It’s not feasible to try to guard against every scenario. And I’d bet the firefighters and medic on scene at last Saturday’s serious vehicle crash in Palm Beach, Fla., never expected a motorist to charge toward them and the medic helicopter.
It is unclear what led the two Long brothers to drive off road around barricades and use their car to halt the medical evacuation of a critically injured patient and endanger the responders on scene. It is unclear why they returned to the scene a second time — with one of the brothers fleeing on foot, only to return a short time later, naked.
Both times the brothers shouted obscenities at firefighters. Sometimes they complied with the orders from the one police officer on scene — sometimes they didn’t.
In the end, they were arrested, the patient transported and emergency responders left the scene unharmed.
It’s a strange, scary and somewhat laughable event. Yet, it’s the type of story that no longer holds much novelty.
Remember the video of the couple screaming at firefighters to get water on their burning vintage car and the trailer it was in? How about the video of the guy railing against firefighters for conducting aerial training near his house?
More than 20 years ago, generation experts William Strauss and Neil Howe predicted that the generation that is now approaching 30 years old would in many ways resemble those who went overseas to fight in World War II. You’ll pardon my cynicism, but I’m not seeing much of the Greatest Generation in the Long brothers’ behavior last weekend.
What I am seeing is an example of a segment of society that is self-absorbed, fueled by a runaway sense of entitlement and more concerned with propelling the brand of ‘me’ than advancing the good of all.
Don’t come away thinking I’m some grumpy old man yelling at kids to stay off my lawn. I don’t believe all, or even most, of society falls into that segment. I think most people are inherently good and giving; it’s just the others who create so much trouble for everyone else.
The trouble they create for firefighters, medics and cops is evident in the situation in Palm Beach. No scene is routine and situations like this rarely occur; yet, they occur enough that we have to assume that they will.
Which brings us back to the problem at hand. How do you protect firefighters from the largely unpredictable?
Punishing those like the Long brothers is necessary. But just how effective it is as a deterrent, especially for those who’ve never been caught, is questionable.
Is there some fluoride-like substance we can add to the drinking water to make people understand that getting little Johnny to his soccer game is less important than the rescue efforts that have fire trucks blocking traffic?
How many cops can you have on every scene just in case?
I wish I were clever enough to outline a solution or even optimistic enough to think the problem is on the mend. Neither is the case.
So I turn to you. How do you think we can protect scenes from those like the Long brothers?