Original post and comments
Since we posted the original 10-minute or so long video of members of Maryland's Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department having fun in the snow, we have received many comments and emails. Above is a greatly abbreviated version of the video.
A small number of those writing think this is just firefighters who provided an important service during the storm getting a chance to have some fun and blow off steam. The large majority of those writing think this is not safe, that it is not appropriate behavior and sends the wrong message to the public.
While many of the firefighters are wearing what appears to be department PPE, we have been given no indication that the pickup truck is a fire department vehicle. We are wondering about the board being used.
STATter911.com has asked for the viewpoint of Riverdale VFD's chief and officials with the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department, along with the chief of police in Riverdale Park. We will let you know if there are any comments.
UPDATE: Riverdale VFD Chief Charles Ryan replied to our email saying he is fully investigating the incident. Chief Ryan indicated he would not have further comment until that was completed, but he did confirm our suspicions that the vehicle involved did not belong to the fire department.
Both PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady and Riverdale Park Police Chief Theresa Chambers say they will not be providing comments while Chief Ryan's investigation is underway.
A STATter911.com reader sent along the video below of somewhat similar activity on Long Island posted in January of 2007.
Also on STATter911 …
- Update on injured DC firefighters. FF Charles Ryan still in critical condition. – April 9, 2011
- Burned DC firefighter out of the hospital. Chuck Ryan visits firehouse on the way home. – May 27, 2011
- Update on DC firefighters: Chuck Ryan still critical, but improving. One released & two in good condition. – April 11, 2011
- A video message from the burn unit: DC Lt. ‘Cadillac’ Alvarado thanks Fairfax County firefighters for donating blood. – April 12, 2011
Comments
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I think it’s good clean fun… It looks as though they’re going slow enough that a sudden stop by the tow vehicle wouldn’t have resulted in the towed sled or people to catch up with or run into it. I’m 53 years old & really think the old fuddy duddies need to lighten up. They complain when young kids spend to much time playing video games & follow that up with statement like; “When I was your age we played outside”.
aka FirehouseMike Safety Consultant
Merry Christmas to all & don’t forget how to have fun…
This kind of “winter fun” is actually illegal where I write from, as towing people behind a vehicle is outlawed. I don’t know if I’d get all foamed at the mouth over it, though. As the poster above said, it appears to be in somewhat safe conditions, as there’s no other traffic and the people both being towed and riding are in some semblance of safety gear. I also don’t see evidence of it being a department function/activity, although I only watched the video posted above – so grilling the FD for this might be a bit much.
the only mistake they made was allowing cameras
Nice institutional control Chuckie and Eugene! The department is finacially strapped, but these losers think it’s ok to destroy $1300 worth of gear that is provided free of charge by the citizens. Wet gear with holes in it works well on the fire ground. Nice job! PGFD shows it”s ass again. Nice leadership!
I love Real Big Fish. If you don’t understand it you’re a square, old geezer, old fart and borderline retarded.
I guess the BIG question about the video is, “WHo CARES?”
Guys havin fun. Note to all the haters, by bigger underwear–yours are bunchin up.
It’s a shame they were dumb enough to film it. And even dumber for putting it on the internet.
Who cares? I’ll tell you who cares – I do!
I’m in the Fire Department, and I live in PG. Now, if one of these tow-rope-tugging Bozos loses control and ends up smacking into an immovable object, rattling the tic-tac sized brain loose in his thick boned cranium, what do you think is going to happen?
That’s right….his giggling schoolgirl buddies will drag his injured butt back to the station, and concoct some bogus cover story about the injuries being caused by some in-house accident, and then run his busted butt to the emergency room.
Busted Bozo ends up spending a night in the hospital and two or three weeks recovering.
Something that silly could easily end up with a $20-25,000.00 cumulative tab.
Just who do you think picks up the I.O.J. and workmen’s comp bill for Bozo’s injuries? Not the busted up Bozo, not the VFD either…that’s right: The taxpayers.
You want to act like kids? That’s your foolish right, but do it on your dime, not mine.
This sort of silliness gives all of us a bad name. It’s time to clean up your collective act, or go somewhere where this silliness is acceptable – like kindergarten, or on the cast of “Jackass”.
You want to be treated like professional adults, you better show sense enough to act like one.
