NILES REFUSES TO PUT OUT FIRE ??????????????????????????????

[guest]

niles is not ordinary
they are a tough place
they could care less about mckinley hts and it shows
they dont want help nor do they offer it

[schollsy]

We have a career dept. in our area like Niles. They were dispatched to a possible brush fire near one of the high school football fields and arrived on scene. They confirmed it was out of their area, gave a size-up, said there was approximately 3-5 acres burning ATT, and told the dispatcher to tone-out the Volunteers and they would wait on-scene until the vollies showed up. About 5-7 minutes later the volunteer dept. showed up on-scene and the career dept. left. Sure there was no danger to life but still, I grew up knowing that if there was a fire, a firefighter would handle. If there was an emergency, a firefighter would handle... that's what we do. We do this job because we love it. In the Niles case, I don't know the whole story so I hate to be a Monday morning quarterback, but I'm gonna. If I was the chief officer there and we had 3 companies there... I would tell the dispatcher we are commiting to the fire, have 2 companies battle the fire until the other dept. got there and send the other one back to the city. I just see it as immoral to WATCH a fire burn when you're a firefighter... it must be hard for this guy to look in the mirror in the morning. But you can't blame the other ff's on scene because they have to obey orders.

[jimm]

As a former resident of Niles,I am outraged by the NFD's refusal to fight last week's fire. Furthermore , I do not trust the review board either. Sadly, this incident might discourage people from locating new businesses in the city. BTW, the fire in 1982 that another poster mentions was essentially put out by another local department, according to a source of mine.

[its not funny]

: tribune hilites an investigation by niles of the fire situation
i am a little reluctant to believe that this is in earnest
think it is a publicity damage control
dont like it cause its easy to make a scapegoat out of a captain who is an extremely nice person and a very competent officer
i believe he  followed strict and unyielding orders given previously in no uncertain terms
the problem is not the captain at all
it lies with the superiors
they dictate policy
they dont allow discretion to the incident commander
so they are stifling his professional judgement
i would not give 2 cents to chief semple's so-called professional judgement because i am uncertain if he has any
he is LONG overdo for a happy retirement
people like rany ciminero or the equivalent will bring niles into the 21st century when they become chief instead of anachronistic policies that have made niles, ohio and all the world-wide fire service an object of derision and a laughing-stock
as for the safety director of niles i sure hope he knows more about firefighting than did old fred h in warren
final result
time will tell
if these publicity stunt damage control efforts work then it will be business as usual
if dateline or 48hrs get into the act niles will be the talk not of the firfighters' web site but the entire nation and maybe world

-

[guest]

I feel the same as everyone else..............but remember this,there are always two sides to every story! I think that the other department should be looked at also....see I believe that the microscope is being zoomed in on the obvious...Niles did not do anything! If you heard any of the radio traffic I think you will find that the OIC from Weathersfield cancelled his department not once but twice..........hmmmmmmmmm..if you think about it don't you know your response area? and I would also wonder how deep does this really get between fire departments or ambulance companies?? if you know anything about what I am saying in that then you understand!
Bottom line here is do not always look at the obvious but look at the entire situation
Thank You

[Warren Pages]

There is only one bottom line here, The Niles Fire department sat on their hands while a home that belonged to REAL PEOPLE who had REAL HOPES and DREAMS was destroyed. There is no possible way the Niles Fire Department knew if anyone was in the house, THEY NEVER WENT IN!
 
For those of you out there who are talking without thinking remember this. The Weathersfield Fire Department Firefighters were put at risk because the fire grew in intensity and size every second the NFD sat on their hands.
 
Professional Firefighters, I think not. This is another black eye for the Mahoning Valley and a disgrace to firefighters everywhere. When September 11, happened firefighters around the world flocked to New York to help, Firefighters" fight fires" without concern for Race, creed or religion, its what they do.
 
Don't start bad rapping volunteers in this state without knowing that there are many of them that would put career firefighters to shame.
 
Niles Fire Department you should be ashamed of yourselves, you are a disgrace to the professions, no matter what is said, you know inside yourselves you did wrong. You will ALWAYS be considered a "JOKE" to those who are in your profession.

[daysleeper47]

All I want to know is this: If it was Capt. Ciminero's house, would he have just sat there?

