So over the weekend some noise was put out online, bashing the volunteer firefighters efforts in Beulah and Molino.
I must admit that when I saw the "stats" I was shocked, and I knew there must be an explanation, and of course there is/was one.
"Jeff, that's a bunch of wordsmithing and data manipulation that's being put out" said a volunteer firefighter I contacted who always gives me good information, solid information that I have never found fault with.
"Look at the way he worded it--he talks about "engine by category"--and if you calculate it only that way, the numbers missed look bad"
"But we don't take the engine to every brush fire-we take the brush truck very frequently when we respond" he continued. "If Ensley gets to a structure fire first, they might call us off and tell us to bring the pumper truck, NOT the engine--so this would skew that number" he related.
"And we don't run the engine on every sick call and public assist call we get, often we respond in our trucks or take the brush truck--but we'll always have 3-4 personnel there--so the way they have sorted this is misleading.
"It's all in the way the data is being sorted to make us look bad" said the volunteer dryly.
The volunteer coordinator jumped into the string to dispel some of the misinformation, and did so with class and professionalism. "Just pick up the phone and call if you want information" was his message to the person who put this information online.
I asked the simple question of a Beulah volunteer: "Why deliberately skew the numbers, why throw the volunteer firefighters under the bus--I thought it was one force, one fight? I thought you all were trying really hard to integrate as one team?"
"This is the same stuff we've been dealing with for 10 years Jeff--nothing has changed" came the terse response from the volunteer.
This infighting has to stop.
