Wow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Weruj1]

Ex-New Jersey Fire Chief Uses Old Fire Truck In Protest Of Current Fire Department


WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press

TUCKERTON, N.J. (AP) -- In the culture of firefighting, there is no greater insult.

The hand-painted message named a current and former fire chief, terming them ``Makers Of Fine Charcoal.'' That fact that it was scrawled onto the side of an old red fire truck made it even more visible.

Lee Eggert, a former fire chief who has battled with the department and the borough for years, used the truck to make his public protest following a Nov. 8 fire in which a three-story house burned to the ground as firefighters struggled to open a nearby hydrant.

"It was a little slap at them,'' said Eggert, who runs a business repairing fire engines and other emergency vehicles.

The painted truck was parked outside his shop on a heavily traveled stretch of Route 9 in Tuckerton's business district.

His beef with the department and the town goes back at least a decade; Eggert says his criticism of how a fatal fire in the early 1990s was handled led to his suspension from the fire company, leading him to sue to get reinstated.

Since then, he also has accused local officials of incompetence and worse.

During the Nov. 8 fire, firefighters tried to open the hydrant nearest the burning home, but could not budge it. That's because it was reverse-threaded, meaning it had to be opened by turning a wrench in the opposite direction than most hydrants, Eggert said.

Firefighters lost 15 precious minutes connecting to a different hydrant, allowing the blaze to spread. No one was injured, but the house and an adjacent garage were total losses, and two other nearby homes also sustained damage.

As an added tweak, Eggert painted a line on the old fire engine's door that read ``Tuckerton No. 2. We Know How To Open Hydrants.''

Elsewhere, the truck also bore the slogan "Tuckerton Mayor & Council _ Proud Supporters of Incompetence.''

Fire company officials and Mayor Kevin Quinlan did not return phone messages seeking comment. But in an interview with The Press of Atlantic City, Fire Chief Tom McAndrew, who was one of the fire officials whose named were painted on the truck, brushed off Eggert's protest.

"He has his side of the story and we have ours,'' he told the newspaper. ``It is easy to Monday morning quarterback. We have a long-standing policy that states we don't comment on the man.''

At a recent Borough Council meeting, Quinlan called Eggert a ``coward'' for not coming to the meeting in person to voice his criticisms.

Eggert said he's unfazed by comments like that, and said he has not suffered any repercussions for painting the old engine, which he said was soon to be towed away as scrap metal.

[spearsm]

Maybe I am a little confused, so please, somebody help me out here.
The brothers that he is blowing snot at..wouldn't they be the same brothers when he was Chief? I understand that there would be some attrition since the early `90's, but what gives? Why sling such "s***" at these guys? Did they have a part in his dismissal? Anybody got more info?
Mark

[tmcandrew]

My name is Tom McAndew, Chief of the department in question.

It's a shame that the A.P. can't take the time to return phone calls to anyone. I tried to responed to this gentlemen but never got a return phone call, so I never got to properly respond to Mr. Eggerts accusations.

As for Mr.Eggert, he has been taking jabs at all of the men in the fire company that have worn the chiefs hat ever since he no longer did. His biggest problem was that he always thought he was right and everyone else was wrong. I was his Captain when he was chief. I am the current chief of the department now, and he has taken many shots at me. I'm sure it infuriates him that I don't let it bother me as much as he would like it to. If he would just once find out all the facts before he went on one of his rampages, he would see there is a reason why we do things the way we did them. As for his attacks on my guys, that's where he goes way way out of line, he was not there he was with a fire department he joined after leaving ours doing ember patrol, and only is going on hearsay. I know my guys that night tried their best to get that fire hydrant open, and they did in fact try BOTH ways. They also had the help of 2 other BROTHER FIREFIGHTERS from a different company, and those two said that the hydrant would not open. Later that night, some firefighters went back and managed to crack the hydrant open with extreme effort. Rather than waste time on it, we had simply moved to another fire hydrant and established a new primary source of water. At no time during the fight did we lose water to our engines. We also had tankers and a water shuttle established as a secondary source of water.

I was and still am proud of the job that the men and women did that night, we received many nice words that night from alot of people, many that live on the road where this fire was. Mr Eggert also stated in 2 different papers that it would not have made a difference had the hydrant opend that night, because the fire had a large head start on us. So you see Mr Eggert only goes with half truths and cheap shots.

Oh yeah if you ever need a firetruck repaired look him up I am sure you will get a EAR LOAD.