[old friend]

joe
you are a brilliant young fellow from all that i know of you and i am appealing to your intellect and sense of fairness
i know randy and have known him for 15 or more years
i know niles cause ive spent 10 years there almost every day
they are clanish to a degree
they like to do things their way
randy did what he was expected to do by his superiors
please allow him as IC to use his discretion
NFD and Niles need a new chief
this one is a relic and his thinking is outdated
im betting randy will be the next chief
he may institue a better policy
till then he lives with what he has to
im hoping that in the future they will allow the ICs to initiate a minimal response to an emergency
1 eng with exterior operations only to control spread till home dept arrives to suppress and overhaul

[struthersboy]

Morning fellas,
 During my early morning email check, my mom sent me an article that was in the Tribune that Niles has now verbally commited to Mutual Aid with Weathersfield.  It is verbal now, but Niles said it will be in writing here within the next few days.  Sigh.....better late than never I guess.  Peace out, Struthersboy



Niles agrees to fight fires outside limit

By JOHN GRANT EMEIGH Tribune Chronicle


NILES - The city's Fire Department has entered into a mutual aid agreement with Weathersfield that will ensure both departments will fight a fire even if it is out of their jurisdiction.

City officials announced the agreement Wednesday evening at the City Council meeting in response to a house fire last week in which Niles firefighters refused to battle a fire because it was just outside city limits in Weathersfield Township. The home was destroyed by the fire by the time Weathersfield's part-time department arrived.
Safety Director Maurice Guarino said the city has been addressing this issue since Friday.

''We're working to make sure this ill-fated occurrence never happens again,'' Guarino said.

Tom Telego, the emergency management coordinator for Niles, said the city set up a team of investigators, including Mayor Ralph Infante, fire Chief Charles Semple, Guarino and Telego, to look into the fire. Though the investigation is not complete, Telego said they met with officials from the Weathersfield Fire Department and worked out a verbal mutual aid agreement. He said they plan to put it in writing and make it permanent policy.

''Any call will be fought by the fire department that arrives on scene first until the department of that jurisdiction arrives,'' Telego said.

On Jan. 15, firefighters from Niles watched from their trucks for several minutes as a home at 2782 Robbins Ave. burned until firefighters from Weathersfield arrived to put out the flames. The incident drew national media attention and much criticism of the Niles Fire Department.

Despite the public outcry, the mayor said he will continue to support the city's firefighters.

''This received much attention - attention that is undue to our Fire Department. I believe our Fire Department is one of the best in entire state,'' Infante said.

Though last week's fire is still under investigation, Telego admitted the team found some ''breakdowns of vital communications'' between the two departments during the fire.

Niles was mistakenly dispatched to the fire and, after making sure nobody was in the home, called Weathersfield to the scene. Telego said there was very little radio contact between the two departments and they city plans to work to improve its communications.

Guarino apologized on behalf of the city for the property that was lost due to the delay in fighting the fire. Jason Radcliff, who lived in the Robbins Avenue home, said this week that many of his belongings were destroyed in the fire.

In other matters, council began the meeting with a moment of silence in honor of 15-year-old Dean Gillespie, who died Friday morning after being hit by a car while walking to school.

[wise ole owel]

THE WORLD HAS BECOME A VILLIAGE

the unexpected change of heart and policy by niles is a direct result of extremely embarassing negative publicity made possible by the new-fangled contraption called the world-wide internet.

a simple story in the local tabloid didnt seem to be much of an issue. when firehouse.com got it it was flooded with 27 pages of message board posts from the US,canada, europe etc condemning what happened here in the little ole insignificant alcove of humanity called the mahoning valley.

now niles has to get over their dislike of mckinley hts since a disastrous entanglement over 20 years ago. now they must act more along state-of-the-art pros and  along lines of the cutting edge rather than anachronistic attitudes and unwritten but meticulously observed policies of exclusion.

finally,you pro and volley ff's listen up:
get over it...you are in the same business.
also, firehouse.com is your friend but it is a two-edged sword. it will come to bat for you but also bat you over the head. one little impropriety on or off-duty, one little illegality on or off-duty, one little moral indiscretion that somehow leaks to the media and you are busted. firehouse.com will report anything good or bad about you especially if the bad is newsworthy enough to hit the paper and if the accused is a volley, career, officer, senior officer or chief officer the better because there will be a feeding frenzy that will follow.
beware...you are being watched and scrutinized 24/7...by firehouse.com and the civilians you are serving and they rightly expect you to be at your very best at ALL times.

[lets get real]

Mutual/Automatic Aid

The era of every man for himself has ended here in the valley. The fire service must henceforth conduct itself in accord with accepted NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL standards of professionalism.

