Where firefighters come to talk training

9/11 day of remembrance

I'm passing this on for the brothers to examine........

Brother Firefighters

You may or may not be aware that Derry Fire Department, in Derry N.H have recently negotiated in their contract that 9-11 be a paid holiday for their members in lieu of Columbus Day! In addition, the Peabody Police Department, in Peabody Ma, are negotiating an additional paid holiday for
9-11! By definition, a holiday is something you celebrate, like the New Year, the birth of Christ, Thanksgiving, your birthday, not the untimely deaths of 343 firefighters.

I am sure our brother firefighters in FDNY do not see the loss of 343 fellow firefighters is anything to celebrate. To think that getting paid holiday is a way to commemorate the loss of our fellow firefighters is beyond me. Out of respect for members of the FDNY, I am trying to start a grass roots effort to have 9-11 be declared a National Day Remembrance. Don’t you think that the 343 firefighters would rather you throw back a beverage of your choice in their honor, on September 11th, than getting money at their expense?

Please pass this on to any fire department you have contact and cc a copy to Derry FD.

Battalion Chief Quentin Maver, Charlotte FD, 1st Battalion

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Erich Roden on November 3, 2008 at 11:34pm

Although the Derry Fire Department's intentions were probably noble, having one more sensible Brother in the room would have talked some sense into them. They were just switching a day for a day, however, I think correlating monetary gain in any form to the loss of firefighters is callous. A day of remembrance is fine; celebrating how these guys lived and what they gave the job is even better. I wonder if the Derry FD is going to donate their holiday payout to some of the funds set up in their (343) honor...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Shawn Royall on November 4, 2008 at 2:26pm

That was our thoughts. If they received money and donated it to something like a fallen firemans fund, family, memorial,etc. it would have been noble indeed. I try not to judge until all the facts are deciphered although this case seems to speak for itself. Thanks for the input! Stay safe, Shawn

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on November 7, 2008 at 2:02pm

I unerstand and agree completely with what you are both saying. However, this same day is now formally known as Patriots Day and is supposedly a national holiday of sorts.

▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Welcome to
Fire Engineering Training Community

Sign Up
or Sign In

Or sign in with:

Policy Page

PLEASE NOTE

The login above DOES NOT provide access to Fire Engineering magazine archives. Please go here for our archives.

CONTRIBUTORS NOTE

Our contributors' posts are not vetted by the Fire Engineering technical board, and reflect the views and opinions of the individual authors. Anyone is welcome to participate.

For vetted content, please go to www.fireengineering.com/issues.

We are excited to have you participate in our discussions and interactive forums. Before you begin posting, please take a moment to read our community policy page.

Be Alert for Spam
We actively monitor the community for spam, however some does slip through. Please use common sense and caution when clicking links. If you suspect you've been hit by spam, e-mail peter.prochilo@clarionevents.com.