Statter911 posted a story last night entitled “Kentland VFD (33) Tells How Fire Engines Were Caught in Wind Driven Fire”.
The epic film “Gone With The Wind” is very briefly summarized by IMDB as, “A manipulative Southern belle carries on a turbulent affair with a blockade runner…”
In the KVFD remake, 33′s crew is the bosomy Vivian Leigh while the “wall of flame” is the molten-hot Clark Gable.
I can feel the heat already.
Here’s a torrid excerpt from 33′s page-turner:
“Unimpeded in its progress, the wall of flame continued to advance while the crew managed to escape the area to the location of Engine Company 28, several yards behind the Rescue Squad, where they were able to get water on their super-heated gear and re-initiate fire attack.”
Let’s hope that 33′s breathless account doesn’t become the official report, but in Prince George’s County, Maryland, anything is possible.
In fact, imagine being involved in a serious accident, perhaps through no fault of your own and the officer tells you to “just write your own report.”
In Mayberry, maybe.
Serious incidents are investigated by an independent group tasked with defining causes and issuing lessons learned.
Losing $1.5M in rolling stock constitutes a serious incident but not for the obvious reason.
Firefighters work in close proximity to fire apparatus and damage or destruction to them is a very reliable marker for the closeness of the call.
This one was close.
Accountability?
Perhaps the level of accountability or scrutiny will be less as their website trumpets, they are “100% volunteer 100% of the time”.
This would seem to make them solely answerable to the community they serve.
Perhaps volunteering does have its privileges.
One wonders if a) 33′s members have days jobs and b) if they destroyed $1.5M there, would they be posting about it the next day and finally, c) if that posting would suffice as an official account?
Sounds like spin to me.
Popcorn, anyone?