Dear Firehouse community,
Before you go and shoot down this thread, I have searched and found somewhat related but also not related posts/threads. I am simply here on a FACT finding mission and none other so please hear me out!
I want everyone's personal opinion on the below topic:
Should Felons like myself be allowed to become Volunteer Fire Fighters within the community in which they live?
NOW before everyone starts with the OMG GO TO HELL posts please keep readin!
I am not saying EVERY felon should be allowed the chance to serve in such a dignified position as that of a Fireman, But as I see it anyone who has been convicted of a Violent Felony, Sexual related Felony, or Arson related Felony or has multiple felonys within a 25 year time frame should automatically be disqualified from ANY public service position.
Now on the contrary, I believe that any Felon convicted of a NON-Violent, NON-Sexual Related and NON-Arson related charge and not a repeat offender should be allowed the oppourtunity to serve their community.
Now please dont get bored and run off just yet, Keep going I have faith in you!
A little about why this issue is important to me:
My name is Andrew and I am 22 Years Old, When I was 17 I came home from work to find my mother on the couch not breathing, At the time I was not trained in CPR/First Aid and went into a complete state of WTF do I do, My first reaction was to Call 911, and then I ran to my neighbor to alert him (Previous Air Force, Trained in CPR).
He came over and began CPR on my mother, However it took the first emergency unit 6 minutes to arrive on scene, That unit was a police officer, Unequipped with any life saving equipment, 3 Minutes later a police officer with a AED arrived on scene, 4 Minutes later the first Fire Dept units arrived, and 6 Minutes after that the Ambulance showed up, Now I know alot of you are thinking Volunteer? No it was all Career Fire Dept and EMS, Big City? No it was a small town of less than 8K people and less than 2.2 miles in diamater, But how come the response time was in excess of 10 minutes when I lived less than a mile from both the Fire Dept and Ambulance barns? GOOD QUESTION!
I have never been able to get an answer to this. Even after the first police unit arrived an advised dispatch to expedite the emergency personal it still took to long, My mother died that night at 39 years old. Now about why this issue is important to me! I have wanted to be a fire fighter since I was about 2 years old, I didnt want to be a police officer, astronaut, or architect, but a Fire Fighter, I owned a new copy of backdraft every 6 months as I would watch it so much it would become worn out.
Well shortly after my mothers death I became very depressed & lonely (No father figure for my entire life so mom was all i had) lost my job and bills were stacking up, One thing I had learned was ALOT about computers and how they worked, So not even thinking I coded my own algorithim to generate random credit card #'s which I then used to purchase items off the internet which I would then resell for bill $$$, I stopped shortly before turning 18 as I knew what I had done was illegal and didnt want to face the possible legal issues, However my local PD unbenounced to me had started investigating what I had done through a tip, and shortly after i turned 18 I was asked to go in for questioning, I confessed to them what I had done and figured since I was a minor when I did the crimes it would not affect me (Boy was I wrong!) I spent 36 days in county jail before seeing the judge, I plead guilty to a Class C Felony for Theft (Total $$ value over $500 but less than $25000) and a Class D Felony of Attempt Theft by Deceit (Basically stealing through lieing).
I was issued a 5 Year deferred/Imposition of Sentence (After 5 years my record is wiped clean!) and supervised probation, I have since served 3.5 Years of this supervised probation and have 1.5 Left, I have not done any thing since then and have stayed out of trouble, I work a steady 40/Hr a week job and have attended T4C (Thinking 4 a Change) classes hosted by probation and parole which last 18 weeks and graduated with no problems. My question is would YOU/YOUR DEPARTMENT allow someone like ME the chance to become a Volunteer with your department? I dont care if that meant i would have to roll hose and scrub toilets for 12 months until I was trusted, I just want to give back to my community and do something I know I want to do in the process. I dont have the wish to run into a house where someone is having breathing troubles with the intention of stealing a ring or some BS like that, I want to help them and get them better, I want to be able to run into their house to pull them out should it be on fire.
I would gladly give my life to save that of another human being, It doesnt have to be in a fire, It could be at a bank thats being robbed, a hostage sitaution, If I can save another humans life and allow them to go on living that would be the greatest reward PERIOD! I would love to grow old and have a wonderful life, but if the time came where it was me or another person, I would gladly give my life for them to live!
So please just answer me this question:
Would you allow me to volunteer with your department.
If you have made it this far without completely destroying your keyboard by beating it with your face out of utter boredem I thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Andrew S.
