Not just fires taking firefighters from station

More than half the emergencies that drag firefighters out of bed in the middle of the night or away from the station in the afternoon are for medical aid - difficulty breathing, asthma attacks, chest pains and seizures.

[Randy]

Firefighters should work 8 hour shifts!!!! I dont get paid to sleep at my job!

[Truth]

Ask yourself the following?
Do I have to be away from my family for at least 24 hours each shift? Do I have to work Holidays? Do I have to risk my life because someone wanted to be stupid? Am I waking up at all hours to deal with criticlly injured/ill people as well as the dumbasses that call 911 for a hang nail, or "back pain" that they have had for 30 yrs. What are the chances that I will get killed during my " 8hr office job"? What is your biggest crises of the day? Children getting killed by drunk drivers, or the copier running out of paper?

Get a life! Show some respect, and do everyone in emergency service a huge favor and never call 911.

[Randy]

You need to get a life TRUTH. I deal with all that!! I am in Law Enforcement! Dont tell me all you do! I have been to fire stations. I know what you guys do. I see your big screen tvs and lazy boy chairs! I do all you do and more! I cant count how many time 3 or 4 firemen sit in their truck and wait for 1 Deputy to clear a scene so they can come in!!!

[FFC07]

Randy, if fire fighting is such an easy job, why don't you test and get hired. Oh, you probably could not pass the test so you became a cop. It is true, the one thing cops and ff have in common is they both want to be fire fighters. Oh Randy, by the way you might not get paid to sleep but I have seen graveyard shift cops sleeping in their vehicles.
Truth, stop you complaining. It is your chosen career to be a ff. That means that you will work a 24-hour shift and be away from the family. And yes, you might go to calls that seem lame, but that person needs help and the fire service is still the only group that still responds and asks questions later.
Randy and Truth, be thank you both have a job and remember, you both chose to be in the line of work your in.

[Randy]

Typical Fireman attitude. I was a Fireman then decided to be a Deputy. Dont think you walk on water!
What’s the difference between God and a Fireman? God doesn’t think he is a Fireman.

[Chris]

Everyone take a deep breath.... Now lets talk about this. Randy, you say FF should work 8 hr. shifts. The city would have to have 3 fulltime FF to cover one 24 hr period. If the city were to do this they would have to pay for 3 fulltime employees wages, benefits, insurance, etc. Would it not be better to have 1 FF or 1 Police Officer to work that 24 hr. shift?
FFC07, I couldnt agree with you more.
Oh yeah Randy, You clear the scene for us because you chose to carry a gun.

[prank]

What's the cops vs firefighter rants? Everyone chooses their own career path. You all wear badges and do different jobs. If the two badges don't come together, you may see both jobs losing in this economy. That is no joke. If you've worn both badges, Randy, you are fortunate because you got to walk in the others' shoes. But you made your choice. And that is unusual because we have seen lots of LEO's crossover to the fire service but few go the other way.