Fire Strike

What a pain in the arse this is. Fire service striking for 2 days

btw, for the Londoners on the board, here are the tube stations that have been closed because of it:

They include Covent Garden, Wapping, Edgware Road and Russell Square.
Belsize Park, Borough, Caledonian Road, Covent Garden, Edgware Road (Bakerloo Line), Elephant & Castle, Gloucester Road, Goodge Street, Hampstead, Holland Park, Kennington, Lambeth North, Lancaster Gate, Mornington Crescent, Queensway, Regent's Park, Russell Square, Tufnell Park and Wapping.

ARSE!!!!

was planning to go to Queensway this evening too *pout*

[andrewas]

I saw fire brigade activity the first day of the strike, probably because abondoning an incident half-way thourgh would seriously erode their public support.

Which they are doing a good job of doing anyway. Remember the leader of one of the unions forbidding soldiers to use brigade equipment? As soon as someone dies because of this(And they will, given time) that statement will be used against them.

And describing an 11% pay increase as "insulting" will do them no favours either.

Why not start volunteer fire services like we have here? Or is this for the Main London Fire Departments that need really heavy equipment and stuff?

[Cloudbringer]

Ouch! Isn't that going to be hard on the city if fires break out? Are your paramedics/ambulance teams in that group as well?

All volunteer squads have their problems too but at least someone would answer a call in an emergency!

[ 11-14-2002, 08:48 AM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

That was my thought Cloudy, I don't think there is a perfect system, but at least all volunteer squads rarely go on strike for more money.

[andrewas]

The army is providing emergency cover but have been forbidden to use brigade equipment, being restricted to Green Goddess type fire engines from way back.

Mark my words, someone will die as a result of this. Fortunately the weather has gone all all scottish outside, so smaller fires might not be as dangerous - but that wont protect buildings.

[Donut]

Originally posted by Cloudbringer: Ouch! Isn't that going to be hard on the city if fires break out? Are your paramedics/ambulance teams in that group as well? All volunteer squads have their problems too but at least someone would answer a call in an emergency!

You couldn't have a volunteer force in a city like London. Most of the firefighters can't afford to live in Inner London. Some commute up to 200 miles to work.

Emergency fire cover is being provided by 19,000 members of the armed forces. They drive 'Green Goddesses' which are military fire engines about 50 years old. Top speed 50 mph, recommended speed 35 mph. of course in Central London the average speed of a car is 4 mph.

[Cloudbringer]

Ok, I can see that. Too bad, though.

Well, I wasn't thinking of an ALL-volunteer, mind you, but most towns and cities in the USA have at least a few volunteer squads. Sometimes the 'volunteers' are part-time people who give a few hours to the cause each week.

[Epona]

Well I support the strike action and I went and signed their petition and wished them luck at my local fire station. People only go on strike when all other avenues have been explored, especially firefighters, who joined the fire service because they want to be of use to society and help save lives in an emergency, not because they want to be standing around a brazier on a picket line.

London is a very expensive place to live, and people who work for the emergency services cannot afford to live here on their wages. What good is the fire service if firefighters are tired by the time they start their shift because they've had a long commute?

They are only asking for an increase to £30000 a year - it is estimated that you need to earn £60000 to be able to buy an average house in the Greater London area, so they are not asking too much in my opinion. These people risk their lives, why should they not be rewarded for that? I know people who earn more than that and are of less value to society (in terms of the jobs they do).

At the moment, an average firefighter earns about £2000 a year more than I do, and I spend my day sitting at a desk doing things that benefit absolutely no-one. They deserve to be paid better.

[Timber Loftis]

[quote]Originally posted by Donut:

Emergency fire cover is being provided by 19,000 members of the armed forces. They drive 'Green Goddesses' which are military fire engines about 50 years old. Top speed 50 mph, recommended speed 35 mph. of course in Central London the average speed of a car is 4 mph.

I helped a fire district buy a new emergency rescue vehicle just last year, and it's top speed was 50-55. 50 years is really old, but do remember that these vehicles are designed for 30 good years of service.