[GatorGirl]

I hate to sound callous but if they were seasonal or part time they aren’t entitled to the benefits of full time employees.

End of story.

Aren’t there plenty of charities lining up to help these families? Perhaps knowing what a dangerous job they had they could have provided for their families a bit better with life insurance?

The survivors will get social security payments as well.

I’m a little tired of everyone screaming for benefits all the time, I really am. Maybe I sound like a rhymes with witch but there it is.

[The KG9 Kid]

"... I hate to sound callous but if they were seasonal or part time they aren’t entitled to the benefits of full time employees. End of story."

Oh, surely. Hey, get some new highly-trained-in-concert rapid reaction parachuting smokejumpers in here to replace the last ones we lost.

All we need is a bunch of 19-24 year old volunteers in here to para-jump into a raging Arizona wildfire in 109 degree weather for scarce pay, no benefits, and 100% of the risk all on them.

You go take that side of the street, I'll take this side, and we'll meet back here when each of us has recruited ten, okay?

[SoConPubbie]

I hate to sound callous but if they were seasonal or part time they aren’t entitled to the benefits of full time employees.

You are callous.

I've done brush-fire fighting, and even that job makes most jobs look like a walk-in-the park.

Add in the risk of parachuting and being at the fore-front of the fire, and these boys/men and their families deserve both our respect and support.

Every time they went out on a fire they put their life on the line and at-risk.

Can you say the same from whatever job/career you have/had?

[silverleaf]

agree

he obviously signed a contract and his job classification and benefits were clear

maybe he should have taken it upon himself to BUY INSURANCE

She’s getting $328K plus social security, my widowed mother raised 3 kids on less and got a job to bolster her income. Plus early in marriage my Dad and she bought a rental duplex as a form of insurance so she would always have an income and place to live, so sorry I am that this man and his wife did not plan and provide for the “what if”

if the city waives this for one man based on emotion, then any seasonal employee who died or was injured at any time should petition for the same

[kearnyirish2]

“I’m a little tired of everyone screaming for benefits all the time, I really am.”

I hear you; if these benefits weren’t part of the deal then emotions can’t be used to justify saddling the taxpayer with the costs. Here in NJ public employee benefits are killing us financially; in my town part-time crossing guards had great benefits packages (which simply drove American taxpayers and businesses out of the area).