Are you with me so far?
The fact of overwhelming EMS Incident Activity doesnot the reality of having Trained personnel on Primary Apparatus to serve and protect the Taxpayers in time of Life Crisis Emergency. Yes
the EMS personnel are and/or must be Trained equally so the DCFD can/will realize the Professional Service is readily there at all times. The criticism of such Professional Fire and EMS Personnel
as Steve Edwards who is nationally recognized. He started as a front line Firefighter. He listened and Learned the Basic Body of Knowledge in understanding what Firefighting Techniques are needed in today's Delivery System. The criticism of the Paramedic Mike Ward is totally wrong and out of line. For Sneed and all those immature over aged juveniles who commented. The 1960's mentality is out of date. Pack it away. Climb out of your sand box, recess is over, pull your head out of your backside. Learn some Basic Fire Service Requirements which I am quite sure DCFD has and requires very seriously. Wake up smell the coffee. Welcome to the 21st Century
Fire and EMS Service. "FIREFIGHTER
SAFETY, EVERONE GOES HOME" Good Leadership and TEAM Management Trust and Respect is what it is all about.

Thank You
 

The Rube is so out of touch with the department that in the WP article today http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/15/AR2009101501387.html, it is reported that the firefighters were from Engine 10! Rubin didn't even know what company they were from!?! They should do a story about THAT.
 

A. Nonimous -

Wow, you're a toolbag. There's nothing anywhere, no tradition, no reason whatsoever for the rank & file members of the DCFD to stand by the man appointed by the Mayor to be the Chief of the Department. They may have to follow his rules, but they do not have to keep their mouths shut about his failures. In fact, they owe it to themselves, their families, and the taxpaying public to air every bit of dirty laundry the man has.

EMS "emergencies" don't spread, Fires do.
EMS "emergencies" don't shut down workplaces for weeks, or forever. Fires do.
EMS "emergencies" don't destroy vital community infrastructure. Fires do.
EMS "emergencies" don't kill firemen. Fires do.
EMS "emergencies" don't kill whole families. Fires do.
EMS "emergencies" don't displace families from their homes. Fires do.
EMS "emergencies" don't destroy priceless artifacts. Fires do.

EMS isn't unimportant. It's very important. But it's mostly important to the person suffering the emergency, not the community at large. And, unfortunately, EMS is the de-facto socialized medicine for this country, and providing non-emergency medicine in the Prehospital setting with emergency workers is about as inefficiently as a politician could use tax dollars as possible.
 

In response to the comment stating EMS doesnot spread, Fire does. You did in fact point out some valid points of information. What you didn't explain is, Fire spread can and does destroy Residential Structures, Commercial Buildings etc. EMS is in place to save LIVES.
you cannot equate Fire spread/loss to a Human Life. I am quite sure you know better than to make a statement like that. The METRO TRAIN Derailment this past June. Was Firefighting the top Priority
or Managing a Mass Casualty Incident with Decisions and Strategic Operations based upon EMS. Un fortunately 9 innocent souls were lost. There were a number of people Rescued/extricated
through the fine well Trained efforts of DCFD Personnel. Yes Prehospital care is what today's Fire and EMS Service is focused. You simply cannot place a destroyed
structure with EMS Providers perhaps saving a Life/Lives from that destroyed structure. In the
District aren't there Fire Safety Codes, Building Codes which must play the critical role of helping/hoping the Taxpayers can and will carry on with their Lives? Yes I have seen in the Media
where people donot have early warning devices ie; Smoke Detectors/Carbon Monoxide Detectors
either installed or just donot have the at all. This is where DCFD Firefighting Efforts come into play. The occupants of those destroyed structures may as a result of the emergency have a Medical Emergency right there. EMS ie; EMT is then the Primary priority. How well a Fire Dept is designed/equipped and TRAINED can pretty much determine the outcome. Building Losses arenot important. One can always rebuild. Each of us has but one Life. Fire and EMS are equal in importance and necessary
as any emergency occurrance will dictate.
 