They made one mistake, they posted it on youtube. Tell me a firefighter that hasn’t did something like this while staying overnight, in the station during a storm. Just plain ol’fun to break up the bordom. Leave them alone, or become a volunteer and help them.
And just to put all of your minds at ease. The infant in the back of the truck was NOT in the truck while it was moving. He was taken out of the truck before it ever moved. He was sitting in the truck with his older brother for a few minutes before the ride even started. And it was not at some god awful time of the night in the middle of a blizzard. It was at 6pm and it was no longer blizzard conditions.
But because it was a bunch of volunteers engaged in some harmless fun it was wrong and a disgrace to the fire department. And I’m sure none of the fine career fire fighters have ever done anything that could be a disgrace to the fire department. Just go to the MD tournament and look at these paid professional fire fighters do there.
It’s because this is in PG County. That is the ONLY reason this is such a HUGE issue. You seriously think that they were the only firemen out “having fun”. I know that is no excuse to make it right or wrong, but come on people. Don’t be so nieve to think they were the only firefighters out sledding. I know and guarantee there were many, many firefighters from other fire departments doing the same all over the east coast. Go outside the metro area and it’s all of a sudden “NO BIG DEAL”. You people break me with this nonsense. This can also be directly related to what happens on “working fires”. Something happens in PG County at a fire, gets caught on video, and all hell breaks lose like they are the only firemen doing such a thing. Go out in hillbilly town, USA and you will be surprised of all the dumb, retarded, nonsense that goes on at a fireground, one being not putting the fire out efficiently. It just so happens that those areas are outside the metropolitan vacinity, therefore they do not get the negative publicity.
Everyone saying that their only mistake was making a video of it and posting it on the internet has no concept of what is wrong. I would never want you in my house for any reason or treating my mother or daughter in the back of an ambulance. Your judgment of right and wrong is based on getting caught then everything is game unless your dumb enough to get caught.
Bunch of sorry A_ _ idiots! Isn’t Riverdale where Jerry Engles came from? ARSONISTS AND LOSERS! Jones, why have you not shut them down yet?
Why drag the MDA tournament into this? How does playing sanctioned softball on your day off even remotely compare to this? While we’re at it, ever pay attention to how some professional sports players conduct themselves off duty? Thats right, some of them take drugs or kill people or dogs…. How about off duty (or on duty for that matter) politicians or cops? Anyway, if the story comes out that they were wearing personally owned gear (yeah I know, but some people do that stuff- think BaltCo), being towed behind a private vehicle, and were not acting in an on-duty capacity, where does the story go then?
“Anyway, if the story comes out that they were wearing personally owned gear (yeah I know, but some people do that stuff- think BaltCo), being towed behind a private vehicle, and were not acting in an on-duty capacity, where does the story go then?”
It goes to Candyland, because the scenario you outlined has about as much basis in reality as the children’s game.
I can’t believe this….I’ve read every excuse from “it’s only wrong because they got caught” to “what’s the problem – everyone else does things just as bad” Tell me, as volunteers, at what point do you finally “man up” and start to accept responsibility for your actions?
Fun ranges from reading a book to BASE Jumping depending on the person. Ones idea of fun isn’t always the same as another. Why is this reckless? I know people who think venturing into the wilderness for weeks at a time with no more than a backpack of supplies is fun… I think thats a little reckless. I think skydiving is as dumb as it gets, but i have no problems running into your burning home. You see, its all a matter of opinions, to each thier own, and yet the expresions read here today are presented as facts. You all are some suckers. Get a life. Mind your business.
Fun…I wish I was skeetchin’.
i say it was just clean fun leave it be,let the chief deal with it!!!
Bottom line is it was an illegal activity performed by firefighters with some form of gear on displayed on youtube for the world to see.Just not smart.Looks like something many other firefighters might do but just not post for the world to see.
Seems to be a little bickering going on in Prince George County and has spilled onto this comment area,just a FYI I’m not from that area and have no knowledge of the makeup of departments in that county.
