Taken from Chief Billy G's the Secret List on 8/27/08. A story about how a fellow
ff was terminated from a line of duty injury in which she was critically injured.
A daughter Firefighter who was seriously injured in a dwelling fire-who now feels that the
FD she works for is treating her less than fairly. Naturally upset after watching her daughter#go through#2.5 years of surgeries and rehab due to burns in that house fire, Marolyn Schuenke#slammed the Community Fire Protection District board of directors#last#night...because they fired her daughter.
"You guys all had your arms around me in the hospital saying you'd take care of her," Mom Schuenke charged as the directors, eyes cast downward, walked to their cars following a closed board meeting called to address the termination of firefighter-paramedic Cindy Schuenke. Terminate? Seriously burned so in appreciation we will TERMINATE you?! WTF! Don't be shocked-it happens more than we realize.
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We see how some in our business are treated and it REMINDS ALL OF US to look NOW-and find out-EXACTLY what coverage's, protections and related security YOU would have for you-and your family-if you are seriously injured on the job. For career Firefighters: what is the written plan to insure you and your family are taken care of? For volunteer, call and part-time Firefighters: same questions ...PLUS what about your normal income? What happens there? Is your family supported? Short term care? Long term care? Rehabilation?
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About 12#years ago I approached my then boss,#a City Manager at the time (now former city manager), to discuss what coverage's and protections we would provide for our on-call, part-time and volunteer Firefighters if they were hurt seriously-with long term medical and related implications. I knew we had the backs of our career members, but was concerned about the balance of all our members. His response (not shocking if you knew this clueless city hall dweller) was that since they are part-time, we can terminate them at anytime. WTF!? And that was his response. Period.
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Of course we fought it (we lost the battle but overall won the war over time) but man oh man, not only was I (at the time) amazed at his "I couldn't care less" attitude-but the fact that there was NO coverage except for whatever workers comp provides. And if you have been#on this job longer than 15 minutes, you know that root canal is more fun than dealing with workers comp.
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So what SHOULD a
FD do? Plan ahead and prepare for this kind of situation#so there is little subjectivity and it is clear to everyone exactly "what will and what will not" happen if "that" happens. We also must#TAKE TIME to check out what our personal coverage's are RIGHT NOW if you were injured in the line of duty-and couldn't return to work for a few weeks, months or years. Better to ask and get the information now than from a hospital bed.
Every
fd here in nassau has insurence coverage for their members. However not all insurence coverage is the same. Some insurence policies might cover something another dept doesn't cover at all.
How Well Are You Covered?
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