Please say it isn`t so. Tell me Bill Manning has not joined the ranks of the dinosaurs who believe safety is for wimps. It definitely is NOT a “subset of PC.” It is the recognition that for years we have paid too heavy a price in the lives of our own, and we can do something to correct it. The mindset that people are expendable has cost many generals battles and even wars. I hope my detection of a variance on the matter on your part is my imagination.
In the editorial example, there is no doubt that Dan Santos is a hero and deserves accolades. In the context of his actions, as a private citizen, there can be no criticism. After all, it is a free country, and citizens may jeopardize their lives as long as it does not adversely affect others. The fact that he is a member of the fire service should only trigger some pride in the fact that the action probably sprung from his training. All this aside, his act should not, and would not, be condoned by any responsible department. This was truly an inordinate circumstance and should not be connected with an organized response by a fire/rescue department. If it were, then I would wholeheartedly agree that some disciplinary measures would be required. We CANNOT condone uncalculated and uncontrolled risk that, in most cases, would result in the loss of a rescuer in addition to the victim. Try to visualize the headlines and consequences if, instead of recovering from the temporary unconsciousness, he had perished also.
I personally congratulate Santos on a superhuman feat and concern for his fellow human beings. Since he was not acting as part of an organized rescue, I see no need to berate him or in any way connect him with the safety issues in the fire service as long as there was no attempt to claim it was part of his DUTY as a firefighter.
We “safety doctors” are not trying to diminish the mission or tradition of the fire service in being “America`s Heroes.” We are only trying to have a few more of them alive, healthy, and there for the next crisis–be it a fire, a crash, or just a daughter`s skinned knee. We owe it to ourselves, communities, and families.
Allen Clark
Salina, Pennsylvania