Cheyenne, WY
Before you go and shoot down this thread, I have searched and found somewhat related but also not related posts/threads. I am simply here on a FACT finding mission and none other so please hear me out!
I want everyone's personal opinion on the below topic:
Should Felons like myself be allowed to become Volunteer Fire Fighters within the community in which they live?
NOW before everyone starts with the OMG GO TO HELL posts please keep readin!
I am not saying EVERY felon should be allowed the chance to serve in such a dignified position as that of a Fireman, But as I see it anyone who has been convicted of a Violent Felony, Sexual related Felony, or Arson related Felony or has multiple felonys within a 25 year time frame should automatically be disqualified from ANY public service position.
Now on the contrary, I believe that any Felon convicted of a NON-Violent, NON-Sexual Related and NON-Arson related charge and not a repeat offender should be allowed the oppourtunity to serve their community.
Now please dont get bored and run off just yet, Keep going I have faith in you!
A little about why this issue is important to me:
My name is Andrew and I am 22 Years Old, When I was 17 I came home from work to find my mother on the couch not breathing, At the time I was not trained in CPR/First Aid and went into a complete state of WTF do I do, My first reaction was to Call 911, and then I ran to my neighbor to alert him (Previous Air Force, Trained in CPR).
He came over and began CPR on my mother, However it took the first emergency unit 6 minutes to arrive on scene, That unit was a police officer, Unequipped with any life saving equipment, 3 Minutes later a police officer with a AED arrived on scene, 4 Minutes later the first Fire Dept units arrived, and 6 Minutes after that the Ambulance showed up, Now I know alot of you are thinking Volunteer? No it was all Career Fire Dept and EMS, Big City? No it was a small town of less than 8K people and less than 2.2 miles in diamater, But how come the response time was in excess of 10 minutes when I lived less than a mile from both the Fire Dept and Ambulance barns? GOOD QUESTION!
I have never been able to get an answer to this. Even after the first police unit arrived an advised dispatch to expedite the emergency personal it still took to long, My mother died that night at 39 years old. Now about why this issue is important to me! I have wanted to be a fire fighter since I was about 2 years old, I didnt want to be a police officer, astronaut, or architect, but a Fire Fighter, I owned a new copy of backdraft every 6 months as I would watch it so much it would become worn out.
Well shortly after my mothers death I became very depressed & lonely (No father figure for my entire life so mom was all i had) lost my job and bills were stacking up, One thing I had learned was ALOT about computers and how they worked, So not even thinking I coded my own algorithim to generate random credit card #'s which I then used to purchase items off the internet which I would then resell for bill $$$, I stopped shortly before turning 18 as I knew what I had done was illegal and didnt want to face the possible legal issues, However my local PD unbenounced to me had started investigating what I had done through a tip, and shortly after i turned 18 I was asked to go in for questioning, I confessed to them what I had done and figured since I was a minor when I did the crimes it would not affect me (Boy was I wrong!) I spent 36 days in county jail before seeing the judge, I plead guilty to a Class C Felony for Theft (Total $$ value over $500 but less than $25000) and a Class D Felony of Attempt Theft by Deceit (Basically stealing through lieing).
I was issued a 5 Year deferred/Imposition of Sentence (After 5 years my record is wiped clean!) and supervised probation, I have since served 3.5 Years of this supervised probation and have 1.5 Left, I have not done any thing since then and have stayed out of trouble, I work a steady 40/Hr a week job and have attended T4C (Thinking 4 a Change) classes hosted by probation and parole which last 18 weeks and graduated with no problems. My question is would YOU/YOUR DEPARTMENT allow someone like ME the chance to become a Volunteer with your department? I dont care if that meant i would have to roll hose and scrub toilets for 12 months until I was trusted, I just want to give back to my community and do something I know I want to do in the process. I dont have the wish to run into a house where someone is having breathing troubles with the intention of stealing a ring or some BS like that, I want to help them and get them better, I want to be able to run into their house to pull them out should it be on fire.
I would gladly give my life to save that of another human being, It doesnt have to be in a fire, It could be at a bank thats being robbed, a hostage sitaution, If I can save another humans life and allow them to go on living that would be the greatest reward PERIOD! I would love to grow old and have a wonderful life, but if the time came where it was me or another person, I would gladly give my life for them to live!
So please just answer me this question:
Would you allow me to volunteer with your department.
If you have made it this far without completely destroying your keyboard by beating it with your face out of utter boredem I thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Andrew S.
Cheyenne, WY
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