HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., MIFireE

I just cannot believe how much news has flowed into my little corner of the world this past week. So many odd, screwy, and disjointed stories have come to my attention that I have to wonder if there has not been a permanent full moon shining over many parts of the country this week.

Imagine my shock at receiving word on Monday that eight firefighters in Virginia had been arrested for setting a series of fires. Associated Press sources indicated that these firefighters had been arrested for setting fires because they were bored and wanted to extinguish them, fire officials said Sunday.

What in the heck were these people thinking? Do they think that the fire service exists for their amusement and entertainment? I guess these numbskulls cannot comprehend the damage they have done to the image of firefighters around the country. There are enough people out there who look down on us as it is, without having things like this to battle.

A similar crime occurred in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago. Two members of a rescue squad set fire to the facility of an adjoining organization. There was a great deal of destruction. Only the brave efforts of a number of individuals kept the rolling stock within that structure from being destroyed. What in the world are these people thinking. Fire is deadly, devastating, and dangerous, and these louts play with it as though it were a toy.

What is wrong here? Is there no way that we can work to weed out the misfits, nitwits and malcontents? I do not know for sure. I have been reading stories about firefighters setting fires for years now. Each time an event like this occurs, we punish the perpetrator of this heinous crime and then move on with our lives. I think that it is time to finally become proactive and do something to rid our ranks of these dangerous cretins.

Perhaps we need to be more vigilant. I don't know for sure, but perhaps someone could begin to gather all of the facts together from all of these criminal undertakings. Perhaps there is an action profile that can be created for us all to memorize and use. Maybe if you and I knew what to look for, we could head a lot of this nonsense off before the incident occurs.

I have seen a lot of people in my time that can easily be considered a bit " ... Squirrelly ... " These people have been around us since the beginning of time, or at least since the time when Nero fiddled while Rome burned. They are considered part of the landscape. The time has come to change the tolerant view of these dangerous people.

Maybe this approach could work, maybe it won't work. Frankly gang, it seems to me that this is a topic that has merit. Perhaps there is someone out there in America with a bit of spare change in their research money piggy bank that can pull it all together. I offer that to you as a project with some long term potential for good.

Another one of my regular readers gave me an interesting little bit of information. It seems that he was listening to an interview on television between a local fire chief and a member of the talking-head media. Apparently this particular chief had some very strong views about how fire protection should be provided. This relic from an earlier time said that the fire department didn't need to have an army of people. All it needed was good apparatus and equipment.

Now there is a real great view of the world. I read that person's words and suddenly I saw in my mind's eye a whole fleet of well-equipped fire vehicles moving down the street, with no one at the steering wheel. They moved as if by magic. There are no people to operate them, crew them or utilize the equipment carried thereon.

However, they magically arrived at the scene of the fire, and when bad old Mister Fire saw these majestic combat vehicles, he simply ran away in fear. Wow, that sounds just like the magical pilot for a new children's cartoon show entitled, "Ghosts in the Firehouse."

Where do we get these sorts of people? Is there a special class of rock out there, under which people like this grow and prosper? I wonder about this from time to time. I am sure that they do not realize just how hard their stupid remarks make it for the rest of us to tell the true story of just how labor-intensive fire protection really is.

Just when you think that you have had your fill of screwy stories, in floats another missive from Mars. An old Newark Fire Department buddy of mine, who now lives in Vermont, sent me a newspaper clipping from his local paper. This clipping speaks of the brilliant idea put forward by an actual living, breathing state Senator.

This newspaper clipping speaks of a Vermont State Senator who is about to introduce a new law in the next legislative session that will allow local towns to charge property owners any time that firefighters are called to their homes. Wow! What a brilliant idea.

The Senator seems to understand the great expense involved in outfitting a fire fighter. He apparently knows a bit about how the money is raised when he says in the article that, " ... You've got to sell a lot of chickens at a chicken barbeque to outfit just one firefighter ..."

The good Senator said that other states charge for false alarms, and " most other states authorize fire departments to charge for putting out fires." I find that to be a particularly interesting comment. I for one would like to see that one proved in writing.

However, I can see where the good Senator might be headed. Picture, if you will, the fire department pumper of the future. Proudly emblazoned below the fire department's name and Maltese Cross are the worlds "We Accept Visa and MasterCard." Where would you install the credit card machine? Is that an officer's or a driver's function?

I can just imagine the radio traffic as our Vermont firefighters of the future arrive on location?

"Engine 456 on location. We have an active fund-raising opportunity underway. It is located in a three-story, wood-frame, farm dwelling. Command will be establishing our credit office on the A-side of the building. Command to Control, owner will be paying cash. Do we still offer a discount?" And so it goes.

I can recall the hue and cry a number of years ago when a number of really negative stories of subscription fire departments emerged from out west. These were fire departments that sought to collect an annual fee for their services. In these stories, its appeared as though these fire departments would respond, and when they found out that the owner was not a subscriber to their service, they would simply pack up and leave. I really believe that the fire ground should not be thought of as any sort of profit center for anyone.

Think about the consequence to which this sort of law might lead.

