I’ve written several times, including recently, about fire and EMS response to potentially violent incidents. When I wrote those commentaries, I was talking about responding away from the fire station.
Unfortunately, however, as this story demonstrates, even the firehouse can be a setting for violence. At least this incident didn’t result in any deaths or injuries.
While I’m guessing we don’t know the whole story in this case, and beyond the broader issue of how we resolve interpersonal conflicts in the fire and emergency services, it brings up another topic that we don’t like to discuss: weapons in fire department facilities.
Frankly, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of a firefighter threatening another firefighter with a weapon. Although I hope it’s not a common occurrence, I know that physical violence is not always experienced beyond (what should always be) the safety of the four walls in which our brother and sister firefighters work, train and live together.
Now, I’m not an expert on the Second Amendment, and I realize there might be times when firearms will show up on fire department property.
That’s exactly my point; beyond the business need for sworn fire marshals and other law enforcement officers to carry weapons, we need to understand when, where and how firearms should be allowed, stored and rendered safe in our fire departments.
What do you think?
