Firefighters generally get too much pay and job security

[frostno98]

If a CA Correction Officer makes that much...then **** me, I should have done that.

Many of them work dual shifts, 16 hours a day doing nothing. The only draw back is if an inmate gets in your nerves and makes your day miserable, other than that it's a decent job. If your lucky, you can drive the Prison Van around the outside walls all day.

[The Madcap]

No wonder California is so fukking broke.

[ttwarrior1]

firefighters here do nothing but drive the trucks pretty much and some basic stuff.

Its the volunteer fireman that would run into someone's house, etc

[King Mayan]

they have job security...

[hockeyman30304]

they have job security...

There will always be fires and there will always be homeless people who need rides to the hospital for the same dumb stuff plus the people in this world are dumb so there will always be injuries.

[BWest]

A much better plan would be to close all firehouses and issue garden hoses, water pistols and first aid kits to every citizen. Americans as a whole are very bright, they will figure it out. We would never have to pay another firefighter or EMT, save tons of money and not have to hear loud sirens in the middle of the night. What are the chances you will need one anyway? I can only hope I get hit by a train.......soon.

[hockeyman30304]

haha that would be fun.

[Foosball Champ]

I have always wondered why police and fireman get paid more than teachers. Is it the threat of a strike? Better Union representation?

[samgurt]

firefighters here do nothing but drive the trucks pretty much and some basic stuff.

Its the volunteer fireman that would run into someone's house, etc

Sure, it's true that volunteers are usually up for anything. But trust me...no paid firefighter would ever NOT want to go into a burn. In fact, I have a training burn tomorrow and can't wait!

As for everyone talking about the money. We only start out at around 35-40k. It's really nothing special...

And on almost every paid department, the firefighter need to be at least emt-b.

The competition to get a job is very high so you basically need to either have volunteer exp or a degree

[poochiecollins]

Yep, and football players and owners should get paid more

If you want them to have less money, don't watch football or put money into anything where a cut goes to the league.

[poochiecollins]

Googled 10 most underpaid jobs in america, FIRST link that came up all 3 Police, Fire, and Teacher were on the list... http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the...jobs-in-the-us ''The vast majority of Americans would never consider doing these 10 jobs, either because of the poor pay or what's involved. Still, in every case, they're performing an indispensable service, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude for it.''

You misread; firefighters weren't on that list. There are a lot more people who want to be firefighters than slots available.

[poochiecollins]

If a CA Correction Officer makes that much...then **** me, I should have done that.

I live in Nassau County, Long Island and have heard gripes about cops making similar income here, where real estate is pretty pricey. I get the impression that civil servants in expensive-property areas tend to get overpaid because of expensive overall cost of living rather than free market / working wages. I could be wrong.

[poochiecollins]

To everyone saying their pay's okay, something's worth is based on two factors: their raw production, and how replaceable they are. As has been implied, while not just anyone can up and be a firefighter, replacing them isn't like replacing doctors, and plenty of people want to. Also, firefighting isn't as dangerous as most people think. I tried finding some mortality comparisons; one study from 2005 didn't even have firefighters in the top 10 American jobs with the highest death rates. How is it fair to have firefighters with a healthy pay, and those who do it for nothing, even if the former is trained a little better?

[The Madcap]

To everyone saying their pay's okay, something's worth is based on two factors: their raw production, and how replaceable they are. As has been implied, while not just anyone can up and be a firefighter, replacing them isn't like replacing doctors, and plenty of people want to. Also, firefighting isn't as dangerous as most people think. I tried finding some mortality comparisons; one study from 2005 didn't even have firefighters in the top 10 American jobs with the highest death rates. How is it fair to have firefighters with a healthy pay, and those who do it for nothing, even if the former is trained a little better?

It's a sad day when we are questioning the pay of fire fighters. It tells me we drastically need to cut budgets elsewhere. Parks/Rec, art programs, and community centers would be my first choices. They are an absolute frickin' waste of money and could certainly be replaced easily by private non-profit organizations.

