Firefighters comment about volunteer report

By Patrick Justin Fahey, Staff Writer

ORANGE, NJ - Members of the Orange Fire Department are reacting to the recent report on the feasibility of a volunteer fire company in the city of Orange

The report, which was called “laughable” by Deputy Chief John Feeley, president of Fire Officers Association Local 210, was prepared by Doug Burris, Orange’s coordinator of volunteers.

Feeley took issue with many subjects dealt with in the report, including the “fire high.”

“The current training requirements have changed that,” the report states. “The potential recruit of today has no opportunity to ride an engine or ladder truck through the city with red lights flashing and siren wailing. There is no opportunity to smell the smoke and steam of the fireground and to observe the purposeful operations as experienced firefighters, responding to the orders of their officers, bring order out of chaos and save, or lose, a house or other building.

The report continued: “The potential recruit is denied the ‘fire high’ as the experienced volunteers return to the station, put the rigs back into service and then enjoy the camaraderie found only among firemen who know they have once again vanquished the ‘red devil.’

“While it is difficult to argue against education in fire science and training with the tools of firefighting,” the report added, “we must recognize that the requirement for the completion of the 18-week Firefighter 1 course before a recruit can experience the satisfactions of the fire service does not enhance volunteer recruitment.”

“I don’t even know what a ‘fire high’ is. I have strong concerns about putting an individual in charge of a company who gets a high from a fire,” said Feeley. “I mean, admitting to experiencing some kind of high watching people lose their homes and lives? The only time I’ve seen that term used is by arsonists and pyromaniacs.

“I’ve been saddened by fires, I’ve carried dead children out of fires, but I’ve never experienced a ‘fire high,’” added Feeley.

According to Elvin Padilla, president of the city firefighters’ union, the contention that firefighters do not have the opportunity to experience fires during training is false.

“That part of the report is not true,” Padilla  said. “In the fire academy, they have controlled fires for training. It’s not just theories that are used for training.”

As to the report suggesting that the firefighters’ training manual would be challenging to a university student and “can be a rather daunting experience for a young person from a blue-collar background who was relieved just to survive high school,” Padilla commented, “This training should be less because people can’t get it? I don’t care who you are or what you are, you have to learn what’s in these books. If you don’t, death, injury, and loss of property will most definitely occur.”