Messed Up Standards?

[MarcusKspn]

From The Firehouse.com front page:

A career firefighter in Indiana determined to have been under the influence of alcohol while assisting on a medical call remains on duty, but faces multiple departmental violations.

Kokomo Firefighter John J. Iseminger was reported to have been loud and noisy while assisting paramedics on a call in June, Deputy Chief Pat Donoghue said.

When others smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, a probe was initiated, and a test conducted showed his blood alcohol was above both state driving limit of .08 and department's contractual level, .10, the deputy chief confirmed.

Following an internal investigation, the veteran firefighter was charged by Fire Chief Dave Duncan with four violations, including conduct unbecoming an officer. Donoghue said the counts include both local and state statutes. He could be fired for the offenses.

On Sept. 19, Iseminger will appear before the city's board of public works and safety, a three-member committee appointed by the mayor. Should the panel terminate him, he has 30 days to file an appeal in court.



Is it just me or does anybody else think it is pretty messed up that this department things that even though you are to drunk to drive at .08, you are not to drunk to fight fire until you hit .10.

[needlejockey]

That was a little odd sounding when I first read it. I'm hoping that it means that if you're ever caught with a BAC of .10 then you can be fired (this means off the job).

[Dickey]

He should be fired for going on a call while under the influence.

Our policy is zero tollerance. A minimum of 8 hours from your last drink. BAC of .00 and if you are caught, you are terminated on the spot. I am all for the "eat, drink and be merry" attitude but don't come near the FD when you do.

That is my personal pet peeve as well.

[firemedic214]

Our policy is if you drink you can't be around until 12 hours after your last drink. Personally if you are responsible then coming around the firehouse after drinking isn't a big deal as long as your not on duty and NOT responding to calls. I mean its not strange to see bars in firehouses up North... just my two cent

[ChicagoFF]

Here you can have .04 and you are OK. Above that you get in trouble and have to go through some program and are on "last chance". If you get caught on last chance then you get fired.

[hwoods]

Huh??........

He should be fired for going on a call while under the influence.

Our policy is zero tollerance. A minimum of 8 hours from your last drink. BAC of .00 and if you are caught, you are terminated on the spot. I am all for the "eat, drink and be merry" attitude but don't come near the FD when you do.

That is my personal pet peeve as well.

Hey, We gotta look at the flip side as well. If we tighten up too much, the profits from the station Bar will start to decline.........

Seriously, I'm with the "Zero Tolerance" Group on this. MOST of the time, an Alcohol, or Drug, or Whatever, Problem is a well known, and equally well hidden, station secret. Once in a while, something like this incident will pop up and we all look bad for a few days, and worse, another career goes down the tubes. One of the hardest things to do is to get a substance user/abuser to 1. Realize that they have a problem, 2. Admit that they have a problem, and 3. Seek help for that problem.

Dealing with substance abuse is a lot less spectacular than making a good grab on a job and delivering a viable patient to the ER, but it is, quite often, a matter of saving a life as well. Substance abuse on the job (and off, too) is a killer. Do what you have to do, YOUR life might be the one saved, down the road.

[FlyingRon]

.04 is minimum realistic

You can aspire to .00, but the truth of the matter, setting the limit below .04 is bogus. There can be natural fermentation in the body that will cause readings below that even if you haven't been drinking.

[Steamer]

You can aspire to .00, but the truth of the matter, setting the limit below .04 is bogus. There can be natural fermentation in the body that will cause readings below that even if you haven't been drinking.

Ok...I'll bite. I'd like to see the literature on this. You have a link or citation for reference?

[ullrichk]

Playing devil's advocate, if you have a zero tolerance policy, you could get fired over taking the minimum adult dose of an OTC cough medicine - and I don't think that anyone intends for a substance abuse policy to do that.

In such a case .04 MIGHT be reasonable, but I'd defer to more competent scientific opinions in this case.

[rfdlou]

It is important to remember that alcohol is a legal substance. You just can’t be under the influence on the job. How that is defined is subject to interpretation. ( Don't eat that rum cake before going to work.)Illegal substances are a different story, you test positive and your in a program or your gone. The thresholds for a positive test are very low.

[cozmosis]

That was a little odd sounding when I first read it. I'm hoping that it means that if you're ever caught with a BAC of .10 then you can be fired (this means off the job).

Perhaps the department regulation was written before the law changed to .08. I'm not sure about the state where this happened, but I know the .08 limit is fairly new in some states -- including here in Arkansas.