In San Francisco a man committed suicide in freezing water temps, after his mother called fireman to the scene they all stood together and watched him as he drown himself, unable to go in after him due to budget cuts and policy regulations they were unable to take any responsibilty...in an attempted rescue. A non authoritative woman (by-stander) volunteered to go into the water and retrieve the mans body, since she was not on the "payroll".

This is very sad, where there is obvious signs of budget issues, when do your moral issues kick in?

here is one article but i am sure there are plenty to choose from online...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/firefighters_watch_man_drown_himself_COyFnjoaSEctUKIvgha1yL

something is missing there, if the budget cuts wouldnt allow them to go in , how did they allow them to waste the gas going there to 'watch'.....

because the BUDGET CUT part is in the Water Rescue Training that was cut from their dept. as a result of their budget cuts. So they were on hand for when the body is dragged ashore by an innocent bystander. However entering the water without their prior training which they can no longer offer is forbidden.

ya, you would think....

And another sad part of the story is the Mother met them down there and was present, standing next to firefighters as they watched her son drown and did nothing....What a terrible loss for her....and the cities Morale...

at my old job- two kids were caught in the rip tide, we arent supposed to go into the water near the jedi's but they werent near a jedi so i went out, and even though there were three other employees on at the time, another parent on the beach ran out into the water with me and rescued the kids. I was not going to sit onshore knwoing i am a strong ocean swimmer and watch these kids get carried out to sea, they were yelling, help help, i could just imagine the news later that night, 2 boys drown while 4 city employees stood by and watched. HELL NO!

This is my point, where maybe you dont get paid but have some morals...

No one thought of contacting the Coast Guard knowing this? There MUST be a Coast Guard Station in the Bay. They have teams specifically trained for this type of rescue. Given that the Fire Dept. knew of these policies and budget cuts in advance, then dispatch should have requested Coast Guard assistance when the call originally came in.

Sounds to me like they dropped the ball because of a lack of protocol.

Sounds to me like it is stupid bureaucratic red tape.....

We used to train you how to do this. Since we have a system in place to qualify someone to do this, you must be qualified to even attempt it. But since we cut out training, no one is allowed to use common sense and trying to rescue someone. You are violating policy and can be fired for doing so.

Chances are if they were injured in the process or died, they would be denied benefits because they violated protocol.

It has only been in recent history that we need to have a piece of paper signed saying we are qualified for whatever we are doing. Someone always has to be first. Who qualified the first person to do this? What made them qualified to be an instructor?

We have WAY too many rules and regulations today.

something is missing there, if the budget cuts wouldnt allow them to go in , how did they allow them to waste the gas going there to 'watch'.....

In San Francisco a man committed suicide in freezing water temps, after his mother called fireman to the scene they all stood together and watched him as he drown himself, unable to go in after him due to budget cuts and policy regulations they were unable to take any responsibilty...in an attempted rescue. A non authoritative woman (by-stander) volunteered to go into the water and retrieve the mans body, since she was not on the "payroll".

This is very sad, where there is obvious signs of budget issues, when do your moral issues kick in?

here is one article but i am sure there are plenty to choose from online...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/firefighters_watch_man_drown_himself_COyFnjoaSEctUKIvgha1yL

Most Coast Guard rescue teams use helicopters....and it's the quickest way to deploy.

It sounds to me like they are just making a bunch of excuses, which only hints that Mightymoe is right. They did this to prove a point.

And I agree with Mylifetoday because we have way too many rules and regulations. Everything is smoke and mirrors. Keep complicating, never simplify.

Too many people work in government for the wrong reasons. Some just want job security. Others want the benefits. Some have their eye on a position with more power and prestige. Not enough people work in government for the sake of being a civil servant anymore. Those who do wish to actually serve the people become frustrated and depressed by the system they find themselves in because trying to do what is right becomes an uphill battle without allies.

This is why unions no longer belong in government jobs. Because the government should have the right to chop the dead wood during a budget crisis. When the crisis passes, fresh blood should enter the ranks, not old blood, thereby refreshing the system. Unfortunately, it is the unions that prevent government from getting rid of those who are harmful to the system.

sort of, but I think Mighty Moe hit it right on the nose.

I disagree about the unions. Union workers are better trained and far more profesional than the transient working class.

Personaly I think Moe is useing failed republican austerity programs to bash the union workers he is enviouse of.

It reminds me of the New York snowstorm. The govenor laid off a third of the snow plow crews then blamed the unions when it snowed and the roads were bad when there was clearly no or little evidence to support the wild claim.