The reason why they underage lady and the others didn’t get charged is because one was a cop and they are probably all white. Them sheriff’s are quick to throw the cuffs on a black man in a heartbeat.

#1 - Although the 19 year old was not of legal drinking age, she is NOT a minor (under 18 is a minor) so none of these guys can be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. #2 - Only the driver can have his driving privileges revoked by law for DUI, not a passenger under the influence. #3 - In VA, it is not illegal for a passenger to be under the influence. #4 - The only thing the passengers can be charged with is 18.2-388 public intoxication (a class 4 misdemeanor)and generally isn’t taken into custody unless they are a danger to themselves or others, and also 18.2-102 unauthorized use (class 6 felony)since they conspired and were participating in the act. They did NOT intend to permanently deprive the owner of the vehicle so they can not be charged with grand larceny. The deputy “may” not arrest anyone else on the spot and performed his duties with integrity giving him ample opportunity to investigate the case. Arrest warrants can be obtained after the investigation is completed if the Commonwealth Attorney (who is the highest legal official in VA) determines there is a strong case and wants to pursue prosecution on the other folks involved. I personally give kudos to the deputy for a job well done.

With that said, I am not condoning what they did. However, before people start spouting off at the mouth, know the law and know your facts.

I am familiar with the LPD officer and was actually quite shocked by his involvement because he is usually a very honest, intelligent, fair, and hardworking person who loves serving his community. This is an officer who saved the life of many while performing his duties in both capacities of law enforcer and rescue services. I will be honest and say that I’m “sitting on the fence” as to whether he should be released from his duties as an officer because I know how good he is at his job and was looked at with great respect from his peers. However, I also believe that once you commit a crime, you should not be enforcing the law. It’s a very sad situation and I’m quite sure he is more angry and upset with himself for making such a bad dicision than any of you are. I no longer have faith in decisions of LPD command staff as they make decisions that best suit THEIR needs and reputation, but either way, this officer now has a tarnished record and his future doesn’t look as promising as it once was.

In all of the reports that I have read it appears that the driver is the only one that was charged and taken to jail. I am wondering why the 19 year old passenger was not given a sobriety test and charged with under age drinking?  We read about many young adults being removed from vehicles when they are passengers, given a sobriety test and if they register on the breathalyzer as having alcohol in there system charged as the law requires (i.e. License immediately surrender under the No tolerance law, placed under arrest and taken to jail). We continually hear how all law enforcement agencies are cracking down on under age drinking, what happened in this situation? I find it appalling that we not only have a group of individuals who feel they maybe above the law. But then to have them stopped by a police officer, who they ran off the road and everyone not being charged on the scene. This action by Loudon Sheriff

Though there’s praise for the LCSO Deputy that stopped the party pumper from possibly causing something more severe from happening, but what message did the LCSO send out to the rest of the county….I’ll tell you.

1. If you steal a car, truck, SUV or even a Fire Engine in Loudoun County, we’ll only charge you with unauthorized use of a vehicle and not breaking and entering, burglary or grand larceny.
2. If your an adult involved in a crime such as this one, we’ll just let you go and not charge you as being an accessory or at the least, public intoxication.
3. If your an adult drinking in the presence of a person under the age of 21 and supplying alcohol to that underage person, we won’t charge you with contributing to the deliquency of a minor.
4. If your underage and intoxicated, not only will we not charge you with being an accessory to this crime, we won’t even charge you with underage drinking.

Mr. Dibenedetto…I fail to see the point of saying these people are subject to the laws in place, but don’t actually charge them with anything, however, they’re released to a sober driver….I guess the next time a person or persons is pulled over for using someone elses car, whether they stole it or borrowed it, they won’t be charged with grand larceny, won’t be charged for public intoxication, underage drinking or contributing to the deliquency of a minor…way to go LCSO, you truly set the bar on this one..

@Billy…I know who the officer is, but if you want to find out the right way, send a letter to the LPD through the FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) and request the name of the officer and do the same with the LCSO and find the names of the others who weren’t identified.

Anyone know the name of the Leesburg Police Officer that was one of the intoxicated passenger’s in the Fire Truck?

Just can’t really grasp how a Leesburg, VA sworn officer can so blatantly be part of a crime. Everyday that he puts on a badge its to put the fear of the citizens at rest that people like this won’t be causing problems or deaths in our streets and communities.

Thank you Leesburg Virginia

Read this blog while visiting relatives in Ashburn.  So would like to add some perspective.
I am a career firefighter in a large combination fire department on the west coast.  Additionally I served as a paid call firefighter (PCF) for ten years in the late 70

Rocket Science I am not talking about the voluteers. I am talking about the 1 person who is supposed to “Protect and Serve” at all times. I am not sure which one is worse, a person who gets drunk and does something as stupid as last weekend or someone who’s full time job is to stop things like that but instead is a part of it. The next time my buddies and I steal a fire truck, and WE get pulled over, one of us will get a Grand Larceny charge while the other will get a Accessory to charge. That is of course is I work for the LPD.

The other names haven’t been released because they haven’t been charged with any crimes. Why is this so hard for people to grasp?

buried in the back…
sorry the ;) should of let you know i was merely pokin for some fun :) no harm ment, id really question the arresting officer…. shame on him/her for not doing their job… oh what a twisted society we live in

A fair question, I grant you.

Being a trusting soul, I’d venture that while one organization (Fire) has put out a quick statement, the other organization (Law enforcement) may yet be quiet on the matter.  I don’t read anything else into it until I see a reason to do so.

Mr Cooper I do not think there is a “conspiracy” here. But why rush to get the volunteers info and termination annoucement out there and not the full time “protect and serve” individual. After almost a week any reporter worth their salt should have something to follow up on. Nothing personal towards anyone involved, just wondering why.

I’m sorry, Buried, I’m not in possession of all the facts in this case… but it would seem to me that a responsible and smart media outlet would NOT release information so potentially damaging to an individual without first verifying its authenticity.

If a Loudoun County officer was involved in a material way with this incident, then I would expect them to be dealt with by authorities.  I would *not* want the media to release their name until it was officially confirmed by those authorities.

I fear that many news organizations today would too quickly leap to publish names when facts are not established, when the only evidence is word of mouth.  I would applaud a news entity that showed restraint, sticking to established facts rather than venturing boldly to exciting rumor.

I fail to see a conspiracy when the only test of a newspaper is “what would TMZ do?”

(Caveat: if there is more to this and it’s a huge conspiracy and the government is in on it, then I apologize and will stock up on canned goods.)

Curios I am not in the business of providing information to the public, but LTM is. It’s no wonder newspapers are going the way of the dinosaurs and outlets like TMZ are flourshing. Reporting is easy,provide all the story and tell the truth. If it’s the truth nobody can dispute it. If it steps on the toes of local higher ups, to bad. If I was to print the name on this site it WOULD be removed. I have seen it done here before.

I know the person who wrote the story and I know the officer in question. I wonder if he or any other Leesburg police officer had pulled her over before this story hit, on a drunk driving, speeding, contributing to the deliquescence of a minor charge if he would helped her out and kept her out of jail???? I hope not, they would not be doing their job. Just like LTM is not doing theirs.

buried in the back…
tell me the name of the cop and i’ll see if im right ;)

How does a story that makes NATIONAL news both in print and television end up on the back page of the local paper? I guess the huge picture of the spelling bee winner had to go somewhere. Not to mention, wasn’t there a off duty Leesburg police officer with them? What was his punishment? What was his name? I know, the paper doesn’t. Why are people KILLING the volunteers (and they should)with no details about the officer. This is the same person who will stand in judgement of you and I. Report ALL the story and don’t bury it.

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@Corrector, So I was not wrong! It is acceptable both ways!  There, their, and they’re.  There, their and they’re.  Nothing is wrong with my Loudoun education. :P
When to Use a Comma before “And”
Two specific situations call for the use of a comma before “and.” The first is created when we have three or more items in a series. This mark of punctuation is called the serial comma.

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Dang! I’ma turnin in my badge! Must be that Lowdown edjucashon.  I’m just kidding, let’s not get the teachers’ panties all in a wad.

The letter X was used 21 times
The letter Q was used 45 times
(,)and the letter Z was used 18 times.
whoops i used a comma before AND.
Oh yeah, there were 7,862 periods used

See… typical Volunteer… I’m sooo sorry I screwed up and forgot to count my letters too!  Can a Career guy fix that for me. You have 12 hours beginning at 6 am to get it done.

I counted 15,543 letters used in all of these posts. I am a volunteer FF and really had nothing to do.  Out of the 15,543 letters in the 250 posts…. the letter E was used 2,433 times. WOW.

grammer police….. A comma does not go before “and”
            I’m just saying

Loudoun has relied on the volunteer system for over 100 years. I am 3rd generation Loudoun Fire/Rescue. My grandfather was a vol Chief for many years. When I was younger, I spent 8 years as a vol EMT and I wouldn’t trade that for anything (even the bad stuff). If I need help, the last thing I will care about is are you paid or not.  My final comment is: People… their, there, and they’re are all different words and are NOT interchangeable.

