What would you be willing to pay?

[max1]

They're having trouble with recruiting and holding on to people. A lot of political bickering and the old timers don't want to give up their power.

I see that as one of the biggest problems, who wants to volunteer and have to deal with a bunch of people bickering?

[Crabby]

Speaking as one of those vollies and one of the old fogies at that, there is no one answer. When times are tough, look at the fire Dept. buildings in many cities that the city fathers close down. The people who live near by aren't getting what they paid for. Short crews can be dangerous for the firefighters too.
Our service is 'way more EMS now than fire, but EMS is still the step child in a lot of fire companies.
The internal squabbles are totally ridiculous and speak to a management problem.We have them too, but when the tones drop it's all forgotten.
That recent fire was a real shame, and very traumatic for all involved, but was totally avoidable. Birthday candles? Good Grief! People have to be responsible for their own actions too.
Be careful my friends.Don't let this fun busy season include an unexpected visit from your fire company.

[max1]

Don't let this fun busy season include an unexpected visit from your fire company.

Unless Santa is on that truck :-)

[Crabby]

Hopefully with a bag of candy canes and not a 2 1/2'' hose!

[Curly]

Candles. We used to burn them but over time black soot gets all over everything so now we have the electric tart burners. My wife knew how I was about candles and my being obsessive about where they were burned let alone what they sat in. They were always put in a big glass bowl with about an inch of water in the bottom with a clearance of at least a foot from everything. (A foot from the edge of the glass bowl) If it were up to me, she'd be burning them in the sink.

[Chase]

yeah, candles are a bad deal. i constantly check all heat sources in the house obsessively. i did fire protection for 5 years out of high school, so i know the deal....yo

[motherof3]

I used to burn candles before I had kids. Now my kids ask to buy them for our living room or kitchen.......hell no. We have too much going on and too many animals in this house. There is no way I'll light let alone buy more candles, other than the ones we keep for power failures. Was it birth day candles that started that house fire? Aren't you supposed to put them in a cup of water when you blow them out?

[Crabby]

I don't think the final report is out, yet but it looks like the birthday candles might be the cause. Yes, when the candles are lit, a cup of water should go to the table too. Blow em' out, drop 'em in. I hope they weren't those relight themselves candles. Gotta be extra careful with them!

[Curly]

I heard she threw the candles in the trash.

yeah, candles are a bad deal. i constantly check all heat sources in the house obsessively. i did fire protection for 5 years out of high school, so i know the deal....yo

It's good to be that way. A little common sense goes a long way. Before I leave the house I unplug everything that doesn't need to be plugged in. I've actually turned around and went home when I couldn't remember if I shut something off. Here's a short list of things I've come across that have started a fire, some are obvious and frequent:

Fans, DRYERS AND DRYER VENTS!!!, plug in bug repellent thingys, space heaters, lamps, extension cords-you'd be surprized how many people use lamp extension cords to run space heaters, loose connections in wall outlets (you can sometimes hear them arching, sizzle sound, when something is plugged in and is drawing power), fuse boxes, toasters, ovens stove tops, light fixtures, switches on appliances, CANDLES, vacuum cleaners, ......theres more I just can't think of them right now. The way I see it, anything with a power cord has the potential to burn your house down if the conditions are right.

[Crabby]

Here's a few more. Extension cords running under carpets. Dried out Christmas tree too close to a flame source. (less than three feet) (The new LED lights will help a bit if the cords are in good shape.) Worn or loose appliance cords of any kind. (Yup, unplug 'em.) Overloaded cords. Pets that chew cords. (Remember Christmas Vacation?)
Smokers! Check after the party is over for any smoking materials down inside or underneath furniture. Keep an eye on overfilled ashtrays. Fireplace ashes...dispose of in a non flammable tight lidded (metal) container outside the house! As always, keep matches and lighters put away or very high away from kids.
Be sure your baby sitter knows exactly what you want her to do during an emergency. Be sure you walk around your place just before you leave to be sure candles are out, ashtrays are empty and sharp knives matches etc. are put away. Be sure your sitter knows your address. Many may know how to get to your house, but don't know the real address. Leave your plans and phone numbers.
Ok, there are plenty more. Next?

[longnecker]

Here's a few more. Extension cords running under carpets. Dried out Christmas tree too close to a flame source. (less than three feet) (The new LED lights will help a bit if the cords are in good shape.) Worn or loose appliance cords of any kind. (Yup, unplug 'em.) Overloaded cords. Pets that chew cords. (Remember Christmas Vacation?)
Smokers! Check after the party is over for any smoking materials down inside or underneath furniture. Keep an eye on overfilled ashtrays. Fireplace ashes...dispose of in a non flammable tight lidded (metal) container outside the house! As always, keep matches and lighters put away or very high away from kids.
Be sure your baby sitter knows exactly what you want her to do during an emergency. Be sure you walk around your place just before you leave to be sure candles are out, ashtrays are empty and sharp knives matches etc. are put away. Be sure your sitter knows your address. Many may know how to get to your house, but don't know the real address. Leave your plans and phone numbers.
Ok, there are plenty more. Next?

If you call from a land line wouldn't your location automatically show at the 911 call center? Or is that just on TV?

