I am already tired of the idiots; let's hear from the good guys!

[ChiefReason]

I think that it is important that we track the misdeeds, the incidents of disrespect to our nation's flag and to our fallen firefighters in NYC, but six months from now, most of it will be replaced with new episodes or will be forgotten. For instance, the "firefighter" from Ashburnham that was fired for disregarding a direct order. He deserved it. He was there only for face time with the camera. Three firefighters from Miami-Dade fired. They deserved it. How "oppressed" will they feel in the unemployment line? But fear not, the ACLU are slobbering on themselves over this one. And lastly, Berkeley, CA-enough said! Stop the madness!!!
We need to hear about the good efforts; efforts that are underway-not at Ground Zero, but in your respective communities. The vigils, the efforts to raise money or even awareness, to collect food and other desperately needed supplies. Kids collecting pennies, the blood drives and the firefighters filling the boot!
So, what are you doing, fellow firefighters? Share your ideas. How much did you raise? Who are you raising it for? What did you do yesterday; what are you doing tomorrow; what are you doing a month from now? Share your knowledge.
Let's forget about the selfish ones and remember the selfless ones.
I'll admit that I didn't go to Ground Zero and am truly regretful, but I'm not an idiot; NYC said very nicely "Please, do not come here; we appreciate your thoughts, but stay home." I did.
I must admit that I am starting to question the motivation of some who are going to NYC and then "sharing their experiences". I am going to replace my cynicism with good thoughts and good deeds. I am going to go fill a boot. Join me, America's bravest and send the money to the families of our fallen NYC firefighters. It might not get your picture on the six o'clock news, but it will be greatly appreciated by the families who need our support. For me, that's enough.
St. Florian Protect Us.

[Waterboy620]

Good Idea (and thats not something I usually say to a chief). We collected 65,000 in fill the boot in 12 hours (3 days). It may not seem like alot compared to other departments but when compared to the 3,000 we collect during MDA fill the boot week....its a hell of alot. We are sending it to the fallen firefighter fund. And Im ready to get back to business as usual, like complaining about having to get out of bed last night for a little old lady that was stoned on OxyContin. Her family thought she was having a stroke, I almost told them that she was totally stoned out of her mind and all she needed was a bag of fritos and some bon-bons to make her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And since Im replying to a chief, I feel it necessary to share a little piece of knowledge we, the firefighters, have discovered.

CHOAS-the real meaning:

C hief
H as
A rrived
O n
S cene

Heheheheehe.

[hctrouble25]

I don't mean to steal anyone's thunder...but could you all PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go to my forum called "PLEASE READ ....IT COULD MEAN THE WORLD TO A FALLEN FFs CHILD" and take a minute out of your day to help send your love to a child or family of a fallen FF, Police Officer, or Rescue Worker in NYC. THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!

[joejoe33]

The brothers on our shift erected a sign out on the fire station lawn that reads "We love our FDNY brothers".
Even though we can't be there with them, we are with them in spirit and prayer every day.
The community has made our sign a memorial with flowers and balloons. The citizens stop by with donations and just to say they appreciate what we do.
Yesterday we added another sign to the lawn that reads " God Bless America".
We felt like we had to do something to show our support for our fallen brothers and their families.
We didn't ask permission to do this, we just did it.
So far I don't think our chief has a problem with what we've done.
We have received numerous monetary donations on behalf of our fallen brothers and their families.
Representitives from our IAFF local will travel to New York to personally hand the donations to the FDNY brotherhood.

God Bless My Brothers

[ 09-28-2001: Message edited by: joejoe33 ]

[firemangeorge]

Here in Cincinnati, we've raised over half a million, the goal is one million. I'd say about half of all the rigs have FDNY on them somewhere, mostly in 8" letters or bigger... Seven guys on the USAR team went NYC... There's a rumor that we're giving our best Seagrave front lines to FDNY. That one is unconfirmed, but the apparatus supervisor has been asking what features the rigs have...City Council approved giving five or six rigs to them...It is outstanding to feel the bright light of positive public opinion on our faces once again, but the cost was not worth it ...Stay Safe

[toneloc177]

i was there chief reason (as you know), and trust me . . . TRUST ME, i wish i hadn't been. it's like any ff will tell you. You don't want to see someone die from a fire, someone burned out of their home / residence and lose their possesions, but if sh*t happens, you damn well want to be there to give a hand.

in the 17 hours on the fri following the event, i helped load deceased firefighters into awaiting ambulances which took them to the morgue via police escort. we were fortunate that night, because they didn't find any police officers. i helped load 3 from squad 18, a battalion chief, and a member from rescue1. nothing makes your own heart virtually stop, than to see a firefighter being carried in a b/b on a stokes by people who know him / worked with him. or me asking, is that so & so, ojne of a few people I happen to have known in the fire service who were missing. seeing brothers literally cut in half, in their turnouts,the parts that just kept coming, feet hands arms. i almost lost it when i saw a childs foot.

but like I was saying, i did my part, and transported a fellow brother (even though i'm in ems in nyc, and a volly on the island), and i gave it all the ambulance had with regards to lights and sirens, well deserved for someone who gave his life for our great city, and superior country.

you are right though, the media should adress how small town USA is doing a bit more. hell, we in vollyland are STILL responding to calls, and a guy from upstate NY died a LODD.

be safe, and remember the brothers . . . ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FirescueBob]

Waterboy620 -

We in the federal fire service have upgraded the acronym for CHAOS to CHAOS REIGNS....

C - Chief
H - has
A - arrived
O - on
S - scene

R - Real
E - efficiency
I - is
G - gone
N - now
S - Son!

