This Doesn’t Surprise Me

The guy they caught doing the serial arsons in Coatesville was a firefighter.  There’s a fine line between people who start fires and people who put them out.  Not dissing firefighters.  My father was one, and you can find a picture of my sister here.  Both volunteers.  But I was wondering whether when they caught the guy he’d end up being a firefighter.

2 thoughts on “This Doesn’t Surprise Me”

  1. When I went through the County fire academy through my department in Central NY, the first thing we did was go into a closed room and mask up. The instructor lit a LA-Z-BOY on fire, and we watched it burn, felt the different temperatures and stratification of smoke, and tried to last as long as we could before we went on air.

    At the end, he asked the class, ‘OK, who thought that was cool?’ Maybe 2/3 of us raised our hands. The instructor said, ‘The rest of you aren’t going to like this job.’

    You’re very right, it’s a fine line, and they only check if you have a record of arson. It’s a shame, because they (try to) give the rest of us a bad name.

  2. For what it is worth, anecdotal only….

    My house, long ago, was burned to the ground. Years later, my brother, who is now a postman, was told that it was a volunteer fireman who torched it.

    Coincidentally, there were 7 houses that burned to the ground that year.

    Of course, the person that told him that wouldn’t name any names.

    That’s just the way it goes…..

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