Chicago Fire Department Ride: Fill & Download for Free

Question: Why did the Mayor of Chicago fire a police superintendent just days before his retirement?Because from the very beginning, former Superintendent Johnson lied about the matter and he apparently lied to the mayor about his actions before, during, and after he was discovered asleep and apparently intoxicated earlier this year.Here are some of problems with Johnson’s actions:He was the recipient of a kidney transplant several years ago making his consumption of alcohol “problematic” at best. Especially on duty or in a department vehicle.He was apparently consuming alcohol prior to the incident with a female police officer who was part of his security staff.Johnson was operating a motor vehicle while impaired even though he didn’t need to do so. He could have had a member of staff take him home or even called for a taxi or a ride share.When Johnson was questioned about the matter, he apparently lied. Multiple times.Johnson apparently continued to tell falsehoods when he was confronted with additional evidence.And of course, there are allegations of a coverup.Basically had he retired several weeks ago quietly, this matter would have had been quietly swept under the rug along with the myriad other Chicagoland area scandals. However for reasons that are only known to Johnson himself, he decided to remain with the department and his termination was the result.Frankly since Johnson had 30+ years with the department, and would have received a hefty pension and benefits had he retired sooner, his actions were (and are) very bizarre. It’s clear that he was intoxicated, he could have simply declined to answer questions, and he already didn’t have a strong relationship with the mayor. Lying was the WORST thing that he could have done in this matter and yet, he did it.Reference:Multiple CPD employees under investigation for allegedly covering up Eddie Johnson’s indiscretionsFormer top cop Eddie Johnson denies misleading mayor, acknowledges ‘lapse of judgement’Fired Chicago top cop Eddie Johnson says he didn’t ‘intentionally mislead or deceive’ about night he was found asleep in car

Sending Fire Trucks out on 911 calls that are medically related.This means using a $1 Million dollar +++ vehicle, and usually at least one or two more smaller vehicles to a sight that is most often, NOT even a medical emergency.I was at a hotel in Tucson, AZ last year with my wife. My wife is a nurse and we both noticed a guy that was sitting on a couch in the lobby and he did not look so well. Turns out, the guy was a traveling salesman that, get this, sells ambulances to cities. He was sweaty, but it was like 110 F outside in the shade. My wife asked him if he was okay and the guy was responsive and said he was just resting in the cool lobby because he was not from around there and was not used to the extreme heat.The hotel desk clerk noticed what was going on and asked if she should call 911 and the man said no, he would be okay if he could just sit and relax for a while. He was past middle age and somewhat obese but my wife recommended that he get checked out, just in case. A few minutes go by and the lobby is filled with firemen and paramedics, at least 8 to 10, maybe more. They had driven three vehicles and two of them were huge, super long fire trucks.They could not convince the man to go to a hospital or let them or an ambulance take him to one and after about a half hour, they all left. It cost the man nothing, but it costs us all a lot if you think about it.According to Nightline it costs $3,500 every time a fire truck pulls out of a fire station in Washington, DC (25 calls in a 24 hour shift is not uncommon so this adds up quickly). Moreover, most of the time the call is not for a fire but for a minor medical problem. In many cities, both fire trucks and ambulances respond to the same calls. The paramedics do a great job but it is hard to believe that this is an efficient way to deliver medical care and transportation. - See more at: Page on marginalrevolution.comThe Wall Street Journal reported recently, “In Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami, for example, 90% of the emergency calls to firehouses are to accompany ambulances to the scene of auto accidents and other medical emergencies. - See more at: Page on marginalrevolution.comOne man's personal experience -"I was in L.A. on business. I, for some reason, threw up at the table at a restaurant. I wasn’t the food, but just some stomach virus or whatever. The staff came over and said they were going to call 911. I said “No, not needed. Just a stomach thing.” They did anyway. And, put a security person on my to assist me to and in the restroom. Then, I was escorted outside where EMS and a firetruck were pulling in. Then, because of some high blood pressure reading, the put me in the ER. I just threw up.The whole thing cost me about $2500, with insurance, and everyone else got a few hours pay. Because I had a stomach virus. There were 12 guys between the EMS and firemen that showed because the restaurant wanted to make sure I didn’t sue them or whatever. I hate California."- See more at: Page on marginalrevolution.comWith fires happening less often, perhaps the costs should be considered. Sure there is a need for elected city and county officials to look good and have good PR, and everyone likes ever expanding budgets and hiring more and more people in this down economy. But just like the fact we do not need TSA (thousands standing around) at our airports in droves, or bazillions of Border Patrol Officers crowding our borders and secondary checkpoints, (and joy riding 24/7 in 4x4's, quads and horseback), we do not need to be breaking the banks of our cities with high dollar equipment and excessive "job creation" when there is actually far more efficient ways to deal with these issues.Los Angeles, the fire department's budget for the 2011-2012 year was $472 million, down from $561 million two years before. 1/2 a Billion Dollars!Let Firemen fight Fires, and if paramedics are needed, send smaller trucks and fewer firemen. I am sure we waste tens or hundreds of billions per year sending the big trucks and a dozen guys out when we do not need to. Now we should be cutting back where it makes sense; after all, we are broke.