"DC Firefighters and Local 36 are the joke not Chief Rubin. They are out of control and on their days off they ride into PG and make our lives miserable. Most of the volunteer chief officers are backstep wannabies or bandaid boys from DCFD/EMS. (Chief 33, 17, 25, 11, 19...) They cant even put out a four by four box on fire let alone command a fireground. It was only a matter of time until they did something stupid like this."

Well to be honest and knowing those FIREMEN (which you probably wish you was) from DCFD that are CHIEFS in pgVFD (from where you must have gotten a fire taken by one of them) none are Backstep men! They are all either Officers or Technicians of some well respected companies and are well respected in the City for knowing their jobs and being good Firemen (and yes they have put OUT Fires here in the City). I also have never heard anyone say that they have ever screwed up any firegrounds in PG either, but have heard they run a pretty good one. So don't bring them up in this for I know they had nothing to do with this incident.

I see thier are HATERS everywhere, even if your NOT involved in something! Man you PG Girls should quit it with your hating on DC, We Don't Hate you guys. We actually wish you all the best for what you all are going through yourself (budget cuts, furloughs). We don't wish stuff like that on none of our "so called Brothers".

DC Firman
 

This Local 36 is a joke, they have a chief who stands up and admits fault. This local supports their members volunteering in unionized jurisdictions - good luck Local 36 during the next recession!!
 

Would we even be having this conversation if there was no plexi-glass. They were at the edge of the door. They were trying to make it look realistic. It wasn’t that much fire. The problem was with who ever used plexi-glass. The plexi-glass fell down and burned the firefighters. Their gear was not damaged at all. Also, I might add it was very very windy that day with a crowd of people watching. The guys who got burned are assigned to a very respectable and busy house. They are very aggressive firefighters. It was very unfortunate the plexi-glass fell down onto them. Stop trying to down play DCFD. When you are as busy as they are your going to have more to talk about. If you don’t experience what they go through you will never understand.
 

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ACTIONS
Case No.: U-09-GUILTY

We the people hereby charge Chief Dennis L. Rubin an employee of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, as follows:

Charge 1 Violation of the regulation cause utilizing D.C.F.E.M.S. Order Book Article VII Section 2.2; "Any on duty or employment-related act or omission that interferes with the efficiency or integrity of government operations.

Specification 1 Specifically Chief Dennis L. Rubin failed to ensure a back up line was in position as per N.F.P.A. 1403 the standard on live fire training evolutions. Chief Rubin’s failure to adhere to standard practices in a training exercise caused and jeopardized the lives of firefighters causing a member to be hospitalized overnight
 

http://pgfdpio.blogspot.com/

Has an almost identical set up as that from DC. Except this one is done in PG, and no one gets hurt. All from DC can blame Chief Rubin if they choose, however I would rather have a leader that takes responsibility and doesn't blame his guys, eventhough they are to blame for this ridiculous crap that we've see over and over. See : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f66tK0rByI . Everyone has their bad days, unfortunately with the current status of technology and news media, as well as the severe lack of real "Brotherhood" from each and everyone of us, we continue to have our bad days. I am not thrilled with the idea of being over cautious, but we make the best case against ourselves when we act this way.
 

Okay - the Chief takes responsibility and you're pissed? How about the firefighters taking some responsibility? If the Chief would have stopped them and told them not to proceed without a backup line, you would be bitching about that too. The Chief can only do so much...if he had stopped you from playing Cowboy and getting too close you would be upset about that too and probably been a little embarrassed - that's your responsibility...you weren't there to show "realistic" firefighting - you were there to show sprinkler versus non-sprinkler. You could have accomplished the same task from 20 feet and not subjected your firefighters to the hazard...but that requires a little thought - more than the "macho" attitude too often associated with firefighters.