The Chief

[bgulizia]

I've been with the tuckerton fire dept for 3 years now, and even when I first joined I was warned about Lee Eggert. During the time that I have been with the department, he has occasionally shown up on fire scenes to watch how we do things so that he can criticize us in the paper the next day. I have never known someone to be so petty and bitter as to do what he has done througout his time away from the department, especially to fellow firefighters. I've never met the man, but I have heard stories, and the one that sticks out in my head occured within the last 2 years. Our department rolling up to a fire scene where Mr. Eggert was standing in the doorway of the house, where smoke was pouring out, wearing most of his PPE...but missing his pants and boots. He was wearing jeans and regular shoes. When our chief made him get out of the fire scene, you can imagine how infuriated Mr. Eggert was, even though the chief was thinking of Mr. Eggert's safety. Mr. Eggert has also gone out of his way to annoy many other firefighers, including the ones that he is currently working with....and I use the term "working with" very loosely.

I don't see what point he was trying to prove with all of the writing on his fire truck out in front of his business (which supposedly services firetrucks). Even if his beef was with another fire department other than ours, I wouldn't want to do business with someone who treated his fellow brothers and sisters the way he has done.

-bg

[spearsm]

Chief,
Thanks for coming here and clearing the waters a bit(at least for me). It benefits not one single person (or Dept.) when people choose to "stir the pot" in such a way. It is a shame to hear this.
May your water be plentiful and your losses few.

Mark

[RspctFrmCalgary]

Chief McAndrew thank you for taking the time to tell us your side of the story, and bg thanks for sharing your thoughts.

:eek: Word really does travel fast, doesn't it?

[BD6413]

Sounds to me like he was forced to pick up his toys and go home after he [Eggert} Mismanaged a fire in which someone died.

Now as a result he feels he is all mighty fire man and no one else can be right....He couldn't just let it go. I'm sure Ben Franklin never counted on these idiots when he created the volunteer fire service.

[NJTF1Bowman]

Originally posted by RspctFrmCalgary
Chief McAndrew thank you for taking the time to tell us your side of the story, and bg thanks for sharing your thoughts.

:eek: Word really does travel fast, doesn't it?

Chief I know what you are going thru, we have a few members in our department that have the same problem. They like to head to the next town over and throw back a few beers at that departments bar and B***H how the line officers don't know what they are doing and how the department is going downhill.

[shope1516]

I am also on the fire company in question. I have been with the department for two years now, and even though I am still young in the fire service, I can not believe that a fellow brother could do this to his brothers and sisters. You know we are all volunteers around our area, and we do the very best that we can. But to have a "slap in the face" by another firefighter really hurts. The big question to Mr. Eggert is, What does he think he could have done differently on the scene that would have had any bearing on the outcome? Thats what I would like to know. Every brother and sister on scene busted the rear ends to put the fire out, and I think everyone of them should be congratulated on a job well done!

www.tuckertonfire.com

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

Here's a different take that may offer a reason, but certainly not an excuse, for the actions of this guy. Do you suppose that he is suffering from PTSD from the fatal fire? His actions are those of an obsessive, compulsive, sick mind. the time, money and energy that he investing in these pointless, baseless attacks is mind boggling.

I think that you guys are making a wise decision in distancing yourself from this guy and not validating his rantings by getting into a peeing match with him.

BTW, how old is this guy? Sounds like he needs a hobby.

[NJTF1Bowman]

Originally posted by GeorgeWendtCFI
Here's a different take that may offer a reason, but certainly not an excuse, for the actions of this guy. Do you suppose that he is suffering from PTSD from the fatal fire? His actions are those of an obsessive, compulsive, sick mind. the time, money and energy that he investing in these pointless, baseless attacks is mind boggling.

You could have a point there, but without knowing more I couldn't tell. He could be trying to find blame in everything the FD does because of the past fatal fire, not knowing what or who he blames there is no telling other then it's not constructive but destructive criticism.

[Bones42]

without knowing more Correct. All the article states is that he was critical of the handling of the fatal fire. We have no idea what involvement he had or did not have to be able to make any judgement. It is a very valid point though that George makes and something we need to watch for with our own members.