It is sad that all the good these individuals have done over the years is written off and they are defamed by a bad decision.  Not justifying what they have done, or saying it is ok.  They will be held responsible for what they have done by the courts, but worse off is the future they have for themselves whenever a name is searched in Google.  I hope and have confidence that the behavior will not be repeated, and know this is not common behavior in Loudoun’s or others Fire and Rescue System.

  I am a proud Volunteer who also works in a career system.  Funny thing, that I- a career guy could volunteer, considering this is the volunteer service you receive when calling 911 any different than a career one, if career personnel from other jurisdictions are a percentage of the personnel volunteering???

  As the Fire Service; reactions on these posts are destroying the image of industry and the service we have a passion to be involved with.  Read through these posts unbiased, leave the pride and ego at the door and look how stupid we look.  Sean messed up, the other guys did too - let’s give them the chance to learn from their mistakes, and reap what they sow, but it is time to move on and fix the problems our service faces (yes career and volunteer).

  And to the citizens out there, you have a great Fire & Rescue System, especially for what funding is allotted towards it.  Volunteers and Career Personnel within the system have a passion, commitment and pride along with quality training and experience that justifies their service.  Also realize the training levels of providers in the Northern Virginia / Washington DC Region exceeds that of most departments and areas of the entire country.  Please don’t take this one incidence and lose confidence in the system.  Understand that the vehicle was not in service, they were not volunteering or running duty at the time, and the vehicle was not even in the firehouse.  No it does not make it ok, but your firefighters are not sitting around the firehouse drinking waiting on something to happen.  Most firefighters are professional and dedicated to what they do.  If you live in a community with a fire siren, realize everytime the siren blows, firefighters are instantly answering your call, leaving their loved ones, or putting everything else on hold, to dedicate their time, equipment, pride, and efforts to assist you however you may need. 

  To stand up for your volunteers realize the County has been putting policies into place requiring the same certification requirements for positions within the Fire & Rescue System whether Career or Volunteer.  Also Loudoun County Residents should be proud knowing that multiple providers who have come through your volunteer system now hold positions of authority throughout departments in larger surrounding jurisdictions.  Additionally, many serve positions with Federal Bureaus assisting with national or international emergencies.  Be proud of what you have, please don’t lose faith or trust…

What are the odds that Loudoun career FFs are spending their day on this board and spamming Vol slams.  100% perhaps?  Can anyone guess why?

Yes, the subjects of the article appear to be problems that needed to be removed from the system.  Granted.  That said, anyone who doesn’t believe that what you are seeing here is a career staff jumping on a bandwagon to advance their agenda is naive.

Could this joyride have turned deadly?  Most certainly, and thank God that it did not…unlike the joyride a former LCFR career officer took while drunk on Route 66…which took 3 lives…and landed him with a 6 year prison sentence and 30 years of probation.

Should these 5 folks have been arrested?  Most definitely, just as the LCFR career boys who harassed an African American career FF by, amongst other things, putting a noose in his car should have been arrested…and were…for a hate crime.  Should the Leesburg PO be fired?  Yeah, probably…as should have been the career LCFR Bat Chief who was using the training center on weekends to host training classes for his own private business.  Shall we start pulling out after action reports showing career on-call screw ups?  Let me know.  I’ve got them.  Just let me know.

FFs are among the most critical of each other.  Individual companies spend their days slamming volunteer (or career)...and even within their own ranks, they slam other counties, companies, shifts, and crews.  I’m not sure why, petty minds perhaps, but it’s the nature of the beast.

Frankly, I know some great career guys and would be relieved to see them if I was in trouble…and I know some knuckle dragging brain dead career guys who I would not let enter my house if the fire was in the walls…or in a trashcan.  Ditto volunteer side (not so much in the east though).  That said, you don’t make the overall situation better by tearing people down.  You try to address the issues and elevate everyone…unless of course, you are pushing an agenda.  The same type of agenda that has career guys walk out of stations at 6pm sharp even when the volunteer driver has called to say that he’ll be ten minutes late because of traffic.  Why?  Because overtime was not authorized that week perhaps?  I have NEVER personally witnessed a volunteer shirk duty to that degree…although I am convinced that some career guy has.

How about we agree that these five folks are now a problem solved and start working on how to make the overall system the most effective that it can be?  Anyone doing otherwise is pushing an agenda…and should not be trusted.

Not a fan, Reality and others:
First of all I have no problem with fire fighters taking trucks out to grocery stores or eating out. I do have a problem with school bus drivers doing this. According to Loudoun County schools, bus drivers are allowed to go shopping or run errands with their buses.  As you folks said with the price of gas and liability issues I don’t agree with this school policy at all. I frequently see school buses at the grocery store with just the bus driver doing their shopping.

As for those of you complaining about the volunteers- just think about how much they’ll increase taxes if we go to an all paid system.  Next the “individuals” complaining about the volunteers will be crying about how much their taxes have increased.  I think the volunteers do a fine job and I thank them for giving up their time with their family to protect us. I have personally witnessesd the extensive training that these individuals go through and I am impressed by their dedication.  Not many of you would be willing to undergo what they go through and sacrifice the time that they do. It is sad to see that there is this animosity between paid and volunteer firefighters.

So its okay to drink and drive. Your the idot. Maybe one day you will have a drunk driver hit you or maybe your family lets see what you say then. I cant believe people think thats okay. Lets just have drunk cops armed while on duty.

The problem that I see with all of these comments is that no one really cares what you think.  You have no control in your own life nor do you have a life.  If you did, you would not have time to send 20 messages in response or retaliation to the last guy. You rely on a sense of Authority in which you do not have.  It is a proven fact that people no longer care for one another anymore.  The Liberal Freaks that live in La La land have removed GOD from schools and what the basis of this Country was founded on.  So after generations and generations of people constantly being reminded that someone could be offended by GOD, we have a large majority of population that cares nothing about Common Good.  Everyone on here is trying to prove their point… Quite Frankly… WE DONT CARE.  A few of you have made good points, while several are lost in their own little world.  But in the end, Does it really matter?  6 months from now, your comments will be forgotten about.  So I hope you have enjoyed wasting precious time trying to express your self.  YOU COULD HAVE BEEN doing something else, like spending time with your family.  It is quite simple, I dial 911 and expect someone in a fire truck to show up.  Firefighters have been known for many years to take a few drinks and even be drunk on calls…. Who Cares?  As long as they can spit water on the fire, they have done their job.  They got caught doing what 90 % off everyone on here has done, they are not bad people.  They just got caught!

sheewww momma butts! rock on ;)

Seems to me.
Please let me clear something up for you.  First I have been a career FF for 20 years now.  These terrible and horrific calls do happen, but they are seldom.  Going to back to bed is not always that hard. 
I have looked through all my post.  I never said I would not trust my life in the hands of a volunteer.  I was once a upon a time a volunteer myself.  I needed to quit because I did not have the time any longer and I did not want to be part of something I did not have the time for.  There are alot of Vol I know and respect greatly.
You are very correct there was a paid FF on that vehicle.  He should be in as much trouble as the police officer and should share the same fate.  he is just as much to blame as the rest.
As this one and many of my post I think the Volunteer system has passed it’s time in Loudoun.  I think several changes to system need to be made.  That would be accountablity from the Chief of the department downward.  I think that all of the stations in the county need to be brought under the control of Chief Brower and Fire and rescue Service.  There is nothing wrong with Volunteering, but all of the Volunteers should fall under direct supervision of county leaders and not individual department officers.
Like I posted before.  If I am way off base with what I have posted please provide some information for me.  If what I have posted is incorrect please take time to correct me.  I am not to old to learn something.  As far as the 5 people involved.  yes it was a bad mistake.  Is that what we chuck it up to and move on…  or do we make sure this does not happen again.  Take the 5 of them out of the fire truck.  Who cares what they were in.  Every last one of them made a choice that night to get in a vehicle and drive around.  Yes we can what if something to death….  (What if the world stopped turning)....  Where do we stop????  Is it ok that no one was hurt???  yeah it is great that no one was hurt…  Do we not do anything till someone gets hurt next time.  Each of these 5 need to be brought out and held responsible for there actions.

Amen Susan Butts…well said.

SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!  Why don’t all of you just shut up and mind your own business.  You all sound like a bunch of 6 year olds.  They were caught, they resigned, they will face their punishment like adults, all without your help.  No, I don’t condone what they did.  But I do know some of them personally, and know they are good people who made a stupid decision that didn’t affect any of YOU!  All the “what if’s” you come up with won’t change the fact that no one was hurt in this incident.  I’m quite sure this was a one time thing and not an everyday occurence like some of you seem to think.

What really gets me is most of you don’t have the guts to use your real names in your posts.  I will, and I don’t give a crap what you think of me.  I’m too old to care.

My late son was a member of HVFD and proud of it, as I was of him and every other member of that station.  I still am and will support them until I die.  That engine transported my dead son to Hillsboro Cemetary 2 years ago this month.  Every member of that station supported me and my family in the worst time of our lives.  They gave my son the most beautiful funeral I have ever been witness to, and have become my “extended family” who I love dearly.

