In the news: Real heroes don't whine about their job 'issues'

Hmmmm, my initial reaction to this column by Taylor Armerding on the Daily News website was, "What a jerk!"

Real heroes don't have an obsessive need to remind you how heroic they are.

That simple reality seems to elude too many firefighters.

Let's say up-front — even though it will be ignored by most of the angry brother/sisterhood who will take offense at these thoughts — that there are indeed many heroic firefighters. They go to work, they do their jobs, and when the situation arises, they do put their lives on the line. It's just that they recognize that doing so is their job — it's what they signed up for. They don't claim special hero status for doing it.

A hero, by the way, is someone admired for his (or her) achievements or qualities. My dictionary says "a man." Egads.

Hey, Armerding, did you buy George Bush's line about how criticizing a wartime president is un-American - never mind that he started the war? Whining is the latest craze.

My guess is, Armerding has never heard of the term 'hazard pay.' I mean this in a general sense. While I agree that there are abuses of the system (where are there not?), all in all I want the firefighters hired to protect me to be happy campers.

Just because firefighters are not being killed by the dozen every week (although 9 were killed in the first five days of August, in one incident involving a wildfire in California), does that mean the potential is not there, as a recognized risk?

Armerding cites US Dept. of Labor statistics on the 10 most hazardous jobs, from a 2003 report I found on CNN.com. Many of those jobs involve people pushing themselves past their limit, in search of the almighty buck (fishing, truck driving) or not being properly qualified for the job (construction workers, etc.).

I found lists from the same source (Dept. of Labor), from other years, that included refuse/recycling collectors and stock clerks! Most of those deaths involved traffic accidents, which also add to firefighter death tolls.

I have to admit, I did not particularly think of firefighters much until Sept. 11, 2001. Now I remember that while the rest of us are running away from a fire, a firefighter is running towards it. He or she does not know what course the fire will take (fires tend to be unpredictable that way), or whether they will come out of the building alive.

Similarly, while the rest of us run from a gunman, police are paid to confront same.

And if modern firefighting was really that dangerous, the line of applicants would be short — very short. Instead, it figuratively stretches around the block. That's because the applicants know (and admit in private moments of candor) that a job on the fire department is a ticket to an unbelievable gravy train: Eternal job security, a better-than-average salary, excellent benefits, a work schedule others can only dream about (six days off out of every eight), early retirement and a lavish pension.

Mr. Armerding, most of the firefighters I know (not many, I confess) have second jobs. Who admitted privately that firefighters have a "ticket to an unbelievable gravy train?" Applicants, you say? Not actual firefighters, but people lining up to be one because they think it's easy. My guess is, those people did not get far in the application process.

By the way, 79 firefighters have died in the line of duty this year to date. Surprisingly, a lot of firefighters die of heart attack. Who says it isn't hazardous?

Each year in the United States and its protectorates, approximately 100 firefighters are killed while on duty and tens of thousands are injured. Although the number of firefighter fatalities has steadily decreased over the past 20 years, the incidence of firefighter fatalities per 100,000 incidents has actually risen. Despite a downward dip in the early 1990's, the level of firefighter fatalities is back up to the same levels experienced in the 1980's. (Source: US Fire Administration/FEMA)

And finally - perhaps firefighters wouldn't have to whine so much about being 'heroes' if there weren't people like you around to tear them down. It's the same mentality that allows one to turn his back on war veterans who are homeless, bad mouths teachers' salaries, and refuses to acknowledge that most municipal workers get a pretty good benefit package, right down to the person taking payment at a counter.

Just a thought.