I am a simple soul

[claymore]

Fire engines are bought from money raised in taxes.
I pay taxes
you pay taxes
we pay taxes.
Our taxes also pay for us to have an army.
Why in the name of sanity does our army - paid for by us - have to drive around in green goddesses whilst the new bright shiney technology that we all know and love as the modern fire appliances - also paid for by us - sit in their garages whilst the people who are paid (by us) to drive the blasted things are after 40% more money than they already get?


regards
Claymore

 

[yoda]

You have expressed the thoughts of most of the population. Let me add one thing, the poor souls driving around in the 50 year old waggons are probably being paid less than the firemen and have had significantly less training in dealing with what they may be called to attend. I hope the young lads and lasses do well and show the firemen the error of their ways.

Yoda

 

[tjm]

Knew a couple of firemen some time back, best pool players for miles around

 

[bedouin]

And so say all of us

I'm sure the soldiers have a more dangerous job than the firefighters too.

For all the hot air about "risking their lives" I somehow doubt if firefighting is that dangerous a job. I imagine it comes below jobs like fishermen, builders, farmers and the armed forces in terms of work-related deaths.

 

[hlb]

They should not be able to strike either. The army cant, nor the police. I'd sack the lot of them in a slow orderly fashion and replace them with all the thousands on the waiting list.
Now wheres that tin hat!!

<font color=blue>Haydn

 

[Cornishman]

Did you hear that one of our gallant firefighters was described as a hero for turning to and helping while he was on holiday in Bali? Hell, wish I could afford an exotic holiday.

The reason given tonight that the lads can't use the modern equipment is that Two Jags John reckons they would have to cross picket lines to get them out, and it would "inflame the situation". Pardon the pun.

 

[wishbone]

I worked for a London Company, which had 3 part time drivers working for cash! Yes they were Firemen, we would get all the stories of the goings on in the Station, pool, card games, and pranks it seems it was a laugh a minute. They did have one story they would like to forget they all attended the Moorgate Tube Disaster. They may be on standby but I don’t think they are over worked. On the other hand I have been self employed for over twenty years and have been down drains and on roofs in all weathers earning a lot less than them!

Wishbone
Getting wet again. Roll on summer. Who mentioned Christmas ! where!

 

[Lofty]

I served on a Green Goddess during the last strike and I have to admit I found it pretty dangerous and at times very scary. But then we were covering a larger area and, therefore, more fires in a shift than the regular fireman. Fireman usually arrived at the scenes of the fires we attended and sometimes came forward from the crowd and gave us advice. One told me to move back with my hose as the end of the building, I was aiming at was about to collapse. He helped me move the hose to a position he considered safe and then the whole end gable wall collapsed and landed just where I had been standing. Not surprisingly I am ever grateful to that unknown fireman. Whether they deserve more pay or not I’m not qualified to judge. But surely if the nurses and the fireman had a index related pay agreement, along the same lines as the police, there would be no need for strikes.

 

[jimi]

Re: And so say all of us

Could'nt agree more. Its all emotional blackmail, these guys are trained. My family were all miners, they got paid a pittance. Why are there 40 or more recruits for every vacancy in the fire service? What about the volunteer rescue services who work for nothing? Lifeboatmen, mountain rescue to name but two.

I am self employed, my income has risen by zero % since labour have come into office but my tax bill has risen by 40%.

No sympathy in this quarter!

 

[ccscott49]

Re: And so say all of us

I think you and a few others on here should go and do a firefighting course! As for it not being dangerous, until you've been in a fire I respectfully suggest you keep your opinions to youself. They may not be worth 40% but 11% over two years, is insulting. They haven't been on strike for many years and they don't really want to now, as for the miners, they have a very dangerous job, I admit. Comparing the danger of a soldiers life with that of a fireman is ludicrous! I too was on duty in the last "green goddess" scheme, I can tell you honestly I shit myself and I was seconded from northern ireland, so IMHO, until you've been there done that........

