Should We Be Held Liable? Today I received a message along with several other gazillion people from Chief Billy Goldfeder's Secret List. (How the hell is that a secret list if so many people get it anyway?) Thanks to Billy for continuing to take the time to do this and continuing to advocate for our safety. The topic of the list today was about a Delaware firefighter being charged in a vehicular incident. Hey....we are firefighters, we shouldn't be charged criminally if something goes wrong while we are trying to help someone........or should we? It is my opinion, that the time is growing closer for us to realize that our actions, no matter how noble or how well meaning, should be looked at and we should bear some responsibility for them. I am very clear that we operate in a very compressed time frame when we are responding, but we are also supposed to be trained to do so. There are consequences for our actions. In the emergency service business there will be tragic unforeseen events and mistakes will occur.....we are all human after all, but if we truly have done something wrong then there should be some consequence. It is of no value to the victim's family if we are not held responsible some how some way. There are those that think that holding people responsible may be the only way that we can get some folks attention to the serious issues that continue to occur. In all of the most recent cases the driver of the vehicle had been held responsible. Is the day coming that a company officer will be held liable for the actions of his subordinate? Is the day coming when a chief officer will be held liable? Is the day coming when a City Board, mayor, administrator, finance committee will be held liable? We are in a very litigious society and peoples expectations are reaching beyond our capabilities to deliver in some cases. Pay close attention to these cases because I believe they are a sign of the times. More importantly, be vigilant, be determined to be safe for you, and for our families and citizens that are driving on the roads with us to these calls. We cannot help anyone when we are delayed by being out of service due to an accident while enroute. Thanks and stay safe!
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