I have a serious problem along with the others on this subject. The careless reckless activity shown by these firefighters puts us all in a bad light and shows a VERY serious deficiency in ou training. PG firefighters are supposed to be well trained, professional individuals. The carelessness shown in this video clearly show the improper use of equipment. Anyone with any amount of experience and worth their weight in salt knows that you’re supposed to use a STOKES BASKET instead of some crappy sled. The sleds/skeds they make as of late are useless in snowy conditions. Up here in NJ we may not have much fire, but we’ll smoke your butt(profanity refrained) in snow sledding activity.
its a slow news day for Statter911. I mean. Geeze. No one ever did this at home or at the station. At least they were not pulling guns on anyone like the MPD officer.
As far as the “cover up” if they were to get hurt. please that is just slanderous. becareful of what you accuse people of what they MAY do. Don’t be a hater. And while some of these members (riding and non riding) were enjoying the snow, they still had how many crews at the station? Maybe these few members were blowing off steam after being at the station for 24 or more hours providing a service to the community and no asking a salary in exchange.
Don’t be a hater.
You need me on that line, you want me on that line. Maybe next time, just say thanks! Until then, Shut the F UP~!
1. “I love Real Big Fish” If you love them so much you’d know it was “REEL Big Fish”
2. Most of the video was Goldfinger, not the RBF.
3. You’re right, who cares! The ticks are their own worst enemy. Keep posting more videos guys.
Ok, two very observant things have been said: 1- First mistake was taking video (and posting) it.
2- yes, please do compare it to the MD tourney. MANY of you(and me!) have watched/ been involved in shennangins at that event.
Comes down to this- have fun but dang kiddies, put away the video- your future you will thank you.
PGFD makes the news again. There is absolutely no control over the department. What was once a proud department has hit rock bottom. The so called fire chief of PG needs to be removed as do several of his higher ups who are only interested in their paycheck.Riverdale has always been a problem and should be restricted to their first due unless their chief can get those idiots in order.
How can you compare this incident to the MD tournament? The people involved in those shenanigans are off duty, whereas the key defense to this is “we kept full crews all weekend at no expense to the taxpayer” which says to me they were “on duty” as it were. This is typical of any incident in which the local VFD tries to detract attention from it by saying the career side of the Department does this. If you are going to act like village idiots and post a video of questionable behavior, then be adult enough to accept the blame for it when questions are raised rather than trying to skirt the issue.
All the posts pointing out the safety issues with this video should remember, a pike pole can poke your eye out, a K-12 can cut your toe off, an axe can cut your finger off, you could get in a crash in a fire truck on the way to a call, you could fall rapelling etc etc etc. WHy don’t you saty home with your mommy and you can wear your retro-reflective safety diaper whilst mummy nurses you. Now, everything is safe and OK. Panzis
Anonymous says
1. “I love Real Big Fish” If you love them so much you’d know it was “REEL Big Fish”
2. Most of the video was Goldfinger, not the RBF.
3. You’re right, who cares! The ticks are their own worst enemy. Keep posting more videos guys.
on December 22, 2009 @ 7:15 am.
1.Real/Reel ? The guy catches a semi known band by part of 1 song and you gig him for a typo.
Being so perfect, do you smell good too? Don’t be such a d-bag.
2. I hate them
3.Who cares what you think?
Merry Christmas to all and may God bless
The problem here is they got caught because someone leaked a video. This type of activity and horseplay goes on all over the place without people knowing. If they got hurt or hurt someone else, they still would have to pay the piper and the department would be embarrassed.
I hate people who think everything has to be a friggin tip-toe everywhere if thats how you view things your in the wrong proffession and should probably just wrap yourself in bubble-wrap and crawl into a hole. FYI
This is what happens when there is no adult supervision
Why does everyone worry about things that do not pertain to them. It’s crazy to listen to some of the people on here, who think there closets are empty.
you want to be dragged behind a pickup truck in the snow, fine. Just dont do it while wearing your turnout gear. In the days when VFDs are under such scrutiny, it doesnt do anyone any good to do this in gear. All it does is create an unnecessary controversy which makes the department look bad.
This is one of the dumbest things I have seen in a while. First, they look like kids..maybe explorers … but don’t represent themselves as Firefighters. Don’t give those of us who honor our career a bad name. That is just childish and there needs to be better supervision in that department. Just imagine the headlines that could follow that one… Firefighter’s or kids I dont know which one hurt being pulled by a truck while wearing gear….. that would be one for the ages.
Their job is to run into burning buildings. Why does it upset people when they play in the snow?
