The story of San Francisco firefighter Michael Quinn is sad, unfortunate and isolated. The story of Mosaic, Pa.'s, William Sweeney is also sad and unfortunate, but much more common.
This past weekend, Quinn was driving an apparatus with lights and sirens to a call, when he struck a motorcyclist. This, of course, is bad enough. But Quinn compounded the problem by leaving the scene.
Yes, I know. It is quite possible for someone driving a large truck to hit a small motorcycle without knowing that any contact was made. However, when police located Quinn and administered a blood-alcohol test, his level was about twice the legal limit.
Quinn was arrested and subsequently suspended without pay.
The motorcyclist was hospitalized and listed in serious condition, and, thankfully, expected to survive.
Not dismissing the cyclist’s pain and suffering, the story is sad and unfortunate because Quinn was, to this point, a decorated firefighter with 20 years on the department. He played a key role in rescuing victims from a high-rise fire.
It is sad, too, because there are reports that Quinn recently suffered the loss of two close family members.
None of this probably means squat to the motorcyclist or to those who will mete out Quinn’s punishment.
Sweeney served as president of the volunteer fire department and on the town’s council. He’s set to go to trial for stealing nearly $400,000 from the fire department to fuel his gambling habit.
Sweeney issued an apology, vowed to make amends and resigned from the council — going so far as to return the money he was paid to attend council meetings. Yes, this could be a ploy to influence a more lenient sentence assuming he’s found guilty. Or, it could be sincere.
There aren’t any published reports of the value Sweeney brought to the community or the department as there are with Quinn.
Not to presume anything about Sweeney or Quinn, but for the sake of discussing what their situations mean to the larger fire service, let’s assume two things: both were valuable public servants and both are guilty as charged.
While there is no denying each must take personal responsibility for their actions, the rest of us bear a moral responsibility for the actions of our fellow firefighters.
Drinking and driving fire apparatus is pretty uncommon. I can think of only one other reported case in the past year. On the other hand, I cannot count the number of stories of firefighters stealing from their own department. Both are reprehensible.
Yet, both also tell of deeper personal problems. In Quinn’s case, he was dealing with the loss of loved ones on top of the already high stress of firefighting.
Had the processes to identify and assist these two firefighters with their problems worked, there’s a good chance that the incidents would not have occurred and they would continue serving their publics.
That’s why officers need to ensure these processes are in place and working. Rank-and-file firefighters need to be the eyes and ears to identify their brothers and sisters who may be at risk.
Whether common or isolated, emotional problems suffered by firefighters are in many ways like fire itself — prevention is far better for everyone than is suppression.