After reading about the LODD in SC and the fines levied against the fire dept. I began thinking about the position a lot of volunteer depts are in and wondered if any of you out there in forum land have found solutions to these dilemmas and could share them with others. The problems I speak of are those of manpower and money shortages that conflict with national standards. The easiest example I can give is the small rural fire department that even if they did receive funding from taxes, their tax base isn't large enough to support them I the manner that many of us would consider the bare essentials. I recently heard of a dept. that was so strapped for cash that they were using 1960's era trucks and could not afford turn-out gear! I personally know of a department that was very proud of the new pickup truck they had bought for brush fires and were now raising money for the skid pump to go in it. It also seems that these same depts are the same ones with manpower problems. It may be just a matter of low population density. Getting back to the situation in SC, the incident scene did not sound all that unfamiliar to me. I know of neighboring depts to my own that might only get 5 to 6 firefighters to the scene of a working structure fire. It is not laziness or lack of dedication, they don't have the membership available during the day time hours. I know of some depts that may have less than 20 members on their entire roster! With this kind of lack of resources, how does a fire dept stand a chance to comply with standards such as 2-in-2-out and NFPA 1720 not to mention OSHA and NIOSH safety regs. I am not blaming NFPA, OSHA, the Feds, or even local or state governments. I'm not complaining about a lack of leadership in individual depts. I am really only worried that depts in such dire straits are going to become targets for legal liability and will be forced to close their doors and give up the ghost when a tragedy like a LODD hit them when they are just trying to do the best they can do with what little they have. I do, however, think that government programs at any level will not solve this problem since such programs are, by their nature, in the realm of politics and it takes political clout to gain from these programs and the depts have less of that than anything else. I'm sorry this got so long-winded but I wanted to be sure my points got across and that this didn't turn into a political shouting match or them vs. us competition. I think I will post this other forums so as to try to get some different view points. Stay Safe.

[ 08-13-2001: Message edited by: FGFD43 ]


[ 08-13-2001: Message edited by: FGFD43 ]
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