[EXCHF5200]

My name is Dane Apgar, and I am the President and a Safety Officer of the Fire Company in question. I'd like to set the record straight on a few issues regarding Mr. Eggert and his comments. First, Mr. Eggert and the fire company that he is presently a member of, were NOT on the scene at its inception. Mr. Eggert's comments are strictly based on second-hand information and hearsay. The fact is, 2 of our seasone dfirefighters, AND a former officer of a mutual aid company, tried to open this hydrant in BOTH directions. They immediately notified Chief McAndrew, who had the wherewithall to instruct them to catch the next hydrant, which they did. Mr. Eggert has openly admitted in 2 local newspaper articles that this small delay had absolutely NO EFFECT on the outcome of this fire. For the record, this house was over 2/3 involved upon arrival.

Secondly, Mr. Eggert implies that our firefighters didn't know that there are hydrants that open reversely. Chief McAndrew and myself are certified NJ Level 2 Instructors, and at least 5 other of our firefighters in our comapny are Level 1 instructors, giving us a fairly high percentage of Instructors amongst our ranks.

Mr. Eggert's actions and tantrums have cost our company thousands upon thousands of TAXPAYER dollars in frivolous lawsuits and such. He is presently doing the same to his new company. He has called OSHA, the NJ Burueau of Firer Safety, and anyone else he can think of when he doesn't get his way.

For him (Eggert) to publicly display a fire truck in front of his business, publicly chastising our department is beyond my comprehension. Our firefighters and mutual aid companies did a spectacular job of suppression and property protection.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

Dave, two thoughts.

First, not a single soul on here has criticized your FD on the way that fire was fought. Also, I am sure that no one doubts your account of the incident.

Secondly, as far as the fire truck is concerned, one of the great freedoms in this country is the freedom to express an opinion. He has chosen an unorthodox and crude means to policitically protest. He has every right to do that, whether you guys agree with it or not. The other stuff is harrassment (IMHO). But the truck is a valid form of protest that, also in my opinion, is constitutionally protected.

[NJFFSA16]

I'd like to take a minute...and say thanks to those of you who are intimately involved with this issue....for posting your thoughts here. There are always two (or more) sides to each story.

While Mr. Eggert claims that this particular dept. is famous for "making fine charcoal," it appears to me that this Ex-Chief is full of "sour grapes." :rolleyes: and while he may be dealing in "fine whine"....he is making a statement/voicing an opinion, as guaranteed by our Constitution. However, there is a point where opinion becomes slander or libel....and Mr. Eggert appears to be uncorking a bottle that may spew more than he bargained for.

Never argue with idiots. They will bring you down to their level, then overwhelm you with their experience. --Dave Johnson

It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. --Sammuel Clemmens (Mark Twain)


NJ

[jarrettfan66]

As a resident of Tuckerton borough for over 23 years,I have come to know and befriend a majority of the firefighters in the Tuckerton company,including but not limited to Chief McAndrew and President Apgar. My own cousin is a firefighter w/the company. As a formmer member of the local ambulance squad,serving as an E.M.T.,I had the honor and pleasure of working side by side w/the firefighters,whether it be at fire incidents or M.V.A's..The firefighters give of themselves unsefishly;the night of November 8,2004 being no different.
Within minutes of being dispatched to the structure fire in Tuckerton Beach,Chief McAndrew and those in his command were on scene ready to do the job. Neither Chief McAndrew or any of the other firefighters on the scene had any foresight that the hydrant closest to the fire building was going to pose a problem. What Mr.Eggert fails to realize,is that Chief McAndrew and his company,as well as companies from neighboring towns managed to save dwellings closest to the fire building w/out a single firefighter or civilan being injured.
Even if the hydrant in question had functioned properly,it would not made much of a difference.Once the blaze took hold,not to mention a strong breeze blowing that night,the fully involved structure was beyond saving.The fact that the firefighters were able to prevent further property loss as well any injuries or loss of life,should serve as undeniable proof of their committment to protecting the lives and property of the citizens of Tuckerton.
Mr.Eggert's volitile words against his fellow firefighters,whether it be on the side of a truck,or out of his own mouth,affected a lot of people;good people who risk their lives every time the alarm sounds.Further,those words not only made Mr.Eggert look bad,those words brought embarrassment to the Chief of the company he now serves (and I use the term"serves" loosely)as well as the firefighters in that company.God forbid,but Mr.Eggert may need to call on those firefighters that he ridiculed so harshly on the side of his truck and in the press,someday. I guess that thought never crossed his mind when he decided to set out on his little vendetta.
As a final thought,I would like to say that I am proud and fortunate to live in a town where it's Volunteer firefighters as well as other emergency personnel give 110%,24-7,365 days a year,no questions asked. God Bless our volunteers,especially the firefighters of Tuckerton Station 50!!!!