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Department pride not the first priority
Published Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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It was tragic enough that a little girl died and another person was injured during a wreck near Minooka Park in Jemison on April 8. But now what happened after the wreck is becoming just as big of a controversy.
Phillip Rachels, chief of the North Chilton Volunteer Fire Department, was arrested for interfering with a government operation after his was one of two departments to respond to the wreck. The issue became which department should be the one giving orders on the scene.
We’re not going to pass judgment on any of the parties involved, but it is unfortunate that a territorial dispute came out of the wreck in the first place.
The wreck occurred in one department’s jurisdiction, but the call was made in the other department’s jurisdiction. Not knowing which department to call, E911 dispatched them both. That’s a much better decision than dispatching neither because the first priority in this situation should have been the health of those involved in the wreck. The importance of that fundamental aspect may have been lost when both fire departments were on the scene. That shouldn’t happen.
There are too many firefighters in Chilton County that volunteer their time to work hard in a thankless job with only the best interest of the people they serve in mind for this incident to damage the reputation of all our firefighters.
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Comments
Posted by catsndogs (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 11:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree 100 percent. It is better to have to much help than not enough and as long as the person is getting help that is all that should matter. I also think that the majority of the people who volunteer are doing it out of the desire to help someone in their time of need. I thank them very much. And there will be times that incidents will occur on or very near jurisdictional boundaries and when this occurs you do the best that you can to get help to the person who needs assistance, plain and simple. After all that is really what it is all about.
Posted by danwright (Dan Wright) on April 16, 2009 at 5:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The research paper mentioned by Chief Griffin in the other story is now posted at: http://www.eastchiltonfire.com/files.htm...
Scroll down to Research Papers to find the link.
Posted by Care4GodsEarth (anonymous) on April 16, 2009 at 5:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you catsndogs, well said.
We are blessed that we have both professionals and volunteers in this county who are willing and able to perform heroically in the line of duty. I thank God for knowing that if I have an emergency someone will help. That is the true spirit of community.
But as the county grows, there needs to be more coordination, not less. More education and learning from other places that have learned important lessons on living in a growing area and serving the emergency needs of the counties.
We are lucky to have our own newspaper that can give us the facts and help us learn areas where, as a community, we need to make adjustments to ensure we take care of everyone equally and to the best of our ability.
We owe it to each other to do the best job possible, whatever it is that we do.
Posted by danwright (Dan Wright) on April 16, 2009 at 6:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Care4GodsEarth:
I encourage you to read the research paper on consolidation. The link is above.
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