Gone is the argument that well my little town is too small to go by national standards. Really? Have you read the papers lately?
You WILL adopt nationally accepted standards governing ALL aspects of fire supression SOONER or LATER. As can be seen by the humiliation that Niles has undergone little blimps on a worldwide map are receiving world-wide scrutiny.

Oh, we don't have to worry here about such big city matters as staffing of fire vehicles. They are big depts and we are small. So, you can't expect US to put 4 people on OUR fire engines like FDNY and L.A. and Chicago, Cleveland etc.
 The standards governing staffing of fire vehicles is UNIVERSAL. It is not for SOME places only. Read carefully the text in NFPA 1710. It says that career (paid) FD's SHALL staff EACH fire vehicle with NOT 1,2, or even 3 BUT 4 persons.

These standards were developed over DECADES of scientific research. Well we'll just ignore them here. Go ahead. But, if someday you are the topic of worldwide attention for failing to adhere to accepted standards be prepared to take your lumps.

Mutual Aid/automatic aid must not be optional.
Nor must annexation issues cause FD's to not work together. If there is a fire in the new Sam's, Loews, or condos soon to be erected out that way, then the NEAREST fire unit MUST respond first-due whether it is a city or township truck(s).

Similarly if WCI catches then the NEAREST fire unit(s) MUST respond first whether city or township. Amything less will amount to business as usual UNTIL we get caught with our......down! like Niles did. You pros get together for a friendly luncheon and work out the details. Don't let foolish bickering over union/non-union career vs volley/part-time cloud the issues .

Times are indeed changing. If you don't change too then eventually old Murphy's Law will get you. So its better to change NOW rather than later. Do you think the word Niles will be forgotten soon in the world-wide fire community?
I doubt it.

[yfdgricker]

Here is another follow up story for the Niles Fiasco from the Warren Tribune 1/21/2004...

Area firefighters ignore borders

By JOHN GRANT EMEIGH Tribune Chronicle

Firefighters from around the Mahoning Valley say they wouldn't hesitate to fight a fire outside their jurisdictions.
Though most firefighters didn't want to comment on an incident last week in which Niles firefighters refused to put out a fire that was beyond the city limits, most agreed they wouldn't leave a blaze without a fight. Ken Nussle, chief of the Warren Fire Department, said there are several streets in his jurisdiction that fall into both Howland and Warren townships.

''If we're there, we're going to initiate fire-ground action,'' Nussle said.

The chief said his department routinely gets calls that end up in some other fire district, and they will attempt to put out the fire until the proper department arrives.

Last Thursday, the Niles department was mistakenly dispatched to a fire at 2782 Robbins Ave., however, it turned out the house was located in Weathersfield. The firefighters made sure no one was in the house and then called the Weathersfield department and waited for them to arrive without taking further action.

Howland Fire Chief George Brown said his department would not hesitate to fight the fire if they were in that situation.

''We're here to protect life and property,'' Brown said.

Since he wasn't present during the fire, Brown said he couldn't comment about the Robbins Avenue incident. However, he said it's not uncommon for fire departments to get called out to a fire outside its jurisdiction. He said people are taught during a fire to run from their house and call 911 from a neighbor's house.

''Sometimes that neighbor's phone is outside the jurisdiction, and the wrong department gets called out,'' Brown said.

During the Robbins Avenue fire, the call was made on a cell phone which automatically goes to the dispatchers at the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Southington.

Jurisdiction should not be the first concern a firefighter has when arriving at the scene of a fire, according to Youngstown Fire Chief John O'Neil.

''You take care of the fire first and weed out the jurisdictional issues later,'' O'Neil said.

O'Neil wanted to assure the public that his department has no problem with his or outside departments fighting fires outside their jurisdictions.

Chief Keith Barrett of the Brookfield Fire Department said his area is unique because it is located near the Pennsylvania border.

''We have a county line and a state line,'' he said.

Barrett said his firefighters often run out to areas in Mercer and Hermitage counties in Pennsylvania in order to fight or assist at fires.

''We work very close with our neighbors; we don't care about jurisdiction,'' he said.

jemeigh@tribune-chronicle.com

[yfdgricker]

Here is another follow up article about the Niles incident. From the Warren Tribune Chronicle on 1/22/2004...