 

[claymore]

We drifted here

Lets leave the danger of it all out - inflation is practically non existant and therefore no-one should expect much in the way of a pay increase. I would like to think that I was going to be awarded 11% over the next two years - it will be around 5% in all probability.
Stuff picket lines and offending finer feelings - if there is a fire, the poor sods who find themselves thrust into the breach deserve to have access to the modern equipment and technology (which includes clothing) that has been paid for from tax derived sources. Otherwise - why have we bought it - perhaps we could have saved our money and just kept the green goddesses. I think the firefighters would have a thing or two to say if they were expected to do their job in GG's wearing camouflage fatigues.
Of course it takes bravery to fight a fire or carry out a rescue from a dangerous situation - but they knew that when they signed up.
Surely social responsibility has to include simple conduct codes which must have a 'no strike' clause integral to them. I bet (and hope)the service looks a whole sight different 3 years from now.

regards
Claymore

 

[ccscott49]

Re: We drifted here

They knew it was a dangerous job when they signed up! They are not complaining about the danger and neither are the soldiers! I just think the pay is crap for the job, as I think the pay for the nurses is crap, too many successive governments have relied on the good will of these people, I for one am sick of politicians! They should be the ones manning the GG's Then they might have some perception as to what the job entails! The training required to operate the modern equipment, is not available to the soldiers, they just couldn't operate the stuff safely, they'd be a danger to themselves and anybody around them and yes, stuff the picket lines, that coming from a man who can't control himself let alone anybody else! So lets not go on about that! The clothes I agree with you about.

 

[Forbsie]

Re: And so say all of us

Colin, I agree with you, but what confuses the hell out of me is why on earth we still have Green Godesses in the army. I used to frequently hear of tons of kit over 3 years old being shipped out of Devonport and dumped at sea particularly just before year-end. I was always sceptical but it certainly does not make sense to rely on these relics to protect such huge assets that are under the control of the MOD.

As for the rise, I think that they ARE worth 40% but I would say the same for nurses. What I know for sure is that the politicians did not deserve their 40% but there was no way to stop them awarding themselves that, was there?

Rant over, I'm going back to sleep.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/forbsie>My Project Pics</A>

 

[claymore]

Re: We drifted here

was the milk on your meusli off this morning or are you at the end of a long and tiring shift.
If someone dies as a result of the firefighters being on strike and it was due to the fact that a GG was not up to the job, or the soldiers weren't - then that would be an awful state of affairs. I'm not sure where you are coming from Colin - I liked your point about soldiers not being sufficiently trained to use modern equipment - so how come we only get to know this now. Surely if we can have contingency plans for evacuating lake windermere in the case of a major catastrophe (which we have) and the thousand and one other contingency plans we have, we could have thought about training a team of Soldiers to use new fire engines?
Anyway - about your pay rise. Don't allow the hand of the Forbsie in here - it can only end in tears!

regards
Claymore

 

[qsiv]

Whar doesnt get mentioned (because Prescott ordered it to be withheld) is that the Forces also have a fleet of some of the most advanced fire engines in the country.

 

[ccscott49]

Re: We drifted here

Training, you can't just train a bunch of soldiers to operate the equipment and then leave it at that, there would have to be continous training, then they become firemen/women, that then defeats the object of having firemen/women, get my point? You would also have to rely on the firemenpeeps to train them, to take over when they go on strike......... You know, now where I'm coming from! The GG's are only kept in reserve, for this and a civil defence role, they are really antiquated, nothing exists in the army today like them, the bedford rl, series went out years ago! They were getting rid, before I left in 74. Milk was fine, sugar puffs actually! just feel peeps are a little misinformed, but, that of course is how the government likes it. They said they had no intentions of closing down all those coal mines, so why should the miners go on strike, naughty Mr. Scargill!..........Oh! No! Arseholes the lot of 'em!

 

[ccscott49]

Quite correct, but not many of them! Most in the wrong places.

 

[claymore]

Re: We drifted here

Well
I still don't think that we should stand-ins driving to fires in minis and peeing on them once there, when there are ferraris in the garage with garden hoses on them.
Off to work
byeee

regards
Claymore

 

[ccscott49]

Re: We drifted here

I thought i'd explained that, obviously not well enough.
Byee.

 

[Opinionated]

They DO have a pay-mechanism which ties them to the top quartile (or something like) of the skilled workers statistically. That suited them once, but now they are more skilled and technologically advanced and such BS - so need more dosh.

Unfortunately, the media are behind them (one wonders what is their agenda?) and keep saying that the populace are behind the firefighters (we used to call them firemen). EVERYBODY I have asked thinks that the FF are asking too much at 40% and that the 11% deal, with its strings attached, should be good enough, so who are the media talking to.

And did you know that the bogus call rate has gone up significantly in some parts of the country? I wonder why/who?

They are greedy b*****ds!!



IMHO, of course.