Am I disappointed and hurt by what happened?  You bet I am!  Will I talk to them personally the next time I come up there?  I certainly hope so, because I know that they are all sorry for what they did, and I hope they know it doesn’t change the fact that I still care about them and will always be there for them.

Now why don’t you all go on with your lives and leave this matter alone.  Oh, and one more thing, to all you paid firefighters who keep putting volunteers down, I remember when Loudoun was ALL volunteer, and truly a “brotherhood”.  By the way, I was a Firefighter and an EMT in Loudoun for 7 years and ran every call I could, not just the ones I wanted to.

Concerned: You have spent so much time on here running your mouth about what should be done with the volunteers and think you know so much about the whole fire and rescue system, (which by the way, you don’t) sounds like maybe YOU should be a volunteer FF and “fix” the system!
I for one hope that you never need help during the hours that those “dreadful” volunteers are on duty, because you can bet that no matter what people think of them, they are going to do their job. They are proud of what they do and you’re gonna feel like a real idiot for all the bashing that you’ve done on here, when it’s you or a family member that is saved by a VOLUNTEER!! Do you have a clue what these guys see at accident scenes (it’s not pretty!)and then have to go home at night and try to sleep? Guarantee you, you couldn’t do it! It takes a special person to be able to do what they do!
You say you wouldn’t trust your life with a volunteer. Well, let’s just hope you don’t have to eat those words one day! That’s a pretty stupid statement! What, when your house is on fire, are you going to request paid FF’s only to put the fire out OR you’ve been hit head-on in a car accident, are you going to have a sticker on your windshield that says “In case of accident: Must be treated by a paid FF only!” Let’s see how that works out for ya!
I’m only guessing here but, you have a paid FF somewhere in your family, huh? Not that you would ever admit.
You really need to get a life, and hey, here’s a thought, how about GO VOLUNTEER AT YOUR LOCAL FIREHOUSE!

And I think you missed one of the facts that one of those in the fire truck that night was a PAID firefighter!

If anyone deserves to have a drink while driving a county vehicle it would be a school bus driver.
Have you seen the behavior of these students?

OK I AM KIDDING BEFORE PEOPLE START CALLING TO HAVE ME FLOGGED AT THE CORNER OF KING AND MARKET STREETS.
THIS FORUM COULD USE SOME HUMOR

Concerned:  By your explanation, the stations in Western Loudoun that have had staffing issues have done the right thing and turned over their operations to Loudoun County.

If paramedics are needed at every station, why doesn’t Loudoun County put them there? They’re already running the six stations 24/7.

Finally, there isn’t only one paramedic for all of Western Loudoun. In addition to what volunteers provide, Middleburg has a 24/7 career medic unit.

Though I’m close to my degree, I’m not officially a firehouse lawyer, but would I do know is the state of Virginia deems a person who is 18 an adult, however, the ABC laws don’t really care if your 18.

I don’t know every single ABC law in the state of virginia, but what I do know is:

1. The legal age to purchase and consume alcohol is 21.
2. It is illegal for someone under the age of 21 to purchase alcohol with a fake ID or consume alcohol. This is a charge called UNDERAGE DRINKING.
3. If your over 21, it is illegal to purchase alcohol for someone under 21 years of age, provide alcohol to someone under 21 years of age or allow someone under 21 or 18 to drink in the presence of your home or at a party.
This is a criminal charge called CONTRIBUTING TO THE DELIQUENCY OF A MINOR!!!

So concerned, if it makes you feel better, we’ll just say she’s a 19 year old teenager who still lives at home with her parents and isn’t of legal age to consume alcohol.

Shame on the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office for not charging this 19 year old TEENAGER or the others for contributing to the deliquency of this MINOR, as it pertains to the Virginia ABC laws or investigating how she was able to obtain the alcohol in the first place. Its pretty obvious since this isn’t this girls first time hanging out with this crowd, that the alcohol was already in the house and being provided for her drinking pleasure.

Whether this night started in the house next to the old firehouse or started at a bar, then took the party to the house, it was known from the very beginning, the very first beer, shot etc..that this girl wasn’t of legal age and the people who were with her at the earliest stages before she became intoxicated, had the oppurtunity to make a sound and responsible decision. THEY ALL FAILED…

Ok Loudoun EMT lets shed some light on your post
1. Neersville- Not enough members to support there operation.  After failing mutiple times and having to depend on Lovettsville and Round hill to come to there area and being on dual response or scratching calls = operation turned over to the county
2. Middleburg- After several of there top leadership members sexual trained a young member to clear her to ride the equipment, there senior members were caught stealing, and not enough members to support there operation since the above many had to leave = turning over the operation to the county
3. Aldie - After losing several members, not having enough people around and failing to get out on calls at night = there chief at the time turned the keys to the operation over to the county
4. Lucketts -  Had no EMS coverage ever and relied on Leesburg, Hamilton, and Lovettsville to handle there EMS calls.  After failing to get out, and not having enough people to serve the calls. = They turned the operation over to the county
5. After many failures to be able to get the equipment out with more than a driver and not enough people to get the equipment on the road. = they turned the operation over to the county.

I think that sums it up for those stations. Now for south riding station.  That station was an agreement station between Arcola and the county.  The Arcola VFD was suppose to provide ALS coverage so there members would have something to do.  Of course that are failing on that as well since Medic units from fairfax have to come that way for calls. 
I would also agree with you,  The county has failed to provide the Advanced medical coverage that the volunteers can no longer provide. 
As far as those west end stations.  The volunteers continue to argue they can provide the one and only medic to support the entire west end.
I think that sums up your post.

Redneck Fun - I appreciate your humor.  This message board has gotten way off the topic of 5 idiots who took the firetruck on a joyride while driving drunk to bashing all the dedicated volunteers in our community.  It has nothing to do about paid fire fighters.  It has nothing to do about other volunteers.  The only thing we need to focus on is finding out who these idiots were and making sure they are punished.  They, of all people have seen the devastation that drunk driving can cause.  The Leesburg Cop should be locked up and have the key thrown away.  We all make mistakes in life. However, let’s focus on what this article is about and stop turning in to something it isn’t.

FF-Paramedic…
Please share with all of us where I am wrong…  Please shed some light on the information that I provided that is not true or has npt happened in as little time as in the past week or so…

Redneck Firefighters—- You might be on a redneck fire department if…

Your department has ever had two emergency vehicles pulled over for drag racing on the way to the scene.

You have naked lady mud flaps on your pumper.

Your firehouse has wheels.

You’ve ever gotten back and found out you locked yourselves out of the firehouse.

Fire training consists of everyone standing around a fire gettin’ drunk.

You’ve ever been toned out on an outhouse fire.

That outhouse fire was with entrapment.

You’ve ever let a person’s house burn down because they wouldn’t let you hunt on their ground.

At least one vehicle in the firehouse still has decorations on it from the Halloween Parade and it’s January.

Your personnel vehicle has more lights on it than your house has lights in it.

You don’t own a Dalmation, but you do have a coon dog named Sparky.

You’ve ever walked through a christmas display and came up with more than 3 new ideas for a light scheme for your truck.

Your rescue truck can smoke the tires.

Your department’s name is misspelled on the equipment.

Your engine had to be towed in the last Christmas Parade.

Dispatch can’t mention your name without laughing.

The local news crew won’t put your department on TV because you embarassed them last time.

You’ve ever referred to a light bar as sexy.

Your defib consists of a pair of jumper cables, a marine battery, and a fish finder.

You’ve ever taken a girl on a date in a pumper.

Your pumper has been on fire more times than it has been to a fire.

Your pumper smokes more than the house fire.

The only time the trucks leave the station is on bingo night.

Your apparatus has carbon monoxide detectors mounted in the cab.

You return from a fire with more junk than you arrived with.

The Chief’s car has a rag for a gas cap.

HEEEEEEEEEEEEHAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

concerned:  Two-thirds of the stations in Western Loudoun already have 24/7 career coverage (Neersville, Round Hill, Philomont, Middleburg, Aldie, and Lucketts).

Oh, and not every station in Eastern Loudoun has a paramedic on duty, either. That includes your 24/7 career station South Riding, which only has a Basic Life Support unit.

Public Unions are a parasites on taxpayers!

One thing that I know, if Vollys F up in the field the career guys get the heat, not the Vollys. I do know of an incident that happend where the vollys took a person who was in a car crash to the hosp. and protocal is, if they are going to the hosp. they need to be on a backboard.. Well guess what..THEY WERE NOT.. and guess who got the heat for it? the CAREER LT.

This should wake the Co. up and realize they need 24/7 career guys. I don’t trust Vollys.

Proud Volly, I do appreciate you having a heart and doing something so dangerous for free, I just don’t trust you will follow the guide lines. And remember, it was your choice to sign up and save people for free, if you want to get paid for it sign up for the next recruit class and learn something.

One thing is certain from this thread.  The volunteer and career fireman have waaayyyy too much time on their hands - go wash the firetruck or something and give the taxpayers their money’s worth….there was a time when public servants actually served the public, now it seems they are only there to serve themselves….

Proud Loudoun Volunteer,

You are naive if you think other companies besides Pvillve are staffing units the same as career staff or with qualified people. Hang out in 9’s area and tell me how a FF in the seat and just red hats in back make a “legal” crew?

