Fog Posted September 10, 2022 Share Posted September 10, 2022 Watching a video of fire response in California taken from the roadblock on the highway leading to the fire. After dozens of fat guys in unmarked SUVs with red and blue wigwag lights in the window they finally had four firetrucks with fit lean guys. Then a couple dozen cops, likely to help with evacuations. Then a bunch more fat guys in SUV's and dodge chargers and pickups. Then one dozer. Couple of support trailers, likely coffee and donuts for the fat guys. More fat guys. One water tender. More fat guys. Firefighting is a huge wasteful cluster of money flowing to a lot of people that don't fight fires. Sure there are logistics and a need for command, but if that comes anywhere close to outnumbering the boots engaging the fire, you have a top heavy and very wasteful response that will be slow and err on the side of just letting it burn. 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted September 10, 2022 Share Posted September 10, 2022 1 hour ago, Fog said: Sure there are logistics and a need for command, but if that comes anywhere close to outnumbering the boots engaging the fire, you have a top heavy and very wasteful response that will be slow and err on the side of just letting it burn. Uvalde shooter's response? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fog Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 55 minutes ago, Huaco Kid said: Uvalde shooter's response? Yep. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fog Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 I'd link to the video, but a friend of my shot it and I know some of the other responders in the video. I don't want to risk a shitstorm for any of them. My friend didn't even realize how the video looked till I messaged him, and then he is thinking about taking it down because he doesn't want to make first responders look bad. I hope he leaves it up, just let people discover it for themselves. He says some of the fat guys were working really hard, and I don't doubt that, just one video with optics that show how bloated wildland firefighting really is. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazy R Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 We had real bad fires here in year 2000. Right about that time it seems the big federal money started flowing to firefighting. Soon as a fire starts here now a tent city is built overnight, nice wall tents and full services, you can see the money flowing bigger than ****. They get paid to fight fires, not to put them out. It's big business now. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tous Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 Government agencies never miss an opportunity to milk the federal cash cows. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerbie18 Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 I got a $5000 dollar bonus in exchange for agreeing to take the covid vaccine, as did all of my coworkers. Where did all that money come from? Yep, a federal grant. Federal money is a total cash cow. Spend it like there is no tomorrow. Your tax dollars... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railfancwb Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 1 minute ago, kerbie18 said: I got a $5000 dollar bonus in exchange for agreeing to take the covid vaccine, as did all of my coworkers. Where did all that money come from? Yep, a federal grant. Federal money is a total cash cow. Spend it like there is no tomorrow. Your tax dollars... Did you get the real jab or the saline that “the big guy” and most politicians probably got? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerbie18 Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 3 minutes ago, railfancwb said: Did you get the real jab or the saline that “the big guy” and most politicians probably got? Pretty sure it was real. I had zero side effects. Lots of my coworkers were sick as dogs after the jab. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fog Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 4 hours ago, kerbie18 said: I got a $5000 dollar bonus in exchange for agreeing to take the covid vaccine, as did all of my coworkers. Where did all that money come from? Yep, a federal grant. Federal money is a total cash cow. Spend it like there is no tomorrow. Your tax dollars... We had full time positions to write grant applications. They would contact people at every level to let us know what grants we could apply for in our specialties. Weapons, training, vehicles, overtime, diets and fitness, uniforms, you name it and there was a grant from uncle sugar just waiting for us to drink up. Most of the enhanced patrol grants paid as overtime. A guy that was willing to invest an extra 2-20 hours a month could start to really clean up on income. The gotcha was it meant his income was higher, which meant his retirement was going to pay better, and that was covered by the state. It was possible to work your 20 years with a little overtime and retire a millionaire. It you worked and extra five years it was all but guranteed. Then cash out to avoid the work hour limits for retirees and move to AZ and hire on full time with a little rural department, but negotiate for three monthes off each year to travel. Some of those guys had it made! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minervadoe Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 On 9/10/2022 at 11:04 AM, Fog said: Couple of support trailers, likely coffee and donuts for the fat guys. That brings an awesome visual to mind. Obviously additional equipment is required. