In NYC, police commissioner Scopetta said on TV one day that he was going to get creative with the homeland security funding and set up some diversity programs.
Exactly what that means, I have no idea. Clearly the homeland security funding has been used for many things NOT security related.
In Colorado the funds were used to build a recreation center for rescue personnel and/or firefighters.
Guess Newark firefighters are not only the bravest, they're also the cleanest.
Makes my blood boil! While these guys in Newark, Colorado, and the big cities are enjoying their air conditioned Nautilus gyms and automated garbage removers, there are fire departments who do without basic firefighting equipment, let alone more specialized equipment necessary to meet the HazMat and WMD mandates imposed by Homeland Security.
My department has applied four times for an Aid to Firefighters Grant (DHS) -and did we ask for $300,000 facilities or $500,000 apparatus? No, we were reasonable, because its our tax dollars too. We requested 1-hour air bottles for our Scott packs, radios for all attack and HazMat operational level teams, and a multi-gas detection meter that will alert us that the methyl-ethyl bad sh*t boiling out of that overturned semi can kill every resident within a 1/2 mile radius. All of this rudimentary lifesaving stuff has a total pricetag of $ 65,000-not even half the cost of one garbage truck.
The other kicker is that unlike our highly paid brothers in Newark, we are volunteers. Being in a NFPA state, our line firefighters have to meet all of the same NFPA and HAZWOPR training and performance requirements as our city brothers, but the costs and the time comes out of our hides and our family's. And after we wash the apparatus down down at 2 AM, we have to get up 3 hours later to go to our real jobs.
Perhaps we are just poor grant writers, or perhaps DHS agrees with Hillary that a Maine firefighter's life is not worth as much as a FDNY firefighters life.