It’s sweet you are proud and are trying to defend the system, but you really don’t see some of the issues around the rest of the system like some of us do. Be proud that the avg age of the firefighters in Pville are in the early 20’s. It makes me sleep better at night knowing I have a bunch of kids riding the seat to save my house if it catches on fire.

To Concerned: You obviously don’t know half of what you are talking about so do us all a favor, if you live in Loudoun and it disgusts you so much move the hell away. We don’t need people like you around. You think you know it all but, are nothing but a problem and not part of a solution.

It’s after 11:59 on March 8th…enough already LTM!!!

regardless at the end of the day if you call 911 in loudoun you have some of the best responding to you, career or volunteer.

if they so choose and the call is good enough for them to be….. You know that does not happen all the time….  Hince why you see units from leesburg coming up there… You can argue all night long if you want….  I have seen it first hand…what your saying does not happen but few and far between….  There has even been times in the past that there was no volunteers available the county placed a unit in the west end….
That is when your 2-3 pop ups happened…  because they were all pissed off…....What ever dude…...I just don’t think the volunteer system works anymore…and needs a good cleaning

thats why i put almost, obviously some stations would be better off without some volunteers, dont get me wrong i will agree with you on that, but a majority work very close with each other

yes you are correct they are required to only have 1 up for the night, but once that one gets a call another 2-3 go up on the board without hesitation. or if they hear that a medic is coming from farther away then where the LIVE they will leave their family and house and respond to the emergency..

What you mean work together like a few years ago when stations like middleburg were putting something in the sugar, station like Lovettsville needed mediation between career and volunteer, and sterling who on a regular bases has an outside county come in and run there calls…  You mean like that?????????????????????????????

Proud Volly do you mean the 1 medic that is required by the Volunteer commission to be up at night on the board….  Thats right I believe that would be region A correct…Not 100% sure which region that is but lets see if I have it right..  That would be the area from Lovettsville to Philimont and then down to the leesburg line…
YES FOLKS YOU HAVE 1 ADVANCED PROVIDER IN THE WEST.  UNLESS YOU SOUND LIKE YOU WOULD BE A GOOD CALL TO THEM AND THEN MAYBE ONE OF THEM WILL POP UP LIKE A RABBIT OUT OF ITS HOLE…BUT ONLY IF YOUR BLOODY AND KOOL TO LOOK AT…

That is an accurate look, would’nt you say proud volly… 
So yes the 1 provider the county makes you all put up out there may be on a call.  So the rest of the citizens that live in that vast what about 250 to 300 square miles have no other assistance

the volunteers do fall under the same rules, and trainings, the county requires certain trainings along with VDFP. if your not compliant, you dont ride. its as simple as that. Loudoun has one of the best combination systems in the NOVA area, and career and volunteer work alomst flawlessly everyday..

No Proud Volly, the price of a house does not determine the system you have…. and yes the construction of houses today do burn faster than years ago.  I meant more so for the EMS calls.  Volunteers at one point did serve a vital need in Loudoun.  Just not anymore…Across the county the amount of taxes the people in Loudoun pay each year is incredible.  To think we do not have a career fire and EMS system, a police department that is not much higher than a clerk of the court, and simple things like a municipal water system everywhere in the county is ridiculous.  To give the people of Loudoun the preception that these stations are always staffed….Who is pulling the wool over who’s eyes…
You can be Proud all you want…  and that is great…The Volunteer system needs to change… They should no longer be allowed to own property, make policy, or effect anything.  They should fall under the direct supervision of a county paid Captain that is on duty.  That person tells them where to ride and which County personel will be in charge of there actions while acting as a volunteer.

sorry i guess that made to much sense.. no response

hmm well maybe did you ever think that all the ALS providers(advanced life support) are tied up on other calls in the west end and loudoun rescue is the next closest medic?

V   S   G   O   I
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Well proud Volly…  That would be everytime I have seen an ambulance that says Loudoun Rescue on it in the Lovettsville, Hamilton Neersville, and Hillsboro areas….  And you can try to fake people here on this site and they can believe what ever they want….You know it happens… I will not say it is all the time, but it does happen…  Every station in Loudoun has failed to get out because volunteer staff did not show up or there was not a crew available.  From Sterling to Round hill and from Middleburg to Lovettsville.  You know it happens…..

most paid firefighters in loudoun are volunteers too either inside the county or just outside. does this mean they are not good enough to protect your rich asses too?  maybe you should take your overly inflated paychecks and create a perfect loudoun fire station.

also at concerned.. since when do the prices of houses determine if volunteer or paid firefighters should be called? the way houses are made now a days especially in loudoun, by time any calls to 911 are placed its going to the ground.

throughout this thread ive learned alot..
volunteers have unions. im still trying to find my loudoun chapter

9/11 has everything to do with this according to many.

housing prices determine a volunteer vs career response.

concerned, show me the last time purcellville failed getting out the door?

Well great job ladies and gentlemen. I hope those on hear that read these or post your thoughts becasue your real citizens can see what is really going on. The keyboards at 6, 18, 11, 12, 9, 19 20, and so on must have had a hell of a workout during the day. The quotes from effingwoods fire dept are my favorite you have put so far. We have even been blessed by Hookman postings. Volunteers great job with the fight what you fear, we run in while you run out bs. All in all people make stupid mistake(s) and will pay dearly. The rest of you on here, the most real fire you have ever seen ( Pro or Vollie) is at the conrete jungle by the air port. Just keep pretending.

Yes you are correct school of business….  Employees are factored into price and structured cost…  You must be a wizard business owner yourself….  You got any volunteers with you…Some people that come out and work for you for the fun of it…. probably not…

When you look at many of the vital services a county goverment needs to provide schools, police, fire, ems, and public works…  Why do they not utilize volunteers in a larger capcity…The Answer????  BECAUSE YOU CAN NOT DEPEND ON THEM ALL THE TIME…VOLUNTEERS HAVE THE ABILITY TO PICK AND CHOOSE THE CALLS THEY GO ON…

When your career you do not get that…  If your on duty you run the calls you are put on….. 
Now enough about Vol Vs career….  It is not completely about that…  It is 5 people that made a dumb ass mistake…and need to take responsibility for it…

The system as a whole in Loudoun being broke is a different subject…  Yes we need to move on from volunteering..  The amount people are spending on housing and taxes in Loudoun is at a point that volunteers can no longer be depended on…It is time that a little more structure is brought to the table to protect the people that live and work in Loudoun..

I have seen it first hand stations in Lovettsville, Purcellville, and Hamilton fail to get out the door.  At what point is that exceptable??

all I can say is, i cannot wait to run a call with one you uneducated yuppy citizens that dont even know how of what this county is about and hear you bitch about volunteers and not know the person helping you is a volunteer..

Hamilton Skool of Business:  Hummm, let’s take that a bit further.  Last time I looked we didn’t have volunteer school teachers or police.  These are certainly not for-profit.  I agree, why is we have volunteer fire and rescue personnel?  Seems to me we skimp in two very, very important areas.

We dont have Volunteer bank tellers, lawyers, doctors, waiters, or mechanics

Saw this first hand in NJ:

You are an idiot

Thanks for that outstanding free legal advice but,
One small problem with charging someone with contributing to the delinquency of a minor…....... you do not have a minor
DUHHHHHH

No one has asked yet, how long they had been out on the road.  The report says they were headed east bound on 704 in the area of Canaby Road.  They were headed bak to Hamilton.  Where else had they been that night???

Reality…  SCALE BACK???  Nice…What will you say when you need an Ambulance or a Fire Truck…  Let me guess… What took so long to get here…

DONT TAX ME…  There are plenty of Counties out there that staff every station with fukll time people and the tax rate is no different than Loudoun…

Not everyone in a fire truck or ambulance is like these guys and Gal….  Many work very hard at this proffesion and are very much into it.  How many people do you know that get up every morning and can not wait to get to work… and love being there…..These bone heads have destroyed so much of a positive image in what a 20 minute thrill ride….  I think it is time that Loudoun stands up and follows suit with many of the areas around them….  Volunteers are done….They have no place here any longer…..  The residents can no longer wait for Bob to come from the field or Joe’s boss to let him go down to the local VFD and run a call…  It has long been time to end part time people and have full time protection… 
Does any of the citizens know how many times the buildings are empty and they are waiting for people to come from home??????  We dont have Volunteer bank tellers, lawyers, doctors, waiters, or mechanics….  Why do we have volunteer FF and paramedics?????

If the LCSO didn’t charge the remaining individuals with public intoxication, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and underage drinking, this should set the tone for anyone else under these circumstances who’s arrested. A good lawyer will have a field day in court with any officer who arrests or charges a juvenile or adult with any of the above mentioned charges.

You know what’s funny… No one has blamed it on the illegal Mexicans yet.  I think an illegal Mexican sold them the beer. Every Loudoun Comment section blames the Mexicans. Haaa.  You Forum Freaks have contributed 200 comments…. LOSERS

It doesn’t matter if the police was off duty or on duty. They are still a cop no matter what. If they saw a store getting rob they will do something while they are off duty. So fired his butt. There are kids looking up to these guys and we don’t want our kids to think it ok to do something like this.