Fire story spreads across world

By JOHN GRANT EMEIGH Tribune Chronicle

NILES - The story about Niles firefighters refusing to battle a house blaze because it was outside city limits has spread like a wildfire among firefighters worldwide.
Dave Iannone, publisher of Firehouse magazine, said the story has been one of the hottest topics he's seen in the past few years. The vast majority of firefighters weighing in said they believed Niles firefighters were wrong, Iannone said.

''This has been one of the most discussed stories on our forum,'' he said.

Last Thursday, Niles firefighters watched from their trucks for several minutes as a home at 2782 Robbins Ave. burned until firefighters from Weathersfield arrived and put out the flames. The Niles department was mistakenly called to the fire when it was actually in Weathersfield's jurisdiction.

The story, first reported in the Tribune Chronicle Friday morning, was posted on the Firehouse Web site, www.firehouse.com, that afternoon and received more than 50,000 hits by Monday, Iannone said. The Web site records a ''hit'' every time someone clicks on a story.

The site's forum, where people can post messages expressing opinions about a story, recorded more than 22,000 hits over the weekend. Comments came from firefighters from California to as far away as Great Britain.

Iannone said the Web site ran a poll question over the weekend asking firefighters if they would battle a fire outside their jurisdiction. Iannone said they received about 5,000 responses as of Monday afternoon, with 97 percent voting in favor of taking action.

Pete Sinclair, a retired firefighter from Hartford, Mich., said he first heard about the story on firehouse.com. Sinclair said during his 31 years of experience, he has never heard of a department refusing to fight a fire because it was outside the city limits.

''If you are dispatched to a fire and on arrival find it is outside your jurisdiction, you attack the fire and notify dispatch to alert the proper department,'' he said.

The publication is headquartered in Maryland just outside of Washington D.C. Iannone said the magazine is the country's leading professional journal for firefighters with a national circulation of about 80,000.

Warren Fire Chief Ken Nussle said his department subscribes, and he is an avid reader.

''I sure most fire departments in the country subscribe to Firehouse,'' Nussle said.

jemeigh@tribune-chronicle.com

[yfdgricker]

This one is a little out of order but I'll throw it in.

From the Warren Tribune-Chronicle 1/20/2004...

Niles to probe house fire

By JOHN GRANT EMEIGH Tribune Chronicle

NILES - The city is conducting an internal investigation to see if its Fire Department acted appropriately when it didn't fight a structure fire last week because it was just outside the city limits.
Niles firefighters watched Thursday from their trucks for several minutes as a home at 2782 Robbins Ave., burned until firefighters from Weathersfield arrived and put out the flames.

Tom Telego, the emergency management coordinator for Niles, said a team of the city's top officials started investigating the incident Friday.

Telego said he couldn't comment on the nature of the investigation, but he hopes to complete it by the end of this week.

''There's nothing we're trying to hide. We just want to investigate this properly,'' he said.

The team of investigators includes Mayor Ralph Infante, Fire Chief Charles Semple, Safety Director Maurice Guarino and Telego.

The fire chief was out-of-town the day of the fire. Semple wasn't available for comment Monday.

City firefighters were accidentally dispatched to the fire because it originally was thought to have been in Niles. However, the Robbins Avenue fire was actually in the McKinley Heights area, which is part of Weathersfield Township. After confirming there was no one in the home, and there was no threat to the public, the Niles firefighters contacted Weathersfield and waited for them to arrive.

Jason Radcliff, who lives in the Robbins Avenue home, was furious at the Niles firefighters for not attempting to put out the fire. He said he was begging them to do something as he waited several minutes for the Weathersfield firefighters to arrive. He said there were three fire trucks from Niles at the scene.

Radcliff said Monday he doesn't blame the individual firefighters from Niles who were at the scene, because they were just following the city's policy

''I have a lot of respect for firefighters; they have a dangerous job,'' he said.

Radcliff said the fire damaged many items in his house. If Niles firefighters had acted immediately, Radcliff said, he believes they could have saved some of his property.

Capt. Randy Ciminero, who was the ranking officer for Niles at the time of the fire, said Thursday the city didn't have a mutual aid agreement with Weathersfield. Since no one was in danger, Ciminero said the firefighters weren't obligated to fight the fire.

Radcliff is also upset he hasn't received an apology from the Niles Fire Department.

''I can't even describe how I feel. It's sick,'' he said.

The local chapter of the American Red Cross put Radcliff and his fiancee and their three children in a hotel after the fire. He said the Red Cross was very helpful during this difficult time. Radcliff's family and friends are also helping them find a new place, he said.

jemeigh@tribune-chronicle.com

[yfdgricker]

Editorial by Chief Billy Goldfeder on firehouse.com...

