East Palestine Derailment

As it should be...not too many jobs with more personal risk.

 

Many places are having hard times getting the volunteer staff to run calls. Many reason for that...full time jobs and life pulling them in other directions, priorities, less service minded environment, issues within the fire community etc etc, list goes on. So many places are now having to fund the services. The pay you quoted is very good, and certainly not the normal. OT, while it mat pay very well, can take a toll in many ways. Of course it depends on how busy an area/station is as to what kinds of issues. It's good they're getting the training, if not things can go downhill quickly.

When I first got moved to the fire dept, I was a bit lost, cause I had been in a dept where we were always having to find something to do or always 'busy. I mentioned it to the Chief (my immediate supervisor), and he said we're "paid to be ready". There can be a bunch of downtime in the fire service, again depending on the area and station. But us being busy usually means someone is having a bad day. But when we're racing to a place, usually everybody else is racing out. Not thing to glorify things.

 

The earnings I mentioned included overtime. I don't know how many hours they worked. I know the Lt. does a lot of traffic details as the town now allows the FD to do traffic. I believe some new law was passed, so understaffed Police Departments had options.

I just wish I had the option of overtime. Whether I work 40 or 60 I make the exact same....40 it is!!!

 

Yeah, that sucks. I strongly believe a person should get paid for the amount of hours they work. Now if they are hugely compensated by salary, that's a bit different.

 

I do alright. The amount of experience, licenses, certifications and continuing ed I have to have is significant compared to many jobs though. I also can’t get extra pay despite being on call 24/7 for emergency calls. 40 and under for me. Doesn’t help that I hate my job

 

Life is short..

 

I agree, but the bills refuse to pay themselves. Lol

 

With all the recertification and endorsements you need you sure your not a merchant mariner

 

Norfolk has had 5 train derailments in Ohio Since Oct 8.

 

Nationwide there has been a pile of them in the last month! (not just NS though)
Fits right in with all the mysterious explosions and fires at various factories and business'

 

Well it is really easy to think conspiracy here but I think of it as how a tragedy unfolds/happens.
It's a culmination of little things that add up to one giant failure.
the foundry explosion was probably due to a failed liner, leaked and melted the water coolant pipes and boom.
We might know at this point if the consultants/engineers that were flying to inspect it, had not died in the plane crash.
Other accidents probably same thing, lack of maintenance, management pushing harder to save.
maybe it is a shadow crew running around and causing havoc on the infrastructure trying to start the next war here...

 

I'm not talking about just the last month or so...there has been a huge uptick in this stuff the last 2 years...really hard to believe that its all just management pushing the envelope, although I'm sure that's part of it.
Here locally one of our foundries has been very busy in recent years...they have been getting business back from the rail industry...I guess they (RR's) had tried to source some parts "offshore" and had high failure rates, so now back to what works.