THAT depends on the production company that’s employing those actors, requires of them.For productions that involve a military based story, such as “Saving Private Ryan”, a production company might hire a guy, like retired Marine Corps Captain Dale Dye, who owns a company that specializes in helping film productions ‘get it right’ in terms of how military personnel do what they do.So if you’re in such a production, Captain Dye would help the writers and choreographers put scenes together that are plausible for your character to experience in the military… and then he’d help you learn how to portray your character in a manner that is realistic for a military service member.Professor Dees covered ‘law enforcement’ very well.I’ll cover ‘fire service’…Television show “Emergency!” (circa 1970s), was a series, whose setting was in Los Angeles County. It was meant to showcase LA County Fire Department’s paramedic program, in action, while entertaining viewers with the fictional exploits of Squad 51 and their partner engine company 51, out of “Fire Station 51”.Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe (FF/PM John Gage and FF/PM Roy DeSoto, respectively), went through LA County’s Fire Academy, and actually did some ride alongs, and went through the paramedic course, and did some paramedic squad ride alongs, to ‘get a feel’ for how firefighters and paramedics really did their work.(I should note, LA County Fire Department cooperated EXTENSIVELY with the production of the series… even supplying a technical advisor, who, by the authority of the producers, could tell a director ‘that’s not how we do it… this is’, and the director either squared away the discrepancy, OR they wouldn’t direct another episode of the series after the producers fired them)Another thing LA County Fire Department did… was they assigned Mike Stoker… a real LA County Firefighter, to drive the pumper for the TV show, since regulations required that LA County Fire personnel ONLY could drive LA County fire apparatus. Mike had a Screen Actors Guild card, and, of course, was a fire apparatus operator for LA County… so he was the right man for the job.In the case of that series… the actors and actresses really did bone up on how their roles would be accomplished in reality… The people playing doctors got help on playing their roles realistically… the people playing nurses got their help to play those roles realistically, and so on and so on.Even in the 1990s, when “Backdraft” came out in movie theaters… the actors got ‘some’ pointers from the Chicago fire department on how firefighters are. (Unfortunately, in that movie… firefighters were portrayed in a rather unrealistic fashion on a lot of fronts… BUT… some things, they DID ‘get right’, and experienced firefighters could pick up on what they DID get right… as well as what they did wrong, rather readily.You can say the same thing for “Ladder 49″, where, God love him… John Travolta turned in a GREAT performance of a fire captain leading his shift… and then a fire chief, commanding the scene during the desperate attempt to rescue “Jack” from what would be the fire that killed Jack. John Travolta really ‘nailed it perfectly’, portraying “Chief Kennedy”, the way a well experienced chief fire officer behaves on the scene of a major fire.Not all productions try to get their military or public service characters ‘right’ though.In “Jarhead”… the boot camp segment, and the way the “Drill Instructor” was portrayed, was nothing short of PATHETIC, and actually made me physically ill.It made me ill, because I’ve been through Marine Corps Recruit Training, and KNOW how Drill Instructors behave and KNOW what their standards of conduct are. The character the movie put forth, wasn’t even remotely close to the mark.And of course, if you watch a lot of police shows of the 80s and 90s… they didn’t have much, if any realism… mostly because it was strictly for entertainment and escape from reality for an hour, minus time for commercials, for the viewers.So in a nutshell… actors and actresses go through varied levels of training for police, military, EMS, fire and medical roles they play on TV and in the movies… some go through a lot of training and coaching… some don’t get much training or coaching at all.That depends both on the production company’s requirements for the show, how the show is written, the budget of the show, the time allotted to complete the production, and, sometimes, even, the actor or actress’ own initiative.