Compared to the other stations in the county, Sterling Fire is a good station. They are more disciplined, better trained and don’t put up with most of the BS that other companies get away with. Ask any of the career guys and gals who have worked there and have them compare SVFD to the vollies at other stations. They are not without their issues, but they are one of the better ones.

Sterling Fire is a “good station”? You mean the kids who can’t even show up to training center classes on time properly dressed? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Unions are the reason that there are so many fat and lazy cops and fireman in most of the northern departments. They’ve caused the state coffers to run dry and the doughnut shops to run out of doughnuts. I’m proud to now work in a ‘right to work’ state where we keep our jobs because of our work ethics, not some Union backing us and making it impossible to fire us when we produce nothing. Union workers are some of the most disgruntled employees that I’ve ever come across. They’re very demanding- considering the little amount of work they perform in exchange for their compensation. I hope the unions continue to shrink until they no longer exist and we can finally get back to the principles that this country was founded on… hard work and a little sacrifice.

I think this story is getting more coverage and response then the Historical Revolution in Egypt last week. Or maybe even the fact that a 25 year old committed SUICIDE the Friday night before this. Anyone ever try to coorelate the two? OR maybe think your priorities are messed up. Let the law deal with them and they will certainly pay. They dont need to be judged by a bunch of people that are first to call THEM and don’t question their background when they come to save you and your homes.

Sounds like once again, Leesburg is bored and as always society always needs to place blame and scrutinize. It goes to show you that people are always watching and judging you.

Loudoun’s real problem is not these firefighter or their actions…Its the nosy citizens that are obsessed with expressing their opionions and views and casting judgment on everyone else. If you are really that concerned about them, why not go to the Police station and talk to the chief or go to the fire station and talk to the supervisor. I am sure they will be more then happy to address all your concerns, gossip and clear up any myths or stories you may have heard.

Ps. this is loudoun county…Every 19 year old has access to alcohol. There is nothing to do with youth. We have been saying that since I was a teenager. Maybe go to the route of the issues?

Shes not underage. Shes under the legal drinking age.

Here is an idea… Lets all drink a cold one for these guys like the brotherhood should.  People make mistakes. Get over it.  Leesburg 5-0 guy…. take the suspension and learn from it.  He does not deserve to be fired at all!  He did not lie (Ethics not violated)  He made an immature decision.  He came in like a man and faced the suspension.  They hired a chief that ran around on his wife in Herndon for years and still kept him. So leave these guys alone

You really need to research what unions have done for workers everywhere. Weekends, 8 hour workdays, better wages, employer based healthcare etc. Not all unions are bad.

You know what is SO funny The guys involved in this are probable laughing about the $hit Storm they have stirred up.  Oh well… Any of you guys out there one of the drunks that got caught? Officer from Leesburg—- how did it feel turning in the Sig on Saturday? All over a few beers and trying to get laid by a 19 year old :(
$crew these haters… Lets go drink sometime buddy

Oh No… Here we go!
Some Union lover is in “Google”, “Copy” “Paste” mode right now to prove the good that unions provide.  I can feel it… They have to comment soon.  I saw that comment below and feel the heat steaming from a group of Liberal Union People. Oh The sky will fall without unions. BS ha ha ha this thing will get interesting later!!!!

Availablity for comments for this story will end at 11:59 p.m. on March 8, 2011.  Thank you.

Unions Suck…... They do absolutely nothing but collect you dues. I do not want to hear your comments about what good they do…. Plain and Simple… They are worthless. Just another Liberal ran program that protects people that SUCK. Keeps their jobs because their performance would not. Unions have ruined this country. Corrupt Liberalism…... Ohhhh I think i started a fire in the hay on a windy day… But your union ideas Suck

@Fight them Flames
You mention strike?
If you have been here as long as you claim then you remember when PATCO went on strike.
They thought with their air traffic skills they were irreplaceable. They soon found out different.
If ATC employees can be replaced with their skills then think how fast new fireman can be put to work.
Your call

I read this article because it was on the news. WOW I am so glad that I no longer live in your Fn County.  You people are the idiots that I could not stand to be around. That guy hit it right… HYPOCRITES   Loudoun is ruined by a bunch of Liberals

In my 22 years as a paid firefighter and 31 years of total service, I have seen both good and bad.  I have seen murderers, drunks, gamblers and cheaters.  I don’t care if you are paid or not…. it is up to the individual to decide bad from good. Paid or not…. Loudoun is full of corrupt high level decision making folks who are after a fat paycheck and nothing else.  (95% I mean) Of course you will find a few that really do care.  I agree with a few comments on here, you all are being HYPOCRITES.  Or maybe everyone is a priest/nun. I would change my career for anything nor do I care what you think.  I inherited over 27 million dollars 11 years ago and still work 12 hour shifts risking my life to save yours. I have volunteered to fight in wildfires in Ca, Az, Wy, Co and Va and received nothing in return.  Why? It is my passion.  Volunteers are great… but I do believe there is a time and place for them.  Loudoun needs to go career only.  They can still use the volunteers under management of the Career Senior Officer.  When the guys strike…. the Scabs won’t prevent the union from getting what they want because if the county states a paid Senior Fire fighter must be on duty… The volunteers can’t touch anything until he arrives….A strike would still work.

You are also greatly exaggerating the number of employees terminated in the past year. Try adding a few years to that.

Most of those 130 live in MD or PA. MoCo is all shift work and pays more. The grass looks greener. Can’t blame them at all for trying. BUT, they didn’t get hired due to budget issues.

Loudoun is one of the few departments around continually hiring new firefighters. It used to have one of the best retirement packages in the area. It’s a growing department with lots of potential for advancement. There are a lot worse departments in the area to work for.

“F U and your Horse” I hope you don’t mind paying the extra taxes for 24/7 staffing cause I do! If your career staff is so
great then why not mention the like 24 firefighters terminated in the last 6 months - year. You have had a few career officers in drunken bar fights and fleeing the cops, a drunk officer come in to work drunk and told to sleep it off in bunk room, the career guy who got arrested for beating the crap out of his girlfriend while intoxicated, you got the career guy who was cheating on his wife in the station on duty, you have the two that made a threatening hate crime towards a African american firefighter. I could go all day with issues the career staff have had that are kept out of the media so don’t think it is a career vs. volunteer thing. Your either a citizen who doesn’t have a clue about fire and rescue or your one of the Loudoun county volunteer hating career guy with a huge chip
on your shoulder to hide the fact your pissed about not working for another department. Answer me
This if the career staff is so great here, why did 130 Loudoun career firefighters apply to montgomery county fire dept during their last hiring process? Its because they realize the career side is messed up.

Not all of the volunteer stations are bad(Sterling Fire for example). As taxpayers in the county, it’s in your best interest to have volunteers and not full 24/7 career coverage. If you think $1.30 per $100 is high now, I shudder to think what it would be if we had to pay to staff every station.

Emergencies happen 24/7.  Who cares if they are out and about running errands. They are not out horsing around. If they just happened to be at Giant picking up an apple and you get into an accident right in front of the store… I bet you would not be making the same comments.

Tue, Mar 08 at 04:07 PM by Some FF:

As mentioned, the reason you see fire trucks at the store is because we need to eat and get supplies for projects for the station. We do not have the luxury to have extra people who can leave the station and go shopping alone.

WELL NOW I UNDERSTAND,THEY ALL PILED INTO THE TRUCK TO DO A BEER RUN.

“reality” your right we don’t need that much protection, maybe at lunch and dinner times the fire houses across the country can close down for an hour, maybe instead of going out and training we can stay inside and watch ladder 49 as a drill, and who cares if a firefighter is killed in a structure fire because he wasn’t allowed to go out and Pre-plan the building because what your saying is who gives a #### about the men and women who risk their asses to save ignorant niave people like you. Thanks for the job security buddy. Oh and let’s hope its not your father in cardiac arrest or your house on fire during our protection free hour lunch break.

Geeez, end the volunteer program. It is out of control. 24/7 career is needed. It is finally time.  They have been on the edge of removing it for years and the time has come.  Surrounding counties can use the volunteers.  Get rid of the BS and run it the way it should be done. With that said… Everyone on here making comments about these guys are Fn idiots and liars.  You mean to tell me that no one drinks and drives? F that.  You just have not been caught yet or stopped years ago when you realized the risks.  Don’t dink? Oh you saint… I bet you never roll a stop sign? Never speed down route 7. Talk on your cell phone. F you and you’re lies! The difference between you and them is…. they got caught.  Do not get on here and make Fn more comments because if you want to get political, VOTE.  If you vote and lose…. Just face it, this country is being run by Fn idiots and no one really cares about each other anymore.  These guys will face their due penalty… let it go.  Sorry the truth hurts

As mentioned, the reason you see fire trucks at the store is because we need to eat and get supplies for projects for the station. We do not have the luxury to have extra people who can leave the station and go shopping alone. Everyone working is assigned to a unit so the whole unit goes if they need to get something or else they unit would be understaffed and would not be useful to anyone if there was a call. We aren’t driving around for grins and giggles. They are sometimes left running because of battery issues(they are kept plugged in at the station) and or equipment/EMS supplies that need to be maintained at a certain temp.