I’m from the mid-west, so I don’t track the daily activities of PGFD. I do however see a number of not-so-good press stories from that department. I’m sure it’s like any other department-with the majority of it’s members being dedicated/hard-working with a few that tarnish the positives.
If you elect to do something like this, don’t wear turnout gear, associate yourself with your department, or be on duty/on call.
Taxpayers (customers) purchased the gear for FF safety and emergency service, not this. There are hundreds of departments in the United States that can’t afford one good set of turnout gear for their members and this activity is posted on the internet?
Paid, volunteer, paid-on-call……….it doesn’t matter. We all have a responsibility to one another in the American Fire Service. It may not seem right that we are sometimes scrutinized as one, but that’s how it is and it comes with the job.
PGFD must have a great budget, because if I was a political official making a decision on grant funding for PGFD, I would not back their grant request.
Video taped or not, these actions in turnout gear are not defendable. If a group of teens do the same thing in PGC and one gets hurt or worse, you can bet the comment “but we saw the firefighters doing it too” will be made.
If you must “blow off some steam”, do so in your own winter coat, not your fire gear and on your own time. If you know your department is on everyone’s radar for bad press, then make better decisions and be honorable to your department and our profession.
How many more incidents will it take for folks at PGFD to wake up an realize that people are watching and their explanations of their actions are usually worse than the initial incident itself?
If you need to blow off some steam, do a RIT drill or visit a retired firefighter in a nursing home.
This same thing happens at a lot of firehouses. When we got done searching for victims in stranded vehicles and setting up a shelter and running call after call after call; we were ready to have a little fun in the snow. We didnt let anyone pull us with a vehicle, but we went sledding on a big hill behind the station. Im the LT. and I had no problem with it, no one did anything unsafe and it was good, clean fun. Guys will be guys and im sure this happened at a lot of firehouses; these guys just allowed someone to video them and they should be more careful about that since videos have a tendency of showing up from this county. Be safe.
WHO CARES?!?!? Isn’t there any more important news than this? Dave your slipping again .
All of you come down off your ivory towers and out of the glass house, most of you forget where you came from. Everyone deserves to have fun stress release is very important to most people.
I understand this WAS their own, personally owned fire gear. I agree that filming this and putting it on the internet is foolish and some harsh lessons are going to be learned about that over what looks to me like innocent fun. I agree that it does not show the organisation involved in the best light and with the USA still having the most expensive public healthcare in the world it could cost someone money in the (unlikely) event of an accident. I can say after over 30 years as a paid firefighter I have certainly seen worse and think some of the criticism is way overblown.
“Anonymous says
Their job is to run into burning buildings. Why does it upset people when they play in the snow?”
no it’s their hobby to run into burning buildings, but only if it doesn’t look too scary
It is not their “personally” owned running gear. Get your facts straight.
Anonymous I said I understood it was, not that I knew for certain it was. It is a subtle difference and I am happy to acknowlege I could be mistaken. If you know for sure that it is not then you could explain how you know that for sure. You could also (like me) put your name on your post rather than fire anonymous blasts on Christmas eve. Either you paid for the gear yourself or something has made you pretty unhappy lately! Regardless of that, the gear would be pretty useless in a fire if it could not stand up to a little snow. I stand by my comment that the criticism of these guys is overblown. Sure they were foolish to post video on the net, but it doesn’t look like they were reckless of anyone’s safety and I very much doubt that their PPE came to any harm either.
Does anyone know for sure and are they prepared to say how they know and who they are?
What is the big deal.So they used PPE paid for by the Tax payers to have a bit of fun. Did it for years.
These people risk their LIVES for FREE to protect the Tax payers. Give it a rest.
But,are they using DECOMMISSIONED PPE?? I don’t know and neither do YOU.
Arguement ENDED… Case CLOSED!!
Alot of you guys are bein stupid for getting heated up and upset over something you have no power to prevent and change. So why get your blood pressure up over it. Get over it. Their has been worse done and their will always be worse done. If so worried about it join PGFD and get promoted to chief when you get over and change stuff until you can make a difference get over it.
Is there anything out there more inportant to fuss about? Far as I can see nothing but a bunch a ringpiece cry babies on here that don’t know fun when they see it. All this free time bitchin could be spent on latern duty which is where most of your comments belong anyway. Even Christ didn’t have this many stone throwers aimed at him!