tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467111719459081200.post5538800162100780994..comments2023-11-30T23:53:13.094-05:00Comments on Steven Velásquez - Granting "Sirenity": Fire Safety Through Legislation - "American Bloodlaw"Steven P. Velasquez, NRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12454698479993359673noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467111719459081200.post-39544643689624071432013-01-27T19:38:41.439-05:002013-01-27T19:38:41.439-05:00Now, my conflict. If we don't advocate for fi...Now, my conflict. If we don't advocate for fire safety, nobody will. I'm not talking about sprinklers, or standpipe inspections, or banning live Christmas trees in retail stores. I'm talking about staffing. I'm talking about response times. I'm talking about equipment that works. It blows my mind when people say we in NYC are "spoiled" by our staffing. Spoiled? No. That's what it takes to do the job effectively. Having worked in a jurisdiction that had career personnel going out with 1-2 on an engine, at most 3...I know what it's like. Sprinklers are nice, but so are firefighters. Brothers complain about the lack of staffing, but not many actively advocate or seek more. People are dumb, remember? And we need someone to go collect the dumb ones when they burn their stuff. My head hurts. Interesting read, and all valid points. I just tend to reside in a more libertarian frame of mind, which tends to see any extra governmental interference never corrects the problem...it only make someone else richer. (I must also give credence to the very real truth hood that all rules we abide by on the fireground are written in blood...and that we'd be wise to read the words spelled out in the spilled crimson of those who went before us.<br /><br />OK, I'm done now!JFM8244https://www.blogger.com/profile/07372221134164037861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467111719459081200.post-72598356428353469772013-01-27T19:37:45.931-05:002013-01-27T19:37:45.931-05:00Steve,
I'm sitting here debating exactly how ...Steve,<br /><br />I'm sitting here debating exactly how I feel on this topic. I'm writing this completely off the cuff, and mainly stream of thought, so if it lacks any cohesion whatsoever, well, you'll know why. The first few paragraphs immediately drew a parallel in my mind to the current "debate" concerning gun control. I'm not going to minimize events in modern American society. The American phenomenon of mass murder carried out by the "lone nut" is certainly an issue that needs to be examined, and addressed in some capacity. Herein lies the problem. The knee jerk reaction is GUN CONTROL!!! OH MY GOD THESE EVIL THINGS MUST GO!!! This is the cry of the lemmings. This is the simplistic cry of those who lack the ability or desire to think through various cause/effect scenarios. Knowing both you and Dave, I seriously doubt either of you will take issue with my characterization of those clamoring for strict governmental interference in the firearm realm as...mostly reactionary, simplistic and usually based in ignorant fearmongering. We all know that such mass murders, as well as the routine violence we as urban first responders see on a daily, constant basis have much deeper causalities, and simple "feel-good" legislation will do nothing to stem such a tide, if not worsen the violent cycle we currently face in our nation. So, as much as I hesitate to ask, is fire safety beyond the fundamental basics that we've been enforcing for I'd guesstimate at the past 20 years or so truly going to make a difference? I am not a researcher. I am certainly not a pontificator on fire safety. I'm simply a grunt with a leery eye towards government with a pessimistic view that, well, shit happens. People make mistakes. People, for lack of a better phrase, do dumb shit. They do dumb shit quite often. I'm rather confident in my belief that no amount of legislation, enforcement or governmental nanny-ism is going to change the fact that most people are downright goofy. Darwin had a theory about something like that....I'll see if I can find it somewhere. <br /><br />My pessimism is clearly showing. One only need look at the Deutsche Bank fire to realize that no matter the volumes of rules, legislation, etc one has on the books...and trust me, the City of New York has plenty (with the fines to boot! Thanks Mayor Bloomberg), without enforcement or a spirit of cooperation with those tasked with following them, they mean nothing. Having dealt with that nightmare of a situation, Call it indifference, call it apathy, call is systemic corruption, but until people recognize the SPIRIT of fire prevention...until people realize that they are responsible for more than their own selfish needs, no amount of legislation will mean a thing. As dumb as people may be, they're even MORE selfish. If it costs them money, if it costs them effort...they're not going to do it, compulsory or not. My pessimism shows again....(Had to write in 2 parts...part 2 to follow!)<br />JFM8244https://www.blogger.com/profile/07372221134164037861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467111719459081200.post-46289439870878251162013-01-27T13:19:10.099-05:002013-01-27T13:19:10.099-05:00Steve,
Excellent paper, very well written and th...Steve, <br /><br />Excellent paper, very well written and thought out. You dared to address the hard issues that we as a society will often jump on the bandwagon of (insert topic here) as a result of a tragedy but we fail to continue the fight to ensure that the situation gets mitigated. As professionals, we are constantly barraged with the effects of tragedy yet manage to maintain a clear head and sound decision making. The results of the investigation into the Brazil Nightclub fire will take some time, unfortunately the lessons learned will already be steeped in history and what many of us may consider "common sense". While not a nightclub, another tragedy that comes to mind was the Our Lady of Angels fire in 1958 (http://www.olafire.com/FireSummary.asp). The same lessons learned in the Iroquois Theater, notification, suppression, and egress played out in this renovated school, with the same fatal consequences. This history will continue to repeat itself until the society that we live in realizes that the professionals out there, the "crusaders for public safety" (note, this is not a paid vs volunteer argument as it does not apply) are professing their concerns for the greater good and not to further their own individual agendas. Thank you for addressing these concerns, 10 years later and we are still fighting the same issues, notification, suppression, and egress that have plagued us for years. Dave Wiklanskinoreply@blogger.com