The volunteers at Lucketts own the station and property and those are their trailers. A better question to ask is why hasn’t station 10 paid taxes in 50 years? They are not tax exempt( they never filed for that status). Id like to see an audit and see how much of taxpayer and donated money are invested in the campers they own. I’m pretty sure school bus driver and hardware store employee salaries aren’t that good. You always have to wonder if shady things happen when all the admin members(including treasurer) are all related. Any remember when they had to stop doing bingo because the state caught them operating without a gambling license?

For some who claim to be Professional Fire Fighters, you are acting like anything but….

Way to through your brothers and sisters under the bus.  Better hope your’re not involved in an auto accident between the hours of 6am and 6pm.  Lord knows, a Volunteer might have to try and render aid.  Pathetic.  Stop whining and act like an American damnit !

Sorry, I have to agree with “Not A Fan”.  This whole public safety industry is getting out of control and it’s time we (meaning the citizens and our local governments) start reeling them back in.  If they have to drive their rescue vehicles to Lowes or the grocery store, then that should be dealt with in a meaningful way.  If people want this much “protection” they have to be willing to pay their taxes to support it.  If they don’t, well, then, let’s scale it back.

“Notafan” is really just some jerk named Mike Cashen.

“Not a fan”- you obviously are not in the fire service or know anything about it. Most firefighters work shift work and are at the stations for 12 -24 hours at a time. During that time they need to go out during the day to get their food, physical training (which is required by most career employers). If they were to send on man out to get something then they have to wait that much longer for them to leave where ever they are at and get back to the station before they can go on a call. Now if that

Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is an offense that’s either committed or not. I highly doubt a judge in juvenile court would weigh the option of whether it was done blatantly or not. The fact that 4 adults were with her says volumes, let alone the one individual with hopefully some common sense, who’s job when he’s not drinking, is to take people off the streets that do, could have stopped all of this from occurring, however, he was as intoxicated as the rest and obviously failed.

@Hoffa….that’s a good point, however the NFL and Michael Vick are not public servants who are relied upon each day to protect the public and save lives. Though being a football player like Mr. Vick and being a fireman are considered professions, the Fire Department does not provide entertainment, as does a pro football player and his team do. Unfortunately, since the profession of being a firefighter, whether your a volunteer or career firefighter, is held to a higher standard then a pro athelete such as Vick, they’re less likely to get a second chance.

Just to clear up a few things for not a fan.  I am a firefighter and have been one for some time.  Yes the trucks do go out and get lunch.  You may just see them at a grocery store or even the local Lowes.  The first thing you need to know is, that vehicle is no less ready for call at that moment than when it is sitting at the fire house.  Should they sit at the firehouse and not do any training either?  How about this, trucks normaly go out and check streets and make sure the maps are right…  Maybe we should stop this as well and when your house catches fire they cant find it.  Or even better, someone has a medical emergency in your house and they can not find your house because your dumb ass has not made your house number visible…  This happens all the time…  I dont know how many times I drove down a street and stop at a house because I knew it was the right one…

Tim do you really need to ask if a crime was committed???/  Really, I guess you could BS your way out of it and say that “hey we were in a bar and she was being served, I did’nt know”....BS…  Your a cop…...  And if you want, lets blow off the under age thing….  I am pretty sure she has done thhis before….
He screwed up when he did not stop them from leaving with the truck….and got on instead…

Was the crime of contributing to the delinquency of a minor blatantly committed? Yesterday it was exposed that everyone in the fire truck was intoxicated…

Do they deserve charges like the average citizen? Even with an off duty leesburg police officer in the vehicle? What about the brotherhood?

The law in Virginia that addresses contributing to the delinquency of a minor is governed by Virginia State Code 18.2-371.
Virginia Law

No. Most of the fire department property is not county owned. If you take the time you will learn that Loudoun County and its independent Fire-Rescue deparments have a rich history dating back to before you were born. Go back to NY/PA/NJ/CA/MI/TX

Wow and I thought I was the only one that felt that firemen/women thought since 9/11 they were Gods Gift to the world. Dont get me wrong there are some out there that love and take their job seriously but its not a free ride.  Take notice you see the trucks and ambulances at Kohls, Target, Walmart, Mc Donalds etc all the time doing the shopping with gas/diesel reaching above $4 a gal these trucks should be left at the fire house and 1 person designated to go out - These vehicles are supposed to be emergency vehicles not joy riding grocery getting shpping vehicles.  I dont care what anyone says they need to keep the vehicles at teh stations where they belong ready for an emergency - it only takes 1 person to go to the store not 3 or 4 & furthermore what about the fire depart storing campers on the fire dept sight its not a storage location - if the regular cit wants to keep their camper at teh fire dept you cant - ist the property county owned, take a look at the Lucketts Fire Dpt - at any given time 3-5 campers being stored on our taxpayers dollar.

Makes you wonder if this was the first time this happened or, had they not been caught, would it have been the last.  Kinda doubt it - so it’s good that it was stopped before tragic consequences occurred.

@badnewstravelsfast….I agree with you!  Look at Vick, he can kill, drowned, torture, electrocute, slam dogs to the ground.  Watch living things suffer for hours tearing ears and eyes out from each other…then he is forgiven by thousands, goes to the NFL and makes 90 million a year!  I think some could certainly forgive some young, under supervised, volunteer workers….everyone needs to move ahead and watch out for all the other crooks in this county.

They were probably trying to make it to the Beautiful SOuth for the live band playing before they closed.  Rock on party dudes!

Just curious….was the 19 year old charged with underage drinking and were any of the others involved charged with contributing to the deliquency of a minor.

To those that stand by those involved sides, take a deep look within yourselves and ask yourselves how you possibly could have prevented something like this from happening. How many times has this 19 year old girl been allowed to drink at company banquets, drink at parties at members houses where everyone from the Chief all the way down are present to drinking at bars with these same individuals.

She might be a rookie in the FD, but certainly not a rookie when it comes to partying. Not only this girl, but the people she surrounded herself with that evening, are the same people who routinely drink and get drunk. This incident isn’t about a bunch of people who just had their first beer and made a stupid decision to take this fire engine out for a joy ride, but the result of something that eventually happens when the behavior you repeat over and over catches up with you. Whether any of these individuals will learn from this is the big question. Not only could they have killed the deputy, a family, but they could have been killed theirselves. If this isn’t a wake up call that says, hey, maybe I shouldn’t drink anymore and I want to get help, however, if they haven’t learned from a past member who was killed after a night out, then sadly they’re in for yet another wake up call…

Aggy,
What are you talking about?

leesburg guy,
That was career staff. They were fired and even had the FBI investigating it as a Hate Crime.

Career FF,
One of these guys was/is a career FF, just in another jurisdiction. Career firefighters make stupid mistakes too.

Maybe these guys can get with the vollies from Middleburg who ran a train on an underaged girl and start a new station somewhere.

@ Leesburg guy.  The noose was put in an African-american’s car by your do no wrong career firefighters, not the volunteers.

“...Fire-Rescue Chief W. Keith Brower confirmed that, including Swanson, four of the people involved were members of Company 5, and that two of those involved, not Swanson, were administrative officers in the department.

One female, a 19-year-old, was a dual member with the Purcellville rescue squad. The fifth member was a member of Leesburg fire, Company 1. The Leesburg Police Department confirmed that one person involved was an off-duty Leesburg police officer.”

So, was the 19 year old drinking too?  This would add to the drama.

Love the way this story has generated more comment/interest than any other since I started reading this site.  What does that mean?

This isn’t the first time company 5 when on the news. The one time they was on the news when some of the guys put a damn rope in a black man vehicle and now u have 5 people including a leesburg police drinking and driving. What happen if they hit a family that was driving home and they killed them. Where is the heros at now. Nobody can’t trust nobody not even the fire and rescue or the leesburg police.

Regardless of your opinion, this story has led to acts of violence committed against anyone driving a vehicle with a VFF sticker. 
That is assault and as criminal as the original offense.
The angry rhetoric must be toned down.  It has led to the hurting innocent people.

career ff…..

You can say that and I can not think of a time this type of incident happened, but I remember a time when the now higher up officers on Loudoun’s paid side were just as bad…...They would come out of bars all over Loudoun blasted and drive home or to the next stop on the list…..  The good thing is now this type of behavior is unexceptable in any way….and it happens less and less…...

“If these guys were career this wouldn

Should the chief take some responsibilty? Does this person have control over the people that work out of the station? Are some of these individuals career men?

Biggest difference between career vs volunteer is if these guys were career this wouldn’t have happened,period.

Most of you have siad it on here.  It does not matter rather he was a VFF or carrer FF.  The idiot was drunk and took a fire truck and decided to go for a ride.  The others should be brought to light because they should have known better as well.  All of them were command officers in Hamilton or elsewhere.  One of them was a police officer.  What ever happened to if you need help you can go to the police station or firehouse and get it.  These bone heads can not make good judgement for themselves how can they help you.  Most people have the little voice in the back of there head saying good idea/bad idea.  Where in the HELL was there little voice???  And to defend them, are you crazy.  I am with several of the other post.  What if they had hit a family?  That family would not be here.  If anyone knows the outcome of drinking and driving it should be a police officer or a firefighter. 

