Fire Department Misunderstandings

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about the strange happenings between three mythical fire departments. I have done some extensive investigation into the story, and I have come up with the conclusion that many of the decisions made by those involved were based on misinformation, misunderstandings, and rumour!

The decision to have one Fire Department responded over another was primarily based upon the understanding that the department in question (in my original post, the Village of Alpha's department) did not have qualified personnel to respond nor did they have certified equipment to respond with.  This was, in fact, incorrect.

The closest Fire Department to the incident did have qualified personnel standing by with a certified vehicle and equipment.

In my opinion, the three fire departments involved - and the county in which they are situated - must engage in some meaningful negotiation to prevent such an incident from happening again.  Everyone involved must also remember that  it is the safety and well-being of citizens that is all the primary focus, here!

A True Story?

Once upon a time on a highway, not so long ago and not so far away, there was a traffic accident. It was a not too serious accident with no really serious injuries.

The 911 center received the call and called out the fire department from the Village of Alpha*. They also called out the fire department from the Village of Bravo*.

When the Bravo fire chief heard that the fire department from the Village of Alpha had been called out, he demanded that they be stood down -- even though Alpha was the closest municipality to the accident.

So, the members of the Alpha fire department sat in their fire hall and listened to the radio, as the Bravo Fire Department responded to the call.

Then, the Alpha firefighters heard the Bravo fire chief call in the Village of Charlie* fire department for assistance, while they sat patiently in their fire hall in downtown Alpha.  Charlie was even farther away from the accident, but their fire department dutifully responded!

This story reads stranger than the strangest fiction! I don't know how much of the story is true but I'm going to find out!  Stay tuned on this one!


*The names have been changed to protect everybody! 

Follow-up, March 10th:  Fire Department Misunderstandings