• People do not call the fire department, because they cannot afford the cost.
• People will fight the fire themselves until it is too late for the fire department to be of any assistance.
• People will be killed and injured trying to save a buck.
• Firefighters (not the Good Senator) will be seen as the bad guys.

I would hope someone in the Vermont Fire Service would exercise some good judgment and reach out to this man, and pull him back from the brink of a really bad move. This is NOT good public policy. If this man is so concerned with helping local fire departments, why not set up some state programs that will provide no-interest loans, and maybe even grants to the needy amongst the fire service in the Granite State.

Since we are on the issue of money here, let me tell you how hard some people are working to shave the corners off of their fire protection budget. A professional associate from a Mid-western state called me this week to tell me that a buddy of his was in a real jam.

This fellow, who is the local fire chief, had just been asked by the fire commissioners, for whom he worked, if it were possible that he could respond by himself in the chief's vehicle on alarm calls. Since this was a paid-on-call department, if no people were called, no money would be spent. The commissioners wanted the chief to trot on out by himself and take a look. If more people were needed, then this chief could call them on by radio, the commissioners suggested.

What a brilliant idea? But let me ask a simple question. How do these commissioners plan to make up the time lost, in the event that there is a fire of some sort? How will they explain, in a court of law, why they wasted the precious moments that might have been used to fight the fire, saving a few pennies? I would love to hear that one.

Yes my friend; that is a real brilliant plan they are suggesting. It ranks right up there with the one I heard years ago from a citizen that suggested we should sent only one old truck, with two of the older firefighters, to check out false alarms. I just cannot believe how little people know about what it is that we do. And then when the people spouting the "dumb stuff" are our own, I sometimes just want to throw my hands up in frustration and just walk away.

As a person who had worked the annual company carnival for many years, when my local fire department still had one, I am familiar with the need for fund-raising. Frankly that is one of the main reasons that I fight so hard for the fire service. We should not be in the fund-raising business. We should be supported at a proper level of funding by the people we are pledged to protect. It will take a lot of hard work, but it can happen if we all work together to tell our story.

My last little tale of craziness comes again from Middle America. Let me tell this in the form of a fairy tale. There once was a fire duke who believed he knew what was best for his firefighting kingdom. But the ruling committee of municipal elders required the fire duke to survey the members of his force for the containment of fire hazards within the kingdom. These wise elders felt that the voice of those doing the work should be heard.

Time and again the surveys were made. And each time the fire slaves were heard to shout loudly, again and again, that the duke knew not what should be done. Guess what happened, my dear friends out there in reader land?

The fire duke issued a decree. He told one and all in a loud and haughty voice that since the allegations and accusations of the fire slaves were unanimous in their vitriol, they could not possibly be true. And the one among the many brave enough to stand up to the fire duke was punished.

Were this really a fairy tale, I might be able to walk away just shaking my head. But it is a story torn from the pages of real life within the American Fire Service. How can it be that one person is right, and ALL of the others wrong? Like I have said many times gang, I couldn't make up these kinds of stories.

Attention fire dukes of the world, I have taken on the mission of exposing all of you. I want the world to know that your heavy-handed way of doing business is ruining one of America's great institutions, our beloved fire service. I am truly sickened by the exploits of many of America's local fire leaders, if in fact leader is the word that should be used for what you do to people.

Thank the Lord that I was able to close the week with a story of dedication, service, and sacrifice. I spent one very emotional hour last Friday night watching the CBS television show, 48 Hours. Its covered the time that the new CBS television show "The Bravest" spent last summer with Rescue Company #1 in New York City.

I got to see brave men at work. I got to see real leaders. And this poignant tale was made all the more meaningful by the fact that most of the men who so willingly shared their love for the fire service with us, the viewers, so easily were murdered on September 11, 2001.

They were like you and they were like me. They got up in the morning. They kissed their wives and kids goodbye. Then they sallied forth to do battle with the dragons and evildoers. I have been in this business a long time gang, but I want you to know that I sat there in front of my television crying my eyes out.

How can the idiots, frauds, and malcontents that I have written about in this and other recent commentaries be allowed to be a part of this noble calling? The fire service is involved in the life and death of our great land. We must renew our resolve to do all that we can to make ours a vocation or avocation to be revered.

Something has gone terribly wrong over the past twenty years. What passes for the fire service is not what I joined in 1966. I owe it to every newly appointed and every veteran firefighter to do all that I can to bring OUR service back to the path of duty, honor, and fidelity that has guided us for so many years. We must scrape the scum off the surface of the pond and dispose of it. I can do no less.

The commentary in this column does not necessarily reflect those of Firehouse.Com, Firehouse Magazine, their employees or parent company Cygnus Business Media. Harry R. Carter, Ph.D., MIFireE, is an internationally known municipal fire protection consultant and contributing editor to Firehouse Magazine. He recently retired as a Battalion Commander with the Newark, New Jersey Fire Department. His commentary appears regularly on Firehouse.Com. For more commentary and information, visit Carter's web site at www.harrycarter.com Harry has published several books available for online ordering, including Firefighting Strategy and Tactics and Management in the Fire Service