Unintended Consequences
Written by Gordon on July 1st, 2008
Hello again and I certainly hope that your summer season is going well. As I prepare this piece, I am reading about the eight hundred plus fires around our State – and all the great work that all of our State’s firefighters are doing in trying to get them knocked down and under control. People talk a lot about the “Big Sur” fire and the “Top Gun” diner lost near San Diego, but everyone of these hundreds of fires is devastating to anyone who loses real and personal property. Perhaps someday there will be some “tech” approach that will allow these lightning generated fires to be eliminated. But they are still occurring and once again I am so pleased to see all the interagency cooperation and the cooperation and coordination between Municipal, County, State and Federal agencies.
And I know that other firefighters from different States are coming into California to assist us with this annual tragedy. In talking to my former brothers and sisters in law enforcement, they tell me about all you are doing – and what they are trying to do to facilitate your efforts around California. This is not unusual as fire and law enforcement oftentimes work together on major (and minor) events and generally things go well.
Obviously, I am leading up to something. I commented in other recent writings about the problems that sometimes arise over jurisdiction – particularly on “roadway” events. Probably all of you have seen the idiot cop (I think it was in Missouri) who handcuffed the firefighter at the end of a brief one-sided discussion regarding placement of vehicles. And we remember a similar event in Phoenix a couple of years ago. And my guess is that this type of embarrassing event has occurred around America. And I believe I mentioned that all of these problems can be obviated if we better understood each others roles and responsibilities up front – and that requires ongoing up front communication – and a lot of that can be realized with cops and firefighters getting together informally to learn about the “other side of the fence”.
I am a huge fan of law enforcement officers going to fire stations and grabbing a cup or a meal or just stopping by to see if all is okay. I made this mandatory when I was a Sergeant in the 80’s and while my actions were initially met with some resistance there was an “unintended consequence”. About three months later I realized that I could not get my cops out of the fire stations. But the intended result – getting more interagency cooperation on the scene of events – did occur and I was pleased.
But occasionally some problems did arise during these visits. Some motorcycle cops complained to me about the firefighters putting their helmet in the freezer. And of course there was the “let’s turn down the lights in the bathroom and put saran wrap over the urinal trick”. That worked really well with my tan uniform! And not to mention the occasional “let’s put “Armor All” on the seat on the cop’s motorcycle and watch him fall off when he gets on” and I could go on and on here – but I am sure that most of this was done with the goal of having some fun – and we all know that cops and firefighters love to have fun.
But sometimes this “horseplay” can have some severe “unintended consequences”. I have read a series of reports coming out of a major fire department (many of whose members – current and retired – will be reading this piece) about some major liability losses (in the millions of dollars) in which the incident that caused all the grief was in fact the last event in a series of “pranks” and other types of “horseplay”. But for a moment, forget the “liability” consequence. Here is a piece for you to read taken from the news last week.
Deputy accidentally shocks firefighter with Taser pistol
Anthony Cormier
Published Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 3:02 p.m.
Last updated Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 4:32 p.m.SARASOTA COUNTY — A firefighter was treated at the hospital after a sheriff’s deputy accidentally shocked him with a Taser pistol at a fire station.
Doctors removed an electric probe from Firefighter W.C. Donaldson’s stomach after he was struck at the Bee Ridge Road station on Saturday morning.
Two differing accounts have emerged about the incident.
In a report released Wednesday by the Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Stacey Eve says she tried to test the Taser and forgot to remove a cartridge.
Assistant Fire Chief Paul Dezzi says that some of the firefighters were “goofing around” and knocking on a bathroom door while the deputy was inside.
When she came out, the Taser went off, striking Donaldson, said Dezzi, who said he did not know exactly how the accident occurred.
Tasers and similar stun guns shoot electrodes with small barbs on the end that pierce skin or clothing.
The weapon can deliver about 1,500 volts or more into a person’s body, depending on the model. The firefighter did not get a full jolt because one of the probes brushed off, Eve reported.
The other probe lodged in Donaldson’s abdomen.
The Sheriff’s Office report indicates that Donaldson had a “small cut.” But the firefighter was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital because the probe was embedded deep in his skin, Dezzi said.
“It didn’t cause him to miss any work or anything like that,” Dezzi said. “He’s fine.” Eve remains on regular duty and sheriff’s officials say they are doing an administrative inquiry.
Capt. Steve Burns said Tuesday that the agency could not release details about the incident.
And if you think this is somehow an “isolated incident” it is not. Google “horseplay in fire stations” and you will be surprised at some of the recitals and outcomes. And “horseplay” is not just a potential civil liability issue – people can get hurt with this nonsense. In Sarasota we have a firefighter with a TASER dart in his stomach. And not to be melodramatic but that dart could have ended up in his eye (that is not a pretty thought) or (and this has happened and much more often than you would think) the cop could have got the TASER mixed up with the pistol and then what do you have?
Now please don’t think that I am condoning her behavior – and if I were her boss there would be some serious consequences for this behavior because you don’t ever play games like this with any type of weapon – but something precipitated this event in that fire station. You can read between the lines and figure out what really occurred here. And I don’t like any of it.
So the message for this month’s piece again centers on professionalism. Every time that one of these “interagency” events of a negative nature occurs – the media jumps on it as we see in the “Sarasota” incident. And then our public gets one more piece of data that first responders have “too much free time” and “if I did that at work I would get fired” and all of the other “negative imagery” that neither the fire service nor the police service needs. And without the support of our great public – we have nothing.
Boston Fire Department has worked for hundreds of years building goodwill with their community – and a lot of it was lost in the last months with some of the shenanigans going on in that department. Take a look at the Boston Herald website and read some of the stories (which you may or may not believe) but take a look at the comments from the citizens. The vast majority of the comments are not complimentary to BFD or the “jakes” of BFD (and I hear that is a term of endearment there) inside BFD. I never want to see any of that occurring in our great State.
So in closing please take the time to think prior to acting. And if you are a company officer (or chief officer) take the time to set the tone up front to make sure that none of this nonsense ever occurs on your shift or in your station.
Anyhow, that is it for me for this month. Smart people think up front prior to suffering consequences. The mere fact that you are visiting this site tells me you are a smart person so spread the word with those you may know who might not quite recognize the risks of horseplay on duty.
Take care and stay safe and I will visit with you again next month.
Gordon Graham
