In San Francisco a man committed suicide in freezing water temps, after his mother called fireman to the scene they all stood together and watched him as he drown himself, unable to go in after him due to budget cuts and policy regulations they were unable to take any responsibilty...in an attempted rescue. A non authoritative woman (by-stander) volunteered to go into the water and retrieve the mans body, since she was not on the "payroll".

This is very sad, where there is obvious signs of budget issues, when do your moral issues kick in?

here is one article but i am sure there are plenty to choose from online...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/firefighters_watch_man_drown_himself_COyFnjoaSEctUKIvgha1yL

something is missing there, if the budget cuts wouldnt allow them to go in , how did they allow them to waste the gas going there to 'watch'.....

because the BUDGET CUT part is in the Water Rescue Training that was cut from their dept. as a result of their budget cuts. So they were on hand for when the body is dragged ashore by an innocent bystander. However entering the water without their prior training which they can no longer offer is forbidden.

Here is the statement regarding this-"The previous policy was implemented after budget cuts forced the department to discontinue water rescue training and stop maintaining wetsuits and other rescue gear, D'Orazi said."

tragic incompetence, considering the geography of the area, you would think they would have SOME rescue personnel specifically for water incidents,,,

ya, you would think....

And another sad part of the story is the Mother met them down there and was present, standing next to firefighters as they watched her son drown and did nothing....What a terrible loss for her....and the cities Morale...

yeah, maybe police would have been a better option, certainly if their job requires them to risk death by a bullet, the 'risks' of cold shallow water would have been cleared for them to save a life,,

at my old job- two kids were caught in the rip tide, we arent supposed to go into the water near the jedi's but they werent near a jedi so i went out, and even though there were three other employees on at the time, another parent on the beach ran out into the water with me and rescued the kids. I was not going to sit onshore knwoing i am a strong ocean swimmer and watch these kids get carried out to sea, they were yelling, help help, i could just imagine the news later that night, 2 boys drown while 4 city employees stood by and watched. HELL NO!

This is my point, where maybe you dont get paid but have some morals...

there is the slight possibility that noone there felt confident that they could rescue the man, as opposed to just not feeling like their employer would 'permit' them to

if there were strong swimmers in the bunch, than of course their bottom line was making sure their own families continued to be provided for by keeping their job secure

its a sucky decision, truly

No one thought of contacting the Coast Guard knowing this? There MUST be a Coast Guard Station in the Bay. They have teams specifically trained for this type of rescue. Given that the Fire Dept. knew of these policies and budget cuts in advance, then dispatch should have requested Coast Guard assistance when the call originally came in.

Sounds to me like they dropped the ball because of a lack of protocol.

Sounds to me like it is stupid bureaucratic red tape.....

We used to train you how to do this. Since we have a system in place to qualify someone to do this, you must be qualified to even attempt it. But since we cut out training, no one is allowed to use common sense and trying to rescue someone. You are violating policy and can be fired for doing so.

Chances are if they were injured in the process or died, they would be denied benefits because they violated protocol.

It has only been in recent history that we need to have a piece of paper signed saying we are qualified for whatever we are doing. Someone always has to be first. Who qualified the first person to do this? What made them qualified to be an instructor?

We have WAY too many rules and regulations today.

The Coast Guard was called but they were unable to get that close to the man because according to the article the area he was in was too shallow and the boat would get stuck...

This was exactly the case. However, it doesnt say they were not allowed to go into the water, but that budget cuts have prevented them from offering any water training anymore( as though it had existed in the past) and that wetsuit and water gear maintenance was no longer affordable...

But really they have people who swim across the bay all the time, the water was 51 degrees that day, which is not crippling...but perhaps there were no swimmers around except for the one woman who pulled the body ashore after the drowning.

Harmony, true they can not afford losing their job saving someone who "WANTED" to die anyways, that was his purpose and they knew that when the mother called 911. I just felt terrible for the mother who has to sit and watch her own son take his own life....a sad sad memory for her...

to prove their point, to make a statement...

the yahoo article said they were not trained or certified for water rescue, and the man wanted to die anyway, so they let him...

Most Coast Guard rescue teams use helicopters....and it's the quickest way to deploy.

It sounds to me like they are just making a bunch of excuses, which only hints that Mightymoe is right. They did this to prove a point.

And I agree with Mylifetoday because we have way too many rules and regulations. Everything is smoke and mirrors. Keep complicating, never simplify.

Too many people work in government for the wrong reasons. Some just want job security. Others want the benefits. Some have their eye on a position with more power and prestige. Not enough people work in government for the sake of being a civil servant anymore. Those who do wish to actually serve the people become frustrated and depressed by the system they find themselves in because trying to do what is right becomes an uphill battle without allies.

This is why unions no longer belong in government jobs. Because the government should have the right to chop the dead wood during a budget crisis. When the crisis passes, fresh blood should enter the ranks, not old blood, thereby refreshing the system. Unfortunately, it is the unions that prevent government from getting rid of those who are harmful to the system.

That, is just insane

sort of, but I think Mighty Moe hit it right on the nose.

I disagree about the unions. Union workers are better trained and far more profesional than the transient working class.

Personaly I think Moe is useing failed republican austerity programs to bash the union workers he is enviouse of.

It reminds me of the New York snowstorm. The govenor laid off a third of the snow plow crews then blamed the unions when it snowed and the roads were bad when there was clearly no or little evidence to support the wild claim.

pay attention... i didn't say anything about unions...

Actually, that was a statement made by Actionlynx, not Mightymoe.....

I also stated sort of, I am very torn between union and non union...i appreciate the voice, but not so much the fees....and people are required to belong to gangs i think its uncool. you dont have your independence with a union, obviously, but like i say sort of. . .

I just think it is ridiculous that fireman are left standing on the sideline with this woman watching her son commit suicide.