Maybe Its Just Me
Firefighters Don't Fight The Fire

CHIEF BILLY GOLDFEDER
Firehouse.com Columnist

"If we can send our USAR teams overseas to help others that can't help themselves, then we oughta be able to figure this stuff out ... "

By now, most everyone who has ever crawled down a hallway has read the story about the fire department in Ohio that responded to a house fire, found it a couple of hundred yards outside of their jurisdiction and allegedly did not attack the fire.

Before we go any further, like any story, there is quite a bit more here than "meets the eye"...well, sort of.

And like typical firefighters forgetting the "Brother-or-Sisterhood", we got all worked up over this and immediately condemned this fire officer, fire department and crew after reading the newspaper article.

Wait a minute! Most firefighters I know think that the newspapers are usually full of crap and almost never get the whole story accurate. So then why are we as firefighters, blasting this crew if we weren't there and we don't trust the newspapers? Things that make ya go....Hmmmm.

So, am I gonna defend them? I can tell you this. After doing as much research as I could on this, I still think they should have committed and attacked that fire.

So often we react quickly to what we heard or read. So I decided to call that FD and ask them what happened. The firefighters told me that they were under strict orders not to discuss it. I understand that. They also said that they could tell me one definite thing. "At no time was anyone's life endangered, just the stuff was damaged." I understand that.

Those I spoke to were frustrated because their fire department is being chastised. I understand that. I was told by one person that people out there (other firefighters, some citizens etc) "are acting like someone died, or we did something horrible, which is not the case". From what I have read, it is clear that no life was endangered. I understand that.

So then, I asked, "why didn't you guys just put out that fire"? No answer except that, "we cannot talk about it".

So then, what happened? It was as if there was some great mystery to what appears to be a simple issue.

Originally no one wanted to talk about it. And then I got an e-mail from someone who said they were very close to the situation asking for my phone number. I gave it to them. The phone rang an hour later.

The caller said they were "safe" from the politics of that city. Interesting thought, politics in city government? Hmmm, maybe this will help. Of course some of you reading this will say, "BS, politics or not, they should have put out that fire"!

The fire call came in and when they arrived, it was a few hundred yards outside of their city jurisdiction. They clearly had a working fire. They immediately confirmed that everyone was out of the house. Then they stood by since the other fire department would be arriving any second, or so they thought.

Based upon what I was able to find out, these are some of the thoughts that were probably going through that fire officer’s mind.

    * "The other fire department was on the way. They know we are here awaiting their direction"
    * "What is taking them so long to get here"?
    * "I have limited staffing, 6-7 firefighters, and I still have to cover my city."
    * "My chief is out of town so I am totally responsible."
    * "What is taking them so long to get here"?
    * "If I commit my crews, I have to do a re-call for my off duty firefighters and then I will probably get in trouble due to the overtime costs. The city is always worried about OT, especially when we use it outside of our City."
    * "We don't have a mutual aid agreement with this township."
    * "What is taking them so long to get here"?
    * "What personal or professional liability do I have if I operate here, w/o a mutual aid agreement, if one of my firefighters get hurt, or if we have an emergency in the city. If something goes wrong, I will be hung out to dry."
    * "What is taking them so long to get here. They normally get out faster?"
    * "I can see one of the township firehouses from this fire, where are they?"
    * "I wish they would call us and ask us to help on this fire, we haven't heard a word"
    * "Their cops are here. Are they calling them and letting them know what is going on"?
    * "If we start operating here, the township fire department might get annoyed that the city career firefighters are trying to do their job. I don't want to step on their toes."
    * "What is taking them so long to get here"?

Those are just a few of the thoughts that were apparently going on in that fire officers head according to the person I spoke to. Seems like a bunch of nonsense, doesn't it? Seems like he should have just ordered his crews to go to work and worry about all those issues later, right? Yeah, I think so. But I wasn't there and neither were most who read about it.

It seems so easy. But it really isn't, at least for them. I asked "So would he do it again if this happens again?" I was told, "Yes, he would do the same thing." Wow. Seems cold doesn't it?

At first it shocked me that it would happen again. But then I started to think about the organizational culture, the city government's culture and the political culture that may have been programmed into their fire officers.

Sometimes we risk our lives. Sometimes we risk our careers.