We feel that is more descriptive of the occurance.



But Seriously now, what Chief Reason is saying makes a lot of sense. How will our actions be percieved by the public we serve in the coming months? I hope they see only the good and forget the bad. Opportunists fouling the memory of those who serve should never be tolerated but I have to wonder what we can do to prevent them from getting the idea that they can get away with their disrespectful behavior? When we see someone reprimanded for some misdeed getting the assistance of misguided people like the ACLU what does that do to our moral over all? I know that I can go ballistic all I want but what do I accomplish then? The miscreant wins and I lose. I think a new approach to this needs to be explored that will keep the service out of the negative limelight and improve on the positive.

[ 09-29-2001: Message edited by: FirescueBob ]

[Truckman]

The brothers in my department have been doing numerous things to raise money. Filling the boot, selling stickers and t-shirts. The total is not in yet, but it is not really about totals anyway.

Although I too have been eager to physically help out at "Ground Zero", I think it was said best in an E-Mail I received, which said that we also have a public who is also counting on us to continue to provide protection to them.

I found this quote that I think is fitting when speaking of the idiots and more importantly, the ones with the true heart of a firefighter and patriot;

" These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands Now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorius the triumph."

Thomas Paine, The Crisis--December 1776

Be Safe

[ChiefReason]

Amen, Truckman. Well said.
You know, I think back to before the 9-11-01 incident in NYC and how mean spirited some of the posts were in this Forum and it is now a real joy to read all of the positive posts that are coming in. It feels like we are truly brothers and sisters once again. People were concerned about if they were going to get a piece of the Fire Act pie and now they are raising money for the families of the victims and wanting to do more. America is the greatest country in the world. And the firefighters, police, EMTs and the volunteers from the trades in NYC and Washington DC have made us all so very proud and humble in some respects. They have given us all a renewed focus for what we do. They will forever be in our thoughts and in our hearts. I can only hope that we will exhibit as much "courage under fire" as they have day after day since the incident. God bless them.
Now, about this CHAOS thing. Where did this acronym originate? I need to have a heart to heart with this guy! Or perhaps the spouse of a chief said it? Is it really that chaotic when the chief arrives? Doesn't anyone feel a sense of relief when the chief shows up?
It's good to see some humor returning. That was humor, right?
We have raised a couple thousand from fill the boot and we are exploring other fundraisers as well.
As I said earlier: we must keep NYC and DC in our thoughts and prayers, but we have a job to do as well. And if we answer our call to duty with the honor and bravery of those who have gone before us, the people in our communities can rest easy knowing that we will be there 24/7 no matter what.
Wear your colors with pride and keep the good deeds coming.

[SHCoTrk531]

$12,000 in 10 hours in a fill the boot fund raiser for the FDNY families fund. I would guess the population is less than 12,000 not bad for small town boys. The best thing were the comments from the people it made us feel appreciated. A nine year old girl brought her piggy bank down that she was saving to take to Florida and dumped it all. She said "the families need it more than I do". That was awesome.

God Bless and be safe.


[ 10-01-2001: Message edited by: SHCoTrk531 ]

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Department wide, we set the flags at half mast, adorned the apparatus with flags and set up a memorial display in the lobby at Headquarters. We have been wearing the mourning tabs on our badges.

We did a voluntary toll road with the Marlborough Police Department on 28 September 2001 to raise money for the fallen heroes of the FDNY, NYPD and the NY/NJPAPD. In 11 hours we raised $42,234.

The Local's annual fundraiser event is coming up in February, and we voted to donate the proceeds to the 9-11 fund.

On a personal note, I donated blood on 12 September. I have been wearing a FDNY pin on my uniform and have placed a FDNY sticker on the rear window of my truck. My family made donations to the 9-11 fund and the American Red Cross.

[hctrouble25]

I agree with everyone on here...those of us in the areas surrounding NYC and DC, etc. have continued to do our jobs on a daily basis. I hope the public continues to praise us and does not go back to the old ways of "hey what took you so long to get here". It is also very nice to see everyone getting along again on these posts...we are all in this mess together and we should support one another through it. We will go forward and we will prevail! Take care and please be safe out there.

[Chaplain 41]

Hi Chief Reason, I'm a Firefighter/Chaplain with Thornville-Thorn TWP Fire and Ems, located about 40 miles east of Columbus, Ohio. My wife and I have sent money through Firehouse magazine for 9-11 Relief. Our department is having a spaghetti dinner this Saturday night (Oct. 6) in hopes of raisng much needed money for FDNY families. I hope to encourage my fellow members to purchase 12 or more FDNY memorial T-shirts.
Obviously, my prayers haven't ceased. I'm always praying for our members, firefighter safety, fallen firefighters, and their families. I'm darn proud to be a smoke-eater! Billy Reiter

[ 10-01-2001: Message edited by: Chaplain 41 ]

[Chaplain 41]

Chief, one more thing and I have shared this with other FF members. Helping someone is one of the best ways that we express our care and love for each other. 300 plus members of FDNY have inspired me to go that extra mile, to give of myself more than I ever thought possible. In honor of their duty and lives, I give my best, ALWAYS! Billy Reiter

[ 10-01-2001: Message edited by: Chaplain 41 ]

[ffguy083]

I've really enjoyed this thread... Thanks everyone...

I do have to respond to the CHAOS postings though... relief when a Chief shows up??? perhaps a Battalion Chief, or perhaps at 'the big ones'... but we see ours on our little bread and butter room and contents fires, and unfortunately they don't have anything to do, and they don't realize it....

So... CHAOS often times is truer than we ever really wish it to be....