The International Association of Fire Fighters has announced that Chris Dodd will recieve their endorsement. IAFF President Harold Schaitberger says Dodd is "the man we trust to keep our country safe and families secure." The Fire Fighters don’t know what challenges we will face in the future, but regardless of the situation, we know what kind of leadership Chris Dodd will offer.
Fire fighters bring more than just an endorsement in name … there are tangible benefits that come with this endorsement that build on our already strong grass roots organization - boots on the ground, organizational and volunteer strength.
The IAFF was crucial in helping John Kerry win the nomination in 2004. Check out this US News article on their impact in 2004, which called the IAFF "one of the [Kerry's] most potent political allies."
Dodd and Schaitberger will be visiting Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada over the next four days and meeting with local firefighters along the way. I'll be providing live and YouTube video of these events.
For more information on the endorsement, check out these stories in The Hill, Hartford Courant, Associated Press, and The Washington Post on the IAFF endorsement of Chris Dodd for President.
Comments
While it's grand that the firefighters have decided that Chris Dodd best represents their and our interests, it's the firefighters who should be the focus of the story. They've made a decision; Chris Dodd wasn't in a contest where the best spiel gets the prize. At least I hope not.
Firefighters are really at the heart of what government is about. When they do their jobs really well, including inspecting their area of responsibility, they're not needed to put out fires. Our town once went one whole year without the fire department having to be called out. That should be the mark of a community and fire department of excellence.
Too often our political leaders are either short-sighted or "after the horse left the barn" people. What we need for them to do is to plan ahead and to make sure that our public servants are prepared to deal with emergencies when they come up, not after the fact.
Chris Dodd has a very strong record of standing with America's fire fighters. Read about it here.
How many people are in your town, five? Wake up!
I retired after 32 years in the fire service. I worked in almost every branch and feel strongly about what responders do. About 8 years of my work was in Prevention. Public Safety includes many different responders including police and fire. While history is a sad record of failures remedied by code writing and changes, the goal is and always has been prevention over response. A mentor often says that the 3 causes of fire in the world are men, women and children. No matter how often we code mandate fire safe construction, spread the word regarding prevention and safe acts, fires continue to destroy people, homes and property. The more things change, the more they stay the same. A placard is displayed in the Bureau office which clearly indicates the philosophy "There is no honor if fighting a fire which could (and SHOULD) have been prevented. A new line of thinking is rolling out now which basically says that prevention will save firefighter's lives in addition to all the other benefits to people, animals, and communities at large. Politicians typically are only aware of issues because someone tells them. Public safety only works when employees/responders are politically active and inform politicians about needs, education, equipment, training and so forth. Dodd has a significant record in these arenas and has a huge battle ahead. Bottom line, all responders need to pull their heads out and get involved, not along partisan lines but public safety lines. As responders, we sometimes forget we are part of that PUBLIC and don't realize how much community losses will affect us and our families until "after the horse left the barn" as you so elegantly put it. Dodd is the strongest candidate so far on the responder issues. While your arguments are valid, proactive is always better than reactive as you pointed out. Everyone needs to stop thinking about themselves and focus on the greater good. Hopefully, Dodd will be the answer. Time will tell.
Fire and Police are, I must admit, not one of my main interests, so I haven't been following federal funding closely, but it struck me as odd that, all of a sudden, it was the police who were being outfitted with hazmat gear and training under the Homeland Security grant program, when that's normally a fire and rescue function. Then I learned that the training mainly involved lessons in how to take care of the suits and store them so they won't get ruined, which is also something that I'd expect firefighter to know already.
Must have been a Bush-buddy earmark.
What exactly is Bush-buddy? Are you in the Fire or Police service? If you are then you would know that in an event such as a Haz-Mat incident it is not just the Fire & Rescue that can be exposed. The Police need the knowledge and equipment to maintain order while the Fire & Rescue people do their jobs. In addition Fire & Rescue do know this information but improvements on equipment and operational techniques mandate continual training. In some areas these are special teams and these teams are responsible for training those in the department that are not involved exclusively with these operations daily. So before you go and slam the people who will save you do a little research.
PS- I am not a supporter of Dodd just looking at the opponent.
I am incredibly thrilled about this endorsement. The IAFF is one of the best organized unions, and their endorsement must have come from left-field for the "supposed" front runners.
This is far too early to have a presumptive nomineee, or even a winnowed field. And if the people of New Hampshire and Iowa know the Chris Dodd I knew as a member of Democratic State Central in Connecticut...we might just be smart enough to endorse the best Democratic candidate for President.
I am in Florida now (Fort Myers), and wish to connect with Dodd's campaign and help out with organization here. My current job connects me with many community leaders (particularly in minority communities). Is the Senator scheduled to be in Florida anytime soon?
Go Dodd GO!
I retired after 32 years in the fire service. I worked in almost every branch and feel strongly about what responders do. About 8 years of my work was in Prevention. Public Safety includes many different responders including police and fire. While history is a sad record of failures remedied by code writing and changes, the goal is and always has been prevention over response. A mentor often says that the 3 causes of fire in the world are men, women and children. No matter how often we code mandate fire safe construction, spread the word regarding prevention and safe acts, fires continue to destroy people, homes and property. The more things change, the more they stay the same. A placard is displayed in the Bureau office which clearly indicates the philosophy "There is no honor if fighting a fire which could (and SHOULD) have been prevented. A new line of thinking is rolling out now which basically says that prevention will save firefighter's lives in addition to all the other benefits to people, animals, and communities at large. Politicians typically are only aware of issues because someone tells them. Public safety only works when employees/responders are politically active and inform politicians about needs, education, equipment, training and so forth. Dodd has a significant record in these arenas and has a huge battle ahead. Bottom line, all responders need to pull their heads out and get involved, not along partisan lines but public safety lines. As responders, we sometimes forget we are part of that PUBLIC and don't realize how much community losses will affect us and our families until "after the horse left the barn" as you so elegantly put it. Dodd is the strongest candidate so far on the responder issues. While your arguments are valid, proactive is always better than reactive as you pointed out. Everyone needs to stop thinking about themselves and focus on the greater good. Hopefully, Dodd will be the answer. Time will tell.
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