Sad, Firefighter Dies Doing Tree Work.

[MasterBlaster]

As in your avatar !

Ha! Trust me - I ain't rigging it out!!!

 

[top_notch]

Ha! Trust me - I ain't rigging it out!!!

Free Cut Friday?!?! That was always said on Fridays when working for a company back in Gainesville, FL, of course when we were making free cuts.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Never hear em called free cuts.

 

[Burnham]

I have no control over the people I work with / for.

Sure you do, Butch. Just say no. No one can make you go up that tree but you.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Just as I have no control over them, they have no control over me, either.

 

[Burnham]

Point.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Firefighters go through some heavy duty stuff, probably enough to not be doing additional dangerous things during their time off. I had a friend in the San Francisco fire department, Tom, he must be retired now. He said to me once, "Man, you just wouldn't believe some of the things that I have seen". I can only imagine.

 

[MasterBlaster]

What's to see besides a cooked corpse? Burnt furniture? Paramedics, now, they can say something like that.

 

[gf beranek]

Nobody is special. We all decide our paths and professions in life and assume the risks that come with each. To me a tree climber takes more risks everyday in their profession than most others. Fire fighters included.

Accidents suck in any profession.

 

[MasterBlaster]

No way I'd be a firefighter, way too dangerous for my tastes. They are most definitely Heros.

 

[woodworkingboy]

What's to see besides a cooked corpse?

I don't know, but I imagine that one might get a sense of the drama that went on during a fire, parents protecting their children until the end. Tragic stuff, it must run the gamut.

 

[Paul B]

What's to see besides a cooked corpse? Burnt furniture? Paramedics, now, they can say something like that.

Around here firefighters are usually the first on scene to deal with motor vehicle incidents, my buddies that are FF's have seen some nasty shit.

 

[MasterBlaster]

On traffic accidents? I can only imagine, lordy.

 

[Paul B]

indeed. Not something I would want to do. Most folks will do what they can in an emergency response but I sure as heck wouldn't do it for a living.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

It's a dead child that really gets ya.. Fire, MVA, stupid people tricks, drowning... They truly are heros. I could not do it.

 

[Paul B]

That might outta stick to their own career and stay out of ours.

 

[pantheraba]

My son is a firefighter...all FF's around here are EMT, minimum...some are paramedic. Fire engines respond to all emergencies...fire, car crashes, floods, missing children/old folks...there is a lot more to being a FF than just putting out fires.

And they don't make a lot of money...they ARE some very cool guys. I think they are heroes, all of them. They show up when folks are having very bad days and try to help...some of the calls they work are nuisance calls...sorry folks that just want a ride to the ER for a cold, drunks that are asleep on the sidewalk and look dead...nut stuff. But some of the calls are way bad. Alex responded to a call recently that involved an infant that died from an illness that most of us consider a nuisance...the parents just didn't realize the symptoms they were seeing were as bad as they were.

AND...uh-oh...he does side jobs to make extra money...buys trailers off Craiglist and cleans/fixes/ them and resells them, does electrical work with his father-in-law. And helps me do treework (one of MY sidejobs...not my career). He has done some of the climbing lately.

Not too many FF's I know have the luxury of having just one career...lots of them do sidework to make ends meet. So, there's some info for your edification.

 

[Paul B]

FF's here start at around 55 grand, 3-5 years in they make about 70, thats a fair chunk more than I do. with a union, pension, 4 days on 4 days off schedule then add mucho vacation time (my real good friend is 10 years in (6 years on call and 4 years full time) and gets 12 weeks paid vacay per year., they dont need to be landscaping/tree working for fun money. But thats just my opinion

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I have had some FFs work with me in the off season... Just starting out.. not enough hours to make unemployment and not full time FFs yet. Kids to feed and Christmas time would suck other wise. Bare;y making rent. Some of the best guys I have ever worked with. Always there when you need them... easy to take them for granted... And when the alarm sounds... Thankful they are there.

 

[Burnham]

Your FF have a better deal than any I know stateside, Paul. By a large margin...12 weeks paid vacation? I thought I had the rockin' deal after 20 years, with 5.

 

[stehansen]

They published the fire fighters salaries for the City of Modesto a year ago or so and some of them who worked the overtime quite a bit were well over a hundred thousand. The worst thing I ever saw as a volunteer fireman was a family in a Suburban and travel trailer who (on their way to yosemite) was stopped at a road construction site and was parked behind a big rig. Another big rig plowed into the back of them smashing them between the two trucks. The Suburban caught on fire and the propane tanks on the trailer blew up also as did the cab on the truck who did the plowing into. The back truck was loaded with Fleischman's margarine which was burning also. Many of the firefighters here have side gigs not because they need them to make ends meet but because they have so much time off. One of them had a tire business. He didn't keep any inventory but he would order tires and he had a mounting tools and a balancing deal in his garage and just did everything there.

 

[Jed]

Sad, sad business. Jeez.....