In many cases, it may be easier for us to make a decision to risk our lives vs. risking our careers. As firefighters, risking our lives is something we have been trained for. Risking our careers is something many choose not to do. Some fire officers are never willing to risk anything if it comes to their position, status, rank, salary or pension.

Sometimes that makes good sense. Sometimes it doesn’t. What if this officer did commit his companies and another fire occurred and no firefighters were able to respond? My response is that they should plan ahead for that. Of course, they would actually have to want to plan ahead and actually want to get along with neighboring fire departments and actually want to be able to communicate with each other. Yeah, ya gotta wanna.

I still say they should have attacked that fire and dealt with the BS later.

But, maybe that's just me.

One factor that oughta be discussed is WHERE WAS the responsible fire department, the Township FD? Why did THEY put HIM in that position? Aren't they the ones actually to be blasted here? Maybe. They did respond and arrive at that scene, eventually ... and they initially did arrive with ONE firefighter on the apparatus. Shouldn't someone be ranting about that?

Sure the homeowner was pissed off that the City FD got there, checked for life and then awaited the FD having jurisdiction and did nothing to help. Where is the homeowner's anger when it comes to the FD that was RESPONSIBLE for his fire? When is he going to get mad at their failure to staff? Their failure to respond? HA! We fooled the public again!

Some of you are thinking "but they were volunteers -- they did the best they could." That's a lame excuse that too many volunteers use, or those who have VFD's use. If you have a firehouse and apparatus -- you need to staff (or insure rapid staffing) so that equipment and personnel get to an emergency quickly -- as if YOUR OWN FAMILY needed our help.

You have to GUARANTEE they will get out. Ever see a VFD with a beautiful firehouse and outstanding apparatus-but it takes them more than just a few minutes to get on the road? Yeah-that's my point exactly. How many times do you hear tones going off "again" for that same run ... over and over and over-with no one getting out. But at least some VFD's new multimillion dollar firehouses have big screen TV's and a jacuzzi. Priorities.

Who's kidd'n who here? So often we give the public the "feeling" that we are ready to roll-and we simply aren't. That homeowner in Ohio oughta be annoyed at the City FD for not attempting to stop that fire since they were on the scene-- but he oughta be furious at his OWN TOWN's FD for their failure to provide services. VFD's, on-call FD's, Career FD's or whatever. If you are going to be a FD, BE A FD and don't just dress up and look that way.

The public is entitled to your fast, staffed and qualified turnout. Oh, and Mr. Homeowner, when you are done whining -- how about JOINING the VFD? Maybe become a part of the solution.

What about the CULTURE I mentioned above? The culture that exists there made that City fire officer THINK in the manner in which he did. Plenty of past history made it where he actually had to stop and think and decide to NOT do what he is trained to do-put out that fire!

Trust me-- that fire officer is upset over this, real upset, he is a firefighter like those of you reading this-but is caught in some local politics, cultures and attitudes. He wanted to attack that fire-but something told him not to, some past 'politics' told him not to.

He had to make a decision in a culture, THAT city's culture, of not wanting to go out of their way to service anyone but their own taxpayers. If there were people inside the house, they told me he would have reacted differently -- I believe that.

Unfortunately, he was "programmed" into thinking that he would be "hung out to dry" if he tied up all his equipment and staffing on a run that wasn't involving human life. He probably would be, after all, why would he still do the same thing again today? He is protecting his career and his city first. I still don't agree with his decision, but I understand it...I STILL think he should have started the attack process ... but I wasn't there.

Over the years, I just don't seem to "get" some stuff that goes on. But in our job, there is also a lot of "stuff" that I also don't get, and maybe it's just me. I don't get why mutual aid isn't automatic when it is known that it is clearly needed. I don't get why the closest, quickest units don't respond no matter whose jurisdiction the run is in. I don't get why some fire departments cannot communicate with others-right next door, face to face or by radio. I don't get why some fire departments totally ignore what's best for their community and firefighters. I don't get why some fire departments still don't use LDH for water supply.

There is a lot more I just don't get, but that's OK. Maybe it's just me.

When I first read about this fire, I figured that it is this simple. Firefighters respond to a fire, we get there and no matter whose "territory" it is in, we put it out with due care and deal with the political BS later.

And I still feel that way.

-----
Chief Billy Goldfeder's commentaries on issues impacting the American Fire Service appear regularly on Firehouse.com His opinions are his own, and do not necessarily represent those of his employer, Firehouse.com, its employees or parent company.