Timmay2

Thats not taking advantage of their force, its called getting revenge for the death of a loved one. They are just like brothers, so its very personal when they lose a member. They coulda been in civilian clothes and still kicked his a** doesnt matter, the loss of a close friend is the loss of a close friend and he got what was deserved comin. If the law didnt take care of him, they did.

Cowhand

The fact that you did it for less money and before I could wipe my but has nothing to do with anything. I guarantee that for 7 years of my career, I did it for less money than you did. I did it for free, actually it cost me money because I still had to buy some of my safety equipment and buy in for meals. Still did it.

Sitting in a crash truck for your hitch in the military does not give you the insight of what it means to be a firefighter. Unless you worked federal fire, which is a civilian job, you won't get it. That's like saying because you went to Navy firefighting school, you know what it's all about. Kinda like saying an armed security guard knows what it's like to be a cop.

Lots of folks are critical of those that do these jobs but don't have the sand to do it themselves. If you're gonna be critical of my job and the way I do it, then pony up and walk a mile in my shoes.

The badge don't make the man, it's the man behind it that makes the badge.

Cowhand

These guys were doing it for free......

Wyo. Community Mourns Firefighters' Deaths
April 21, 2005 7:54 AM EDT
EVANSTON, Wyo. - Thinking that children might be trapped inside, volunteer firefighters Jacob Cook and Robert Henderson rushed in to a burning town house. Their bravery cost them their lives.

Cook, 23, and Henderson, 39, died Monday from injuries they suffered in an explosion inside the home.

"We've lost two brothers," said Randy Chandler, one of several fellow firefighters who stopped by a makeshift memorial that had sprung up outside the fire department.

The men went inside the town house when bystanders told them children might be inside. As it turned out, all the occupants had safely escaped.

The cause of the explosion, which injured three other firefighters, remains unknown.

Cook, who had been married only a few weeks, and Henderson, a married father of three, were the first firefighters killed on duty in Wyoming since 2003, when 16-year-old volunteer Anndee Huber died in a fire truck accident.

Wednesday, all across town, flags remained at half-staff. Businesses had put out donation cans for the families of the dead firefighters. Evanston, population 11,500, lies about 80 miles northeast of Salt Lake City in extreme southwest Wyoming.

Friends and fellow firefighters remembered Cook and Henderson as loyal public servants, outdoor lovers and dedicated family men.

Cook had been a volunteer firefighter since February 2003 and was determined to learn more about his avocation, his colleagues said. The rail car repairman had recently tested for his second round of firefighting certification.

"He was a young guy, had a young family," said Don Casper, an emergency medical technician who tried to revive Cook on the way to the hospital. "Very dedicated, loved emergency services - absolutely loved it. Lived for it, in fact."

Henderson, a tank sergeant in the first Gulf War and a volunteer firefighter since 1994, was a maintenance worker at the Post Office.

Ellen Menke, a family friend, said Henderson often took his sons, 12 and 8, hunting and ice fishing. She said he helped with their soccer teams and Boy Scout activities.

"He was very involved in his kids' life," she said.

Hoss

I don't think a single person here has made a critical remark about folks that do "these jobs". In fact, I think everyone has been pretty supportive and thankful. You ARE actually READING these posts, right??

EXACTLY!!! And that is what several people...including me and Gunracer1 have said. Having a badge...or being a firefighter...or being a paramedic...or being military or being whatever doesn't make you special. It is your CHARACTER that makes you special.

I think you're missing the whole point of what everyone here has said. No one here is criticizing those that serve.

gunracer1

amen hoss

Cowhand

Yes Hoss, I did ACTUALLY read the post....

I take exception to his comment about "boasting" and the context in which it was made.

I also thought his comment comparing the kid placing cones in the road to firefighters and cops was slightly ludicrous at best.....

I'm not marginalizing anybody's job, just pointing out the difference between those who willingly go into harms way versus those who are consequentially in harms way.

Lary Ellis (Top)

I think this one has gone far enough.....