I want my fire fighters making money. I want them to stay on the job. It takes several years in that type of job to get enough experience to actually know what you're doing. And I don't want my parents or friends or anybody else I care about in the midst of a heart attack having some dipshit arrive on the scene who doesn't know what the fuk he's doing. Fire fighters have a lot more responsibilities than just putting out fires. And those who put out a lot of fires do risk permanent damage to their respiratory system.

If our federal income taxes were slashed to a more reasonable 10-15% people would probably vote to increase the pay of their local fire fighters.

[HotStreak]

Fire Fighters and Police deserve what they get and more. It's the paper pushers at City Hall that are stealing their pay checks.

[ElLoco23]

I know in most small towns, only a few are paid and the rest are volunteers.

[Stinger]

Most of them deserve it, some scum bags don't though.

[hhsilver]

Most of them deserve it, some scum bags don't though.

this is true in many many professions, including sbr point earners.

[katstale]

Tough call here. You have to be a certain mindset to be a firefighter. First of all, with all the downtime at the station you have to like weightlifting and/or basketball and/or Oprah and/or One Life to Live and/or grilling and/or porn and/or bass fishing shows, etc Not all are called to that.

[poochiecollins]

I want my fire fighters making money. I want them to stay on the job. It takes several years in that type of job to get enough experience to actually know what you're doing. And I don't want my parents or friends or anybody else I care about in the midst of a heart attack having some dipshit arrive on the scene who doesn't know what the fuk he's doing. Fire fighters have a lot more responsibilities than just putting out fires. And those who put out a lot of fires do risk permanent damage to their respiratory system.

Considering much of the firefighting force is already non-pay, illustrate to us how a decent decrease in pay would appreciably hurt firefighter quality for the worse.

[RudyRuetigger]

have mixed feelings, as with most jobs

[opie1988]

I see you up there, Rudy Ruetigger. We all miss 'ya back in PT, pal. Wish you'd come back....

[str]

Seems like one of those jobs where until you need them, they are overpaid.

When you do need them,they are not paid enough.

[stevenash]

because they generate a whole lot more revenue then they get paid

Most movies DO NOT turn a profit, even after going to DVD.

GMI (the people who study such things) estimates a pre-tax operating loss of $1.9 billion after five years of exploitation across all global media. That compares with a profit of $2.2 million for all new studio releases.


The main problem, as identified by GMI, is that people aren't buying DVDs the way they used to. Aside from providing interesting commentary on the lifecycle of a format that was new territory for most consumers just nine years ago, the downturn in DVD sales (they're down by 12.5% just this year) hits the studios hard.

Most profitable:


With a $111 million budget and $1.1 billion to show for it, 'The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King' comes in with an impressive 1,008 percent return on investment. From there we've got 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' 'There's Something About Mary,' and 'The Hangover' followed by 'Jaws,' 'Ghost' and 'Home Alone.' Next up is 'The Passion of the Christ,' 'American Beauty' and 'Star Wars.'

Finally, the first to crack the top five is 'Grease,' which boasts a mere $20 million budget with $394 million in returns. That puts its return on investment at 1,975 percent. 'Pretty Woman' crossed the 2,000 percent point with an ROI of 2,013 percent thanks to its $463 worldwide intake on a $23 million budget. Number three on the list is everyone's favorite indie underdog, 'Slumdog Millionaire.' That one was made for just $15 million and not only went on to collect award after award, but $378 million at the box office and a 2,520 percent ROI, too.

It's the number two film, 'E.T.,' that really takes things to another level. 'E.T.' takes 'Slumdog' by an astonishing 500 percent, courtesy of its $25 million budget and $793 million haul. But even with a 3,172 percent ROI, it's still light years away from the most profitable film of all time. That would be 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding,' which boasts a 6,150 percent return on investment thanks to its measly $6 million budget and $369 million in earnings. So this is why Nia Vardalos got the OK to make junk like 'I Hate Valentine's Day.'

[Ryangene]

I do know some firefighters that don't do much all day long, others in bigger cities are busy around the clock.