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 22 hours ago, Lazy R said: We had real bad fires here in year 2000. Right about that time it seems the big federal money started flowing to firefighting. Soon as a fire starts here now a tent city is built overnight, nice wall tents and full services, you can see the money flowing bigger than ****. They get paid to fight fires, not to put them out. It's big business now. I fought forest fires in 1969 and 70. I was 16 that first year. No tents. We slept in or under vehicles. Ate C rations from as far back as WW2. The bigger fires we had support from the 'Honor Camp.' Supposedly just guys like us only they got caught. Haha. They were felons. Cons. Much older than us. Things were much different back then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerbie18 Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 5 hours ago, Walt Longmire said: I fought forest fires in 1969 and 70. I was 16 that first year. No tents. We slept in or under vehicles. Ate C rations from as far back as WW2. The bigger fires we had support from the 'Honor Camp.' Supposedly just guys like us only they got caught. Haha. They were felons. Cons. Much older than us. Things were much different back then. I wish I was fighting fires at 16. I would be a better man for it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazy R Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 12 hours ago, Walt Longmire said: I fought forest fires in 1969 and 70. I was 16 that first year. No tents. We slept in or under vehicles. Ate C rations from as far back as WW2. The bigger fires we had support from the 'Honor Camp.' Supposedly just guys like us only they got caught. Haha. They were felons. Cons. Much older than us. Things were much different back then. My Dad was a smokejumper in the North Cascades (Winthrop) in the late 50's. He has great stories. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 I fought many fires when I was a kid. If you couldn't put them out, you ran away. And lied. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 5 hours ago, Huaco Kid said: I fought many fires when I was a kid. If you couldn't put them out, you ran away. And lied. BTDT. Lit some cardboard on fire at the local dump so we could shoot rats when they ran out. It was kinda dry, and also breezy. Should have seen us beating feet across the railroad trestle. Burned the entire dump and some acreage around it. Never fessed up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railfancwb Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 20 hours ago, Walt Longmire said: BTDT. Lit some cardboard on fire at the local dump so we could shoot rats when they ran out. It was kinda dry, and also breezy. Should have seen us beating feet across the railroad trestle. Burned the entire dump and some acreage around it. Never fessed up. Statute of Limitations has probably run by now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 7 hours ago, railfancwb said: Statute of Limitations has probably run by now. As it has on the train wreck I caused when I was a kid. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fog Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 I read the statute and it says "except for the guy who burned the dump into a deeper hole in the ground, we'll get him someday" 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railfancwb Posted September 18, 2022 Share Posted September 18, 2022 There are places where underground coal has been burning for years - decades maybe. Centralia PA for one. Has been suggested that that fire may have started in a dump fire in a place with an open coal seam. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice6 Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 23 hours ago, railfancwb said: There are places where underground coal has been burning for years - decades maybe. Centralia PA for one. Has been suggested that that fire may have started in a dump fire in a place with an open coal seam. Some Peat Bogs in Minnesota also burn for years. Burn so deep it's not economical to put it out. Near cities the Peat Bogs are paved over for Trailer Home Parks. 50+ years ago a peat bog was burning a few miles from us. We live on what used to be a Sand Bar/Shoal/shore of glacial lake Agassiz when it was drained, almost gone.. 35 Feet of Sugar sand beneath us. No basement water problems. My daughter lives on what was the South shore of the diminished lake, same altitude as us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerbie18 Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 On 9/19/2022 at 7:34 PM, janice6 said: Some Peat Bogs in Minnesota also burn for years. Burn so deep it's not economical to put it out. Near cities the Peat Bogs are paved over for Trailer Home Parks. 50+ years ago a peat bog was burning a few miles from us. We live on what used to be a Sand Bar/Shoal/shore of glacial lake Agassiz when it was drained, almost gone.. 35 Feet of Sugar sand beneath us. No basement water problems. My daughter lives on what was the South shore of the diminished lake, same altitude as us. So just so we are clear on this...Walt Longmire is responsible for the longest lasting fire in human history. Meh, he was a juvenile attempting to shoot rats, we can let him off with a stern warning... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 42 minutes ago, kerbie18 said: So just so we are clear on this...Walt Longmire is responsible for the longest lasting fire in human history. Meh, he was a juvenile attempting to shoot rats, we can let him off with a stern warning... I have gotten a lot of 'stern warnings' in my past. Several things were added to my 'permanent record' also. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAKA Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 On 9/21/2022 at 5:22 PM, Walt Longmire said: I have gotten a lot of 'stern warnings' in my past. Several things were added to my *****'permanent record' also. *****Permanent record.....don't we all got one o dem somewhere? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar_ml Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 1 hour ago, DAKA said: *****Permanent record.....don't we all got one o dem somewhere? not if the judge was nice enough to make everything deferred, then you conveniently joined the military and left the country during the deferment time period... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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