The good ole boy stuff still happens in Loudoun all the time.  To think paid Vs VFF is different is a scam.  They all do it.  Less now than 10 years ago, but still all the time. 

As far as some of the post.  West end volly, do you really think they are the same.  Then why is it when a Vol officer is hired he becomes a FF.  Why not a Captain or chief officer?  BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT THE SAME.  ” How would you know who is helping you”?  The one in ripped jeans and flannel shirt is the volunteer and the one in a uniform is being paid on duty.

Pay Check guy:  You are right being paid does not make you a proffesional.  The rules are different for them.  The last time I checked if you get in trouble at the volly house what are they going to do.  “Take your Birthday Away”???  Nothing right.  Suspend you….  WOW… More time to drink and think about taking the fire truck for a spin…

Proud Father….  If this was your son or daughter in the truck…  Just how proud are you of them now??????

This County is in severe trouble.  We are depending on a bunch of guys and there children to come help us…  They can not help themselves.  On a routine basis Fairfax Units are in Loudoun taking calls that the Volunteers can not handle.  Why do you ask????  Because they are not in the building either..  On a normal evening Sterling Vol’s only have 2 units available.  At one point the Volunteer commision extended the alerting time to other agencies because FFX charges on EMS transports.  So know we are holding up help to citizens because we want the calls.  How about when you get to see the units from Leesbug Rescue come to Hamilton, Lovettsville, and Purcellville for calls.  Why, because the volunteers have no one to come to the station…  Now the units in Leesburg are a mix between carrer and Volly…  But why have we as TAX payers said it is ok to wait 10, 15 minutes or longer for a unit.  i think it is time the county leadership step in and say we can not expect Volunteers to protect our families any longer…...

Mark Aubel:

Doesn’t seem like they are giving up much of anything if they are drinking and joy riding sounds like thats personal time to me… the only major problem I have is that Sean is the only one with his name getting ruined.. every other person on there should be in the spot light as well; so they weren’t driving but they were just as much participants in this an the driver.. and one being an officer of the law? ARE YOU KIDDING ME

Nickels in a pickel - Guess you better be happy that no one got hurt, huh.  Just the fact that you sat here and posted that you knew all of them and knew what they were doing makes you just as guilty for not speaking up and trying to help keep something from happening so Look at your ownself in the mirror before you continue to bash others because you are no better and just as responsible.

@just sayin…...you have one of the biggest inferiority complexes I have ever seen.  Do you feel the same about military Reserve people, as you do fire/Ems volunteers ? I feel sorry for you, but more sorry for your family and friends.

Okay folks enough of the bickering for now..What about the Leesburg Police Officer? If the volunteers resigned then he should as well. I’m sure his fellow co-workers would like to have him off of the force as well. I’m just not quite sure how he could show his face at the police department. Let alone how can they put their trust in him.

Clearly, you are new.

Loudoun County knows Mr. Keith Cabaniss and Mr. Thomas Bass.

And these kids in this story, are
rookies.

I have just stated a fact.

Tom and I know how to outrun a radio as we joyride in a police cruiser out of Leesburg, through Mt. Gilead and then to the Plains.

...and then leave the cruiser lay where Jesus flung it.

Really, this story is about rookies.

Look it up.

These guys, in this article, are rookies.

Clearly the “suck” person is on some wild trip.  Explain how a 27 year old is a kid and a 10 year veteran is a rookie?  Pleeeessse! Besides, being a rookie explains and justifies what exactly? Under these circumstances, it states loud and clear that these “kids” are definitely not responsible enough to be working/volunteering at this stage of the game.

No one cares about your comments….. get a life people!  Your comments mean absolutely nothing!  A bunch of people that have no life…. Maybe these people were drinking so they could forget about the idiots they deal with everyday…. Loudoun Losers!

E
  L
  P
  O
E

P

Clearly, you are new.

Loudoun County knows Mr. Keith Cabaniss and Mr. Thomas Bass.

And these kids in this story, are
rookies.

I have just stated a fact.

R

E

S

O

L

The next person the post on this site is the biggest loser ever

Mon, Mar 07 at 11:04 PM by Your life sucks:

The next person the post on this site is the biggest loser ever

The next person the post on this site is the biggest loser ever…... anyone up for it?

No, Catherine, Mark doesn’t really read.  If he did, he would have responded to the correct person and he would have read that I HAVE reported the antics of the station, BUT to no avail.  NO, the powers don’t listen.  Instead they prefer to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear and write you off as a trouble-maker. The good ‘ole boy mentality DOES exist.  And, get off your soapbox Mark, because I DO my share of volunteer work.  It may not be for fire/rescue, but it is nonetheless just as important.  Apparently you don’t know as much as you seem to think you do.

What the hell does a tshirt got to do with them drinking and running calls under the influence. Does that make it ok or something.

To Mark:  there is a reason why there are 2 less fire fighters or did you not read the article?  One was ARRESTED for stealing a fire truck and DUI and the other was detained for intoxication and released to his supervisor. 

And the reason why all these people are complaining is HE WAS ARRESTED for a felony and DUI, again did you read the article?

Who Fn Cares about all this BS on here.  I dial 911 and really do not care who shows up as long as they can put out a fire or rip open my car and get me out alive. They are apid either way… tax money or donations.  These idiots that got caught are a few bad idiots and that is it. Anyone else on here flapping their loose lips about who is better… you just plain suck.

Memo

From:
Keith Cabaniss
Tom Bass

whatever, Rookies.

Just to respond nickel in a pickle. Did you ever think they might wear a t shirt when they are out. Maybe not the best thing to do if they are drinking but their choice. As for the good ol boy system that is an excuse you use to do nothing. That system died long time ago when I vol. Maybe you should put in some vol.time. Or maybe report it to someone cause I know I would. People will listen if you actually call someone. Because now there are 2 less people to come save your ass. Funny he’s been around 10 yrs and all of you freaking people now complain. Go figure typical!!!!

I was saddened to hear about this last night, as it was reported by one of our local tv stations, here in SW FL (must have been a slow night for news)! Sad for all involved..volunteers have always been the backbone of The Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Service for many many years!

Just to put it into perspective once again, here is a picture of the fire truck that they were driving.  Now imagine it hitting your car with your entire family inside of it.  There would be nothing left of your family. 

For those of you defending him and his prior record, let me say that whatever he may have done in the past was negated with this joyride that put innocent people in harms way needlessly.  I personally don’t know him, but when I think of what could have happened, and what almost happened to the LCSO deputy, I am just astounded that anybody could defend his actions.

http://www.firelineequipment.com/index.php?pID=897

I’m with you 100% Catherine!

As a citizen of this county, I am shocked by the attitude of the “Professional” vs “Volunteer” comments on this post.  This is not about whether he is a professional or volunteer, but the fact that he commited a felony by stealing a fire truck and then to top it off he drove drunk while doing it.  Not to mention the fact that he forced a LCSO deputy off the road to avoid a headon collision.  Do you people not understand these facts?  What if that had been your family that was forced off the road, or heaven forbid was hit headon in the collision?  Would you be so willing to overlook these facts? 

Get over the fact that he was a volunteer, it doesn’t really matter.  What matters is the fact that he commited a felony and put not only his life but others in jeopardy.  I am talking about innocent people, not the ones who knowingly rode in the stolen fire truck with him.  Though of anybody they should have known better, I’m sure that they have seen the consequences of more drunken driving accidents then the majority of the general public.

Amen, nickles in a pickle.

I do know all this Hamilton Volunteer Scum Personally and I know personally they do leave the beautiful south after a few beers and run calls and I do personally know they leave their house and drive down to the firehouse and run calls and I know personally that they provide alcohol for underage minors. O wait there was one of them in the truck with them as well. Not all the volunteers there are bad guys. But their is a group of them that do all this crap on a regular basis. Maybe you should get your facts together before you jump on here defending them when you know yourself what they do. I don’t care if this was a firefighter or just a regular guy. But he is trained to save lives and he could’ve taken lives he needs to get the worst of the worst. And everyone else in the truck should go down with him cause they are just as guilty as he is. I bet if he had killed someone that night noone would be on here defending him would they. Its just the fact of the matter he deserves every harsh word that comes to him plain and simple.

Well, Mark, aren’t you the big man.  I think you have proved some of these people here right.  And, I can tell you that firefighters from Hamilton DO run calls from The Beautiful South after drinking.  I’ve seen it!  Reporting them, well it’s useless.  I’ve tried and the “good ‘ole boy” network and their fellow brothers prevail.  I don’t patronize The Beautiful South anymore as it really bothered me to see these men and women, dressed in their Co. 5 attire drinking and then returning to the station (whether to run a call or not).  It’s unfortunate that it ALWAYS takes something like this before people finally take notice. Now, all this energy is expended to “put out the fire” so to speak instead of having been proactive in the first place. I sure hope whoever stands up to fill their shoes has more integrity and a hell of a lot more regard for their volunteer and paid comrads and the community they profess to protect.

