and suitable shot:
The number of violent attacks on fire crews in England and Wales is going up despite government claims to the contrary, the Fire Brigades Union says.
Assaults rose from 1,300 in 2006 to 1,500 in 2007, the union said. Official figures fell from 1,300 to 400.
It said such attacks had become a "recreational activity" with crews facing a daily threat of being ambushed, shot at, stabbed and abused.
The government said it was not complacent about the issue.
Yeah, they're very damn concerned, you bet.
The FBU is calling for fire crews to receive training on dealing with violent attacks, and for more money to be invested in decent protection and catching attackers.
Shotguns, I tell you! Not too expensive and get the point across the first time! And much easier to catch the bastards when they leave a blood trail.
In Tyne and Wear, crews have been given "spit kits" so attackers' DNA can be collected, and in Greater Manchester engines have been fitted with CCTV cameras.
The union's figures, collated from fire services in England and Wales, painted a more accurate picture of the problem than the government's statistics, Mr Wrack said.
He urged the government to take a lead "rather than sitting on the sidelines ignoring the problem as it is doing in England".
They're not 'ignoring' it: they're practicing "Say fierce things(for us, anyway) and hope the problem goes away."
Or something like that.
1 comment:
I have fond memories of an assault on a Fire Crew here in the "States."
Having had several rocks and bottles hit their trucks and narrowly miss Firefighters they turned a couple of hoses on the belligerents and simply swept them away. They were still in total disarray when the Police arrived and took them into custody.
Problem solved.
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