Those Hamilton Firefighters Sure Know How To Party
Incident is reminiscent of teen/college comedies of debauchery, only dumber.
On Sunday, March 6, Ashburn Patch Editor Dusty Smith wrote a story outlining the weekend adventures of five off-duty volunteer firefighters' intoxicated joyride in western Loudoun.
Hamilton volunteer Sean Richard Swanson was placed under arrest after a drunken ride in a retired fire truck with a Leesburg police officer, an underage girl and two other firefighters, all of whom were reportedly drinking alcohol.
Reports are unclear as to whether or not the siren was blaring but I know that, were I to drunkenly operate a fire truck, it probably would be. So for the sake of sticking to character, let's just assume it was, and that all the male firefighters were shirtless, and that Guns 'N Roses was playing on the stereo. And they did, in fact, run a deputy in to a ditch.
The incident reminds me of a couple of stories from the past. Of course, all of them are fictional. One centers around a group of misfit recruits at the Police Academy who are always getting in trouble. Their ring leader, Mahoney, falls in love with Kim Cattrall and, if I remember correctly, one of the characters makes funny sound effects instead of talking. I think they save the city, or something, though it's hard to remember how.
The second involves a fraternity at Faber College. They live for partying and togas and can't believe it when Dean Wormer kicks them all out of school, as if failing grades somehow matter at a university. Seeing no alternative, they usefully destroy a parade, driving their vehicle into the grandstand, expertly making their case that they do, indeed, belong in school.
A press release from Loudoun Fire and Rescue stated the following about the Hamilton incident: "The behavior of these individuals does not represent the values of Loudoun’s fire and rescue service and will not be tolerated by any of our volunteer companies or the department." The Hamilton firefighters have resigned, while others involved have been suspended.
You know what that means: Toga! Toga! Toga!
[Editor's note: Unfortunately, no cities or educations were saved in our local episode. And no, the lights and sirens were not on.]
Vicky Chrisner
6:11 pm on Wednesday, March 9, 2011
hahaha... Love it.
Hubby says "the siren HAD to be blaring, how else are you going to impress the young girl? guns, badges, axes, firehoses and alcohol clearly wasn't enough!" Although he is currently in the kitchen wondering aloud what music would be playing because he is figuring these "boys" are not old like us - WE would be blaring Guns N Roses.
On a more serious note, what has come to my attention and seems to be escaping or not bothering anyone else is this: Apparently, once FF are trained to use the firetruck, they can do so at will and are (according to some accounts) encouraged to use the trucks for personal errands. Why is anyone shocked by this misuse if that is considered acceptable?
I feel strongly that there should be NO personal use and every start of the engine should be documented like a cops gun being discharged. They both have the potential to do the same harm, they are both funded by the public, and my guess is that if we check around there are statements on file waiving all sorts of fees, taxes and other costs because they are used strictly for their intended purpose. I wish the media would give attention to that.