ANOTHER MINION SHOOTS HIS MOUTH OFF

Was just reading the Patch, and imagine my “Surprise” when I read this response concerning the article on the Mansion in Croydon Arson. Check this comment from “Matthew” out:

Matthew

10:30 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Gotta just love "Volunteer" fireman! Hey just remember that if you have a fire on Sunday during football season, during Hockey playoffs, or on a holiday where there's barbeques, your home is toast!!!!!!
I was at a wedding several years ago of a friends son who was a volunteer fireman and actually asked a local fire chief who was also there with many of the local firefighters if they ever made "contingency" plans for when the men would be doing a lot of drinking and such? Part of my concern was that there was another fireman from the same company getting married that day also. The answer from this long time fire chief was "No" they never have done contingency planning!!!! I guess ya get what you pay for? I also watched several dozen volunteer firefighters at a local Fourth of July party a few years ago respond to an alarm at about 7 PM after having been drinking for hours?? They probably shouldn't have been driving yet alone fighting fires?
I have mentioned this to township officials, they must know it happens all the time but yet I've never seen any sort of regulation enacted? They did manage to make that one company give their boat back, but that's another story!

I was extremely curious as to the veracity of this statement, so I consulted with some volunteer fire fighters, who confirmed that this was nothing more than a statement from one of the paid guys. They said, it sounded like one of the paid guys was sounding off, so the volunteers had no other option, but to respond:

Matthew,

As members of the Volunteer Fire Service in Bensalem we found your comments interesting. In Bensalem, I guess you forgot about how the paid fire company works. Unless your house is on fire between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, you will NOT see the paid fire department. If God forbid, it does catch fire during those hours, it cannot be successfully fought WITHOUT the response of the volunteer firefighters! That's right, one piece of fire apparatus with a pump and when they all eventually get there (in their cars and one special service truck) there will still only be eight of them!

Many of the paid firefighters are also volunteer firefighters which is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (section CFR 29 553.100 through 553.106). That in itself is a whole other story!

We found your contingency plan statement rather odd. Whenever the volunteer fire companies in Bensalem have large events that prohibit their members from answering emergency calls, cover companies or a crew is assigned to the station. All the Bensalem volunteer fire companies prohibit their members from answering calls when they have consumed alcohol.

Something you need to remember Matthew. A fire, car crash, extrication, hazardous materials incident, disaster or other types of emergency cannot tell the difference between a career professional firefighter and a volunteer professional firefighter, they all take the same risks!

We hope that clears things up for you!

It’s not enough that they have no money for the paid fire company unless they take more from the volunteers, but they further defame the volunteer firefighters, because one person did something stupid?? What about the fact that it was the Bristol Police, and NOT the Bensalem Police that discovered this criminal ring?? I would love for ANY paid firefighter to explain this fact away. I would also love for them to explain away how Union Fire Company’s boat was sold to another volunteer fire company, and that the grant went to that fire company, NOT the township!! Please also explain how Dave Jerri, Jr. was ACQUITTED of Workman’s Compensation Insurance Fraud, after it was proven in court, that the ONLY reason this was done, was on the word of Fred Harran, and a questionable witness for the township that had drug issues.

WAITING……….