Where firefighters come to talk training

ARMED AND DANGEROUS SITUATION

First, let me say that I am a supporter of the Second Amendment and our constitutional right as citizens to bear arms - so, calm down now before you read any further, I don't want your guns! That being said, I am not a supporter of any hypothesis where firefighters and first-responders are armed. I am not a cop, nor do I want to be! Law-enforcement is a highly specialized field where personnel are trained, trained, and trained on how and when to use, or not use, deadly force. I am a firefighter, and I train, train, and train, to help people in need and serve my community in a non-combatant role. I see a very distinct difference in our roles to protect the communities we serve.

What's more, I see only bad things on the horizon for the fire service if communities decide to arm their first responders - both legally and socially. If the fire and EMS service want better protection, it is my belief that more cops on the street and asking them respond to the scene of every call is the answer. Let the folks who are trained to deal with these situations handle these situations. After all, would you want a cop taking your pre-connect upon arrival and making entry because they obtained some state minimum firefighter training? I didn't think so!

Let cops be the cops - I don't want a gun!

Please keep your comments civil, folks - all others will be deleted. That being said, let's have a discussion… I want to hear your thoughts.

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Comment by Paul Combs on March 12, 2013 at 3:20pm: Thanks, Chief - do you have links to those articles and Blog Talk Radio webcast? If so, would you mind posting them so folks can read/hear other opinions?

Comment by John K. Murphy on March 12, 2013 at 11:24am: Good commentary. As you and your readers are aware Frank Ricci and others, inlcuding myself, have written articles about guns in the fire service located in the FE Blogs and Exclusives. The Fire Service attorneys (Varone, Pinsky, Comstock, Murphy) had opined on that very topic on Blog Talk Radio and the bottom line was - NO GUNS in the fire services. Your illustration is a great addition to the intellegent discussion. I am with you, there is a place for guns and the fire service is not that place.

Comment by Jason Low on March 11, 2013 at 8:20pm: I'm in agreement too. Can you imagine a firefighter or medic treating a patient that they themselves shot? Here's a left-field question: Would a medic spend extra time (thus jeopardizing their safety by delaying) thinking about where to place the shot, to make it have "stopping power" yet be less difficult to treat the wound after the fact?

Comment by Paul Combs on March 11, 2013 at 7:17pm: Thanks, Nick! C'mon folks, don't tell me you don't have an opinion about this. Let's get a discussion started... I'd like to hear multiple sides on this topic.

Comment by Nick Morgan on March 11, 2013 at 6:14pm: I agree with you 100% on this one Paul!

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