[stevenash]

I do know some firefighters that don't do much all day long, others in bigger cities are busy around the clock.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/community/ff_salary_benefits_080106.shtml

[mighty maron]

IP should be tracked and in case of 911 fire call then fire department should provide estimate and extract deposit before battling ops house fire

[GmCrazy]

OT, but does anyone remember from In Living Color, the Firefighter's name, that Jim Carrey played? It was hilarious.

[stevenash]

^
Fire Marshall Bill, loved the character myself

[White Rhino]

Firemen bug the hell out of me. They think they are hot shit and there job is so dangerous. In my small town of a 100,000 there might be 1 or 2 fires a year other than that they respond to car accidents all day and get paid 65 grand a year for it. Bullshit.

[stevenash]

Firemen bug the hell out of me. They think they are hot shit and there job is so dangerous. In my small town of a 100,000 there might be 1 or 2 fires a year other than that they respond to car accidents all day and get paid 65 grand a year for it. Bullshit.

Yes, but if you get an electrical short at 3am that starts a blaze in your house, and those overpaid firefighters get to in time, and save your house, wife and kids, I bet the following day you are saying 'double their salary'

[poochiecollins]

Most movies DO NOT turn a profit, even after going to DVD.

The only way this could possibly be true is if most of those financial losers are indie films. I check box office figures of many movies that have some degree of wide release, and even most of the shitty ones profit -before- post-theater sales.

[poochiecollins]

Seems like one of those jobs where until you need them, they are overpaid. When you do need them,they are not paid enough.

Yes, but if you get an electrical short at 3am that starts a blaze in your house, and those overpaid firefighters get to in time, and save your house, wife and kids, I bet the following day you are saying 'double their salary'

And what about the many volunteers who don't get money? How's that fair? If anyone's going to say professionals are so much better than volunteers btw, you'd need to quote someone who works in the industry.

Let's stick to rationale, not ad hominem, fellas.

[The Madcap]

Considering much of the firefighting force is already non-pay, illustrate to us how a decent decrease in pay would appreciably hurt firefighter quality for the worse.

Most "volunteer" fire fighters live in small towns where there is no budget to pay them. But the thing about small towns is that accountability is easier to come by. If you volunteer you're expected to take it seriously and get trained. And if you don't, word will get around. You will be scrutinized by your neighbor in a personal way. This is a motivator to do your job.

In bigger cities where it's completely different. There is no such proximal accountability. How many people know their local firemen in a big city?

There are also a shit load more fires and emergencies. The volume of calls encountered by a paid big city fire fighter compared to a volunteer is massive. You're not going to have people risking their lives every day in a big city to put out fires if they aren't getting paid. It just doesn't work that way. The stress and the media scrutiny are infinitely higher. Small town inter-personal scorn will result in a harsh word or two, and a temporarily marred reputation, (which you want to avoid if you want to get laid,) but it won't result in a lawsuit or potential criminal negligence charges that you might find from big city prosecutors.

Do you really think you're going to be able to find enough suitable volunteers to patrol places like Chicago or New York, where there are thousands of firetraps all over the damned city if they aren't getting paid? Where would they find the time to work their real job?

If you decrease pay in these areas, then dumber less motivated people take the jobs instead of intelligent people. Less pay means less respect for the job. You can pay people too much that they take a job for granted, but you can also pay them so little that they don't take the job seriously. You want them to feel they are earning their pay and keeping their skills honed and sharp. In a big city, where a fire can jump from an apartment complex to a strip mall to a hospital, you want the best people available to limit potential death and destruction. If farmer Joe's barn catches fire because a lantern spilled over, 7-8 volunteers aren't going to make much more of a difference coming in than 7-8 professionals. But if slumlord Joe's rat-traps start going up in flames, you're going to need those professionals to save lives and contain the damage.

[The Madcap]

And what about the many volunteers who don't get money? How's that fair? If anyone's going to say professionals are so much better than volunteers btw, you'd need to quote someone who works in the industry.

Let's stick to rationale, not ad hominem, fellas.

yeah, because if I get a quote from someone in the industry it's not going to be filled with ad-hominem bias at all is it?