I know people probably have very strong feelings about this, but all I can really say about it is that I think firefighters and police officers don’t get paid enough money and they both need raises.
And I did see a fire department versus police hockey game in Charlotte, North Carolina and that was a whole lot of fun.
But let’s see what folks on AskReddit had to say…
1. At least not that we know of…
“No one has written a song saying “Fuck the Fire Fighters”.
2. He was awesome.
“One time when I was in my early teens I randomly got dizzy and passed out while at an ice cream place. Never really figured out why, but at the time I woke up minutes later to the manager standing above me saying ‘is he on fuckin heroin? Holy shit he’s on fuckin heroin!’
I was really out of it, and before I knew it the firefighters were there, like before the ambulance and the police. But I’ll never ever forget the firefighter literally physically obstructing the officer from arresting me right on the spot. I’ve always been so thankful for that firefighter, he was awesome.”
3. Very grateful.
“My exwife gave birth in an ambulance right outside our house. Ambulance crew and a fire truck came to the door helped my exwife into the ambulance and she gave birth in the ambulance van.
Funny part was the firefighter crew was training some of the new fire fighters so you had 9 or so young men all asking if they could see the delivery. My exwife said yes. So you had around 12 people peeking their head into the back of the ambulance seeing her delivering a baby.
I’m oblivious to all this waiting in my SUV wondering why we not going to the hospital.
So grateful to these firefighters and EMS workers.”
4. A big hit.
“My step mom own a couple of hot dog stands that go in Home Depots and every summer she caters this community event for her cousin out in the suburbs. They asked me to help one year and I did it because I could use the money for college and it was pretty easy since I was basically just handing out hog dogs and popcorn to kids and their parents.
I remember during some part of the day they had a fire truck and a police car with representatives from each come and all the kids could go and check them out and sit in then and learn a bit more about their jobs. Pretty much all the kids flocked to the giant red fire truck and paid no attention to the cop car.
Eventually the firefighters urged the kids to go check out the cops set up too, which I thought was nice of them, but they were clearly the hit of the event.”
5. Two different stories.
“I have the utmost respect for firefighters. I told this story before, about 2 1/2 years ago my last car caught on fire soon after I got back home. I called 911 and they were dispatched and at my house in less than 5 minutes. While my car was totaled they put the fire out as best they could, and kept it from spreading.
A couple days later I had to get a copy of the fire incident report for my insurance claim. This happened on a weekend, so I knew in my mind it may not be ready yet, but I still went over to see. It wasn’t, but the second I got back home the fire chief was at my house, with the report, waiting for me.
The cop who was dispatched at the same time was very rude, but the firefighters who came were nothing but compassionate, considerate, and professional, and I am eternally grateful for them. While I hope I’m never in another fire I’ll never forget them.”
6. Not a good move.
“It’s a hot sunny day. I call the emergency dispatch number and report a guy passed out in full sun, risking severe sun burn at least.
They send a cop who covers him with a disposable blanket. Fuck that.
I drive to the hospital and tell the amby supervisor. He sends an ambulance, they transport the victim to the ER where he’s checked out.
Couldn’t afford insulin, almost died.”
7. Doing it for free.
“The local fire department is coming next week to visit each apartment in our block.
Why? They just wanna make sure our homes are safe and that our fire alarms are working and placed correctly.
They’re doing it for free.
I have had no such experiences with cops.
8. Condescending.
“Firefighters on the job have always been great and helpful.
I had to call the cops after I was robbed. They broke through a window and there was this huge handprint from them trying another window. I asked whether they could pull that print and both laughed at me and said this isn’t CSI. So, they couldn’t help and they were being condescending.
My buddy is a firefighter and it’s funny to see him hit on women. When he first starts talking to them, they have no interest. As soon as he tells them he’s a firefighter, they completely change.
Anyway…can’t ever say anything bad about firefighters.”
9. Gods in my eyes.
“Firefighters saved my dog when he got stuck down a badger hole so they’re pretty much gods in my eyes.”
10. Two sides of the coin.
“I work with people experiencing homelessness, and this is my experience nearly 100% of the time. We try to avoid calling police because our clients generally have a lot of trauma around them and those interactions, but when we do, it’s because we actually need help beyond our scope.
On the other hand, I love when the fire department/EMTs show up. They are great and are almost always helpful. In the times they cannot help, they are at least kind about it.”
11. Good experiences.
“I’ve had extremely positive interactions with firefighters. Top notch dudes.
One time we called 911 because my kid’s friend ran through a window and got cut up. After the firefighters did all the first aid, they also cleaned up all the glass and taped up a temporary window cover.”
12. Tried to intimidate.
“I called the police for help once when someone tried to attack me. The cop tried to intimidate me the whole time and he didn’t help me, sympathized with the attacker and did nothing about the violence directed at me.
I also once called the fire department, because my carbon monoxide alarm went off. They showed up within ten minutes, swept though my house and then asked me if I needed anything else before they left.
Seems like one of those groups did their job while the other tried to intimidate me and let violence slide.”
13. There could be problems…
“Police in my interactions with them are usually not about protect and serve but about projecting their authority. You give them the respect and deference they feel that they deserve and everything is fine.
You don’t and there are problems. It’s a tough job and wearing a gun putting your life on the line everyday can have an consequences. Because of all of that, I don’t feel completely safe around police officers.
Firefighters run into burning buildings to save people.
Let me repeat that…
Firefighters run into burning buildings to save people.
I always feel safe around firefighters, always.”
14. Hide the bongs!
“Years back my fraternity house went up in a blaze, and the firefighters were going around hiding bongs (etc) before the cops were allowed to walk inside…
So that limited experience dealing with firefighters has always stuck with me as for why they are forever better than cops. They know we already went through hell by having them called, no need to pile on.
Can’t say the same for all the various cop experiences over the years. Usually always been some meathead trying to make you bow down, regardless of the situation.”
15. One more for good measure.
“Firefighters: last Halloween my son (3) dressed as a firefighter. we took him down to the closest station and asked if we could just take a picture outside. we were invited in, given a tour, and he got to go up into the fire truck that was being cleaned. he had a blast! they welcomed us in like family. it was very sweet.
Cops: around 2000, i was young, maybe 20. i had a boyfriend that stole my debit card. we had been on a road trip recently and i had told him the pin on one of our many gas stops. i broke up with him after he cheated on me. then i looked at my checking account statement and saw charges and withdrawls i hadn’t made.
turns out it was him having taken my card from my wallet at nights while i was sleeping. i filed a police report and the officers that came to my apartment told me that they would take the information but there was nothing they could do. he was in the next town over and so not their jurisdiction (i live in Arizona… i later learned this was bull).
and because i had let him drive my car, he could come back and take it and they wouldn’t do anything about that either (so i installed a kill switch). the main officer speaking was very condescending and rolled his eyes at me a lot. i was disappointed that they wouldn’t/couldn’t help me, but i will never forgive the attitude with which i was treated. he acted like i was an idiot for treating a boyfriend like a boyfriend rather than a potential perp.
i have a couple other bad experiences too.
around police, it always feels like they are waiting for you to do something even mildly illegal so they can take you down. and when you need them, it’s too much of an inconvenience.”
Do you have any thoughts on this subject?
Can you tell us about some of your experiences with firefighters and police officers?
Talk to us in the comments, we’d like to hear from you.