[Silver Eagle]

I was there before any depts. arrived. I drove by and then got out of the car and hurried over. By the time I was there I saw that people were already comforting people that lived in or next to the house. The house on fire was completely engulfed before the first truck arrived.

The house is a few miles from any fire department. Claymont, Talleyville and Boothwyn (PA) are the closest and they are, from a time standpoint, several minutes from the location.

It is a shame what happened. I am not a firefighter so I can not comment on how they responded. What I did see is some neighbors helping neighbors in a time of need.

I don't know where Ballymeade is but the response time is about right for a day time fire. Most Volunteer firemen are already on there other paid jobs. We don't know when the first call went out to the fire board. They apartment complex is lucky that more town houses didn't burn up with that strong wind blowing. I have some experiance with this type of action. I spent almost 10 years as a Fire Marshal at the Sun Oil Refinery.We went to the best fire schools in the country and so do they. Remember these men and women have to get to the fire house, get there gear on ,get the equiptment to the fire scene and do it as savely as they can.We are lucky here in Delaware ,not to long ago a family in West Virginia lost everything because they were to cheap to pay $75.00 to there local fire company for a years worth of pritection. They got to there Mobile and let it burn to the ground.

[Mark]

I don't know where Ballymeade is but the response time is about right for a day time fire. Most Volunteer firemen are already on there other paid jobs. We don't know when the first call went out to the fire board. They apartment complex is lucky that more town houses didn't burn up with that strong wind blowing. I have some experiance with this type of action. I spent almost 10 years as a Fire Marshal at the Sun Oil Refinery.We went to the best fire schools in the country and so do they. Remember these men and women have to get to the fire house, get there gear on ,get the equiptment to the fire scene and do it as savely as they can.We are lucky here in Delaware ,not to long ago a family in West Virginia lost everything because they were to cheap to pay $75.00 to there local fire company for a years worth of pritection. They got to there Mobile and let it burn to the ground.

I remember that WV story.

I counted today, the lights that the fire dept of Claymont has to navigate through, going down Philly Pike, To darley rd, down Darley to make the left onto Naamans and to Ballymeade. 10 lights. All with traffic that needs to come to a stop, that trucks have to navigate around, on a busy day where schools were just about letting out, not to mention the school across the street, etc... IMO, Claymont did a pretty good job getting there as fast as it did.

[Jessica]

There are a lot of things I'd pay an extra hundred a year for. Extra fire protection, better schools.

The phrase "higher taxes" scares the shit out of the American people, and it's become a political talking point between parties. The simple fact is that if you're willing to pay more *local* taxes you're also going to benefit from better services. It's not always that simple at a federal level, but locally we're paying a pittance for all that we get out of it.

Curly, you and your ilk have my respect and thanks. I could never be brave enough to do what you guys do. I'm willing to give up a couple of lattes a month to ensure that you guys can get in there and do what needs to be done - save lives and homes.

[Crabby]

Longnecker, in the case of a residential hardwired phone, E911 will pick up the address automatically in NCC, but some families have given them up for all cell or some other system that doesn't have the automatic find feature.It's not necessarily consistent.

[Silver Eagle]

I have a feeling that it was something else that caused that fire, Read Saturdays NewsJournal and read between the lines.

[EpicWin]

I have a feeling that it was something else that caused that fire, Read Saturdays NewsJournal and read between the lines.

[Curly]

There are a lot of things I'd pay an extra hundred a year for. Extra fire protection, better schools.

The phrase "higher taxes" scares the shit out of the American people, and it's become a political talking point between parties. The simple fact is that if you're willing to pay more *local* taxes you're also going to benefit from better services. It's not always that simple at a federal level, but locally we're paying a pittance for all that we get out of it.

Curly, you and your ilk have my respect and thanks. I could never be brave enough to do what you guys do. I'm willing to give up a couple of lattes a month to ensure that you guys can get in there and do what needs to be done - save lives and homes.

Thank you Jessica, I appreciate that very much. All emergency workers, medics, cops, EMT's.....I couldn't do it without them having my back.

[Curly]

We are lucky here in Delaware ,not to long ago a family in West Virginia lost everything because they were to cheap to pay $75.00 to there local fire company for a years worth of pritection. They got to there Mobile and let it burn to the ground.

Maybe they didn't have money to spare and I don't care what they paid or didn't pay, those assholes from that department should have all been locked up for letting the house burn down, PERIOD! There's no excuse for childish and unprofessional behavior like that.

I have a feeling that it was something else that caused that fire, Read Saturdays NewsJournal and read between the lines.

I'll stick with the official report of the Fire Marshal's office over the journal any day.

[Bellicose]

Now let me ask a simple question if I may. Is a little off topic but does have something to do with response time.

We were on our way to Jersey via 13 yesterday, and as we crossed Hares Corner we started to hear sirens, coming from behind us. They passed and it was Wilmington Manor (sure hope that is also Wilmington Manor) from the 13/40 split house. We get to where the McDonalds is, and then the Wilmington Manor from across the street starts to pull out of the house. How does one respond to the scene of an accident that is about a mile further away, then the one who is practically right across the street from the scene of the accident? Which by the way the accident was right in front of the Pep Boys.