4 ms·

Firefighter salaries in most countries are an absolute joke. It's a job that doubles your cancer risk and requires you to do shift work which is known to be dam

by rcarr 3y ago

Firefighter salaries in most countries are an absolute joke. It's a job that doubles your cancer risk and requires you to do shift work which is known to be damaging to your health, not to mention you're putting your life on the line anytime you step into a burning building to try and rescue someone. Plus they'll often be doing first aid if they're the first on the scene. Just pay them the fucking respectable wage they deserve. Really winds me up the way governments treat them.

supertrope 3y ago
Even worse a lot of rural fire districts are staffed with volunteers. There's also prisoner fire crews (slave labor).
- catiopatio 3y ago
  CalFire allows prisoners to volunteer for fire service. It’s a highly coveted position. The only issue is that their criminal record can prevent them from working in the fire service after release. If we can fix that, I see no issue with it as a valuable, coveted career training program.
- red-iron-pine 3y ago
  Most if not all prisoner fire crews are strictly volunteer, and only open to the lowest-tier of offenders -- low risk; certain crimes are automatic disqualifications. There are also health, fitness, and other requirements. They get something like $26/day on the low end, and their work earns time-served credits, meaning every day spent on a crew counts for 2 extra days served. They also get full-on vocational training, and are eligible for firefighter jobs when they get out. It is, among other things, a rehabilitation program. I'd hardly call it slavery, and it has a number of very fair perks, esp. considering that the person is a felon. I lived in San Diego for a little and the general consensus was that the prisoners worked hard and were competent -- nothing else to do but train.
- talldatethrow 3y ago
  The definition of slave is really getting diluted lately.
  - gremlinsinc 3y ago
    Do they get a choice of staying back at the pen or going to fight fires? if not then they're definitely slaves, plus the 13th amendment specifically bans slavery except in prison, so technically prisons legally can and do treat inmates as slaves.
    - talldatethrow 3y ago
      Yes, they do.
  - deprecative 3y ago
    I mean, that's the actual exception from our laws banning slavery in the US.
incahoots 3y ago
It really should be a no-brainer to pay the men and women that take on the firefighting role. I'm in the Midwest and the exodus we experienced in volunteer firefighting is extremely worrying, on top of that a recent city board meeting went side ways when a hot headed alderman couldn't keep his professionalism in check and blasted 2 recently hired firefighters because they lived outside the 25 mile zone (27, 29 respectfully), due to housing issues. Home fires have only increased since 2020, yet we twiddle our thumbs for proper pay and empowering our fire services that need it. The police got their huge increase in budgets during 2020-2022, but I haven't heard the same for firefighters. Weird considering it's a popular service, I mean I'm not aware of a firefighter equivalent to "FTP".
smileysteve 3y ago
> Just pay them the fucking respectable wage they deserve. In many rural areas; it's not even a for pay job; It's volunteer outside most major cities; in Alabama and Georgia. It's not even part of sales or property taxes here; the volunteer fire department (with no employees, much less a paid head of marketing or collections) has to market to the community.
- supertrope 3y ago
  In Arizona there are fire subscriptions offered by fire departments to property owners adjacent to but outside their jurisdiction. Voters had rejected a tax. In one are of Tennessee they would rescue people but let structures burn if they did not subscribe. This was an unpopular policy and they now bill non-subscribers for fire service. Of course people who had their house catch on fire may not be the best financial status and any lien the FD gets will be on some ruins. https://www.nwtntoday.com/2012/02/17/fire-response-policy-in-south-fulton-sparks-new-ordinance/ https://www.nwtntoday.com/2012/02/17/fire-response-policy-in...

by rcarr 3y ago

supertrope 3y ago

Even worse a lot of rural fire districts are staffed with volunteers. There's also prisoner fire crews (slave labor).

catiopatio 3y ago
CalFire allows prisoners to volunteer for fire service. It’s a highly coveted position. The only issue is that their criminal record can prevent them from working in the fire service after release. If we can fix that, I see no issue with it as a valuable, coveted career training program.
red-iron-pine 3y ago
Most if not all prisoner fire crews are strictly volunteer, and only open to the lowest-tier of offenders -- low risk; certain crimes are automatic disqualifications. There are also health, fitness, and other requirements. They get something like $26/day on the low end, and their work earns time-served credits, meaning every day spent on a crew counts for 2 extra days served. They also get full-on vocational training, and are eligible for firefighter jobs when they get out. It is, among other things, a rehabilitation program. I'd hardly call it slavery, and it has a number of very fair perks, esp. considering that the person is a felon. I lived in San Diego for a little and the general consensus was that the prisoners worked hard and were competent -- nothing else to do but train.
talldatethrow 3y ago
The definition of slave is really getting diluted lately.
- gremlinsinc 3y ago
  Do they get a choice of staying back at the pen or going to fight fires? if not then they're definitely slaves, plus the 13th amendment specifically bans slavery except in prison, so technically prisons legally can and do treat inmates as slaves.
  - talldatethrow 3y ago
    Yes, they do.
- deprecative 3y ago
  I mean, that's the actual exception from our laws banning slavery in the US.

incahoots 3y ago

It really should be a no-brainer to pay the men and women that take on the firefighting role. I'm in the Midwest and the exodus we experienced in volunteer firefighting is extremely worrying, on top of that a recent city board meeting went side ways when a hot headed alderman couldn't keep his professionalism in check and blasted 2 recently hired firefighters because they lived outside the 25 mile zone (27, 29 respectfully), due to housing issues. Home fires have only increased since 2020, yet we twiddle our thumbs for proper pay and empowering our fire services that need it. The police got their huge increase in budgets during 2020-2022, but I haven't heard the same for firefighters. Weird considering it's a popular service, I mean I'm not aware of a firefighter equivalent to "FTP".

smileysteve 3y ago

> Just pay them the fucking respectable wage they deserve. In many rural areas; it's not even a for pay job; It's volunteer outside most major cities; in Alabama and Georgia. It's not even part of sales or property taxes here; the volunteer fire department (with no employees, much less a paid head of marketing or collections) has to market to the community.

supertrope 3y ago
In Arizona there are fire subscriptions offered by fire departments to property owners adjacent to but outside their jurisdiction. Voters had rejected a tax. In one are of Tennessee they would rescue people but let structures burn if they did not subscribe. This was an unpopular policy and they now bill non-subscribers for fire service. Of course people who had their house catch on fire may not be the best financial status and any lien the FD gets will be on some ruins. https://www.nwtntoday.com/2012/02/17/fire-response-policy-in-south-fulton-sparks-new-ordinance/ https://www.nwtntoday.com/2012/02/17/fire-response-policy-in...