Couple more things. Since everyone knows it all Alot of the officers in Loudoun were vol. and got jobs as career staff they have been in the county for a long time and they are very good officers. So I guess you have vol.in charge makes you pissed. Do some more research because there were 2 career fireman on that fire truck. THEY MESSED UP SO GET OVER IT!!

I know some of thre people involved in this and they are good people. They made a mistake and they will have to pay for that. I dont think though that these guys give up alot of family time and personal time to keep you safe. I can tell you that they do not run calls drunk from the beautiful south. They come in eat and leave. Most of you ignorant people leaving comments probably have not lived here for very long. I have been in Loudoun for 30yrs. I was a vol. when the 1st paid staff came into Loudoun. This county is growing and needs everyone. Some of my best friends are career staff (cheifs,officers and firefighters) but this county was and still needs vol. I was vol for about 10yrs and I know that physically and mentally I can compete with any paid firefighter. Funny that most of the so called professional firefighters on here making comments arent making very professional comments about people they work side by side with. Why dont any of you brave people leave your name behind. Why leave a nick name or a fake name. Step up and be the man you say you are and at least leave your real name after you comment. Back up your b.s comments that you know nothing about. I am and will always be proud and supportive of the vol. in this community. You guys will always have support and dont forget that. I also know that none of you have ever made a mistake before have you. Thats why you are on here judging him. I guess we all know him personally to say he is a low life,scum,##### or whatever you want to call him. If all these other people knew this was going on and they were always drunk then step up and say something. No you wont tdo that because your either a liar or you were right there along with them. Remember people its not an easy job being paid or vol. either way these men and women would do anything they could to save your life if they were called upon to do so. In my day career staff and vol. got along fine and I respect both. As well as all of should. Put egos aside and realize we lost 4 people who put in alot of time and effort WHOS GONNA STEP UP NOW AND FILL THEIR SHOES BIG MOUTHS. PUT YOUR WORDS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS AND GO VOL.GIVE UP YOUR WEEKENDS WITH YOUR FAMILY, PERSONAL TIME, FRIEND TIME, TIME WITH YOUR KIDS. YOU WONT SO SHUT UP!!!!!Give the guy some support in a time he needs it. He was there for alot of you before.

At the LC paid guys slamming the volunteers—you do realize that many of these folks already have great jobs and don’t *want* to get hired, right?  They volunteer in Loudoun because it is their home.  Let me ask you a question - why are you paid in Loudoun?  Most paid FFs in this region agree that Loudoun is a backwater low call volume county staffed mostly with paid folks who couldn’t cut it elsewhere.  Seriously, LC hired a guy who topped out as a retired master tech in FFX and he made BC in Loudoun.

Most hard hitting paid guys in Loudoun try to get hired in DC.  At the very least many go to Arlington or FFX, so why are you still here?  Yeah, you are the elite buddy - an elite paid firefighter in Lucketts.  lol

Like the other guy said, lots of dirty laundry with the paid folks.  Really want to go there?  How about that LC lieutenant with the initials CO who was a rising star in LCFR before he went to DC?  Want to talk about his DUI and the three innocent people he left dead on the side of route 66?  Still think volunteers have the corner on stupidity and that your paycheck makes you somehow better?

Keep fighting all those 5 alarm warehouse fires in Lucketts buddy.  We all feel safer knowing a real pro like you is there.

Swept under the rug?  Don’t you believe it for a second.  The volunteers will be GONE and the LPD cop will be fired, too.  The driver, Swanson, was charged with STEALING THE TRUCK.  Anybody involved with that FELONY is gggggggone.

Google these words “Chicago Fireman Arrested”
I found they have been arrested for sexually molesting children,illegally selling guns, firing shots at FBI agents,illegally possessing fully automatic weapons,domestic battery,assault and the link below is to the most disgusting
http://archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/man-charged-3-counts-predatory-sexual-assault-of-a-child.html
Gotta love those paid professional fireman that ex commissioner Blair is so proud of

@ A paycheck does not make someone professional

Wow…. Just, wow….

I always get a kick out of reading the comments and banter between the “average Joe”, and the people that have been trained to know a little better. I find it even more interesting to read the banter between the Vollies and the so called “Professionals”...

First off, “A paycheck does not make someone professional” put it in absolute perfect terms. I honestly couldn’t put it better myself. I am a professional firefighter way up in the very northwest corner of the country. Finding a department around my jurisdiction that still “employ” vollunteers are very few and far between, because around here, the vollies are required to hold the same certifications and training as the paid guys. Most of the departments found that it was far too costly to keep these selfless individuals trained to the same level, so they have gone 100% paid. There are, however, still a few departments that run vollies and residents, and in ABSOLUTELY NO WAY does the fact that they’re not recieving a paycheck negate the fact that those vollunteers that strive to hold up their certifications and attend the required training are any less professional than me. The term “Professional” has absolutely nothing to do with the monetary compensation of responding to emergent calls. Trust me, we have PLENTY of paid firefighters that have absolutely no right to call themselves “Professionals”. Professionalism in this career is all about mindset, tenacity, and the time and effort put forth to learn this dangerous career inside and out. It’s the ability to wake up at 3 am out of a sound sleep and perform an EXTREMELY dangerous job just as well as you would if you were to do the same task at 3 in the afternoon. It’s about having a love for the job that surpasses all else.

With that said, to call yourself a professional firefighter, you should be held to a slightly higher standard. You shouldn’t spout off at the mouth and bash your fellow brothers and sisters because they’re not receiving a paycheck to stand next to you and risk their lives. Those compairing our vollunteer brothers and sisters to “mall cops” and “wanna-be’s”... those are some of the most unprofessional comments I have EVER read in my life. Those comments right there prove hands down that you (ESPECIALLY A FORMER COMMISSIONER!!!) are no more professional than those who made an extremely uneducated decision under the influence of alcohol to take an intoxiacted joy ride in a fire engine.

Reporting improper behaviors to the powers that be at Hamilton fall on deaf ears or are answered with ridiculous excuses.  And, you are right, if they can sweep it under the rug, they will and do.  This place needs to clean house!  I’ve witnessed firefighters from Hamilton put down their beer (after having had several) and run across the street from The Beautiful South to answer a call.  I agree with many here that being a second generation firefighter with 10+ years on the job does nothing to negate the poor judgment and actions of Mr. Swanson.  If anything, this makes his actions even much deplorable!  I question how many other times a lapse in judgment has occurred; I’m betting this isn’t a first.  People do make mistakes, but there is no excuse or justification for this.  It is sad that all his training and experience go right down the drain, but obviously all that training and experience didn’t teach him much.  I, too, would like to know who else was involved.  Not being arrested/charged is beside the point, they were drunk, riding in, for all intents and purposes, a stolen fire truck, and they knew it.  I doubt very seriously that Mr. Swanson forcibly put these people in the truck.  They are just as much to blame for this as he is.  Each one should have been arrested on the spot.  I’m confident charges will follow.  I don’t bash any volunteer, but when a person makes the decision to give of themselves, especially in a life-saving position, then they need to conduct themselves accordingly at all times, period.  Just because they give of their time, doesn’t excuse them from the rules; it should make them even more accountable.  It comes with the territory.  If you can’t live up to the responsibility, then don’t volunteer.  These are volunteers we can do without.  I am proud of commend all of the many volunteers and paid staff of Loudoun that conduct themselves professionally and give their all.  They are the real losers here.  My sympathy goes out to them not to Mr. Swanson and the unnamed “others” involved in this sad affair.

Oh I’m wondering why they failed to mention that Sean was also the Assitant Cheif for Company 5 at one point as well. What a great person to have in charge

Hey nickels n a pickle do your research first because more then 60% of this country is volunteer firefighters

@ex commisioner Blair CFD:
First you misspelled commissioner so I am sure claim is bogus as you cannot spell your former job title.
Secondly, welcome to Virginia a financially secure right to work state. Chicago is probably the most corrupt and financially insolvent cities in an equally broke state. Those unions have also made Detroit what it is today.
Unions served a great job 80 years ago before OHSA and Federal Regulations protected a worker. Today they suck dues from members to support corrupt politicians and keep incompetent people on the payroll.Some for over 30 years

The sad thing is, there aren’t this many posts when one of these guys/gals saves your house or the life of one of your family members.
Sure..they made a bad decision…and they will pay dearly…HOWEVER…they protect you and your loved ones at the cost of their very own family lives.  No…what they volunteer for doesn’t give them a free pass from punishment, but those who make nasty comments should keep in mind, you are safe…mainly because some people dedicate their lives to watch your back, especially when you won’t step up to help your own community.  You say you don’t want “scum” to fill up your fire houses…then step up to the plate if you think you’re better than them…
(I can already hear the sound of crickets in the background…)

what would happen if it were one of us????

Having worked with both career and volunteers in this county, I’d take some of those “low life pussies” over a lot of the guys I’ve worked with pickle. They have a lot more pride, ethics and desire to be the best firefighters they can be. I hope you are a troll and not a fellow “brother” in the department.

The ones on here blabbin about this and that are probably the others that were in that truck that night with him or they are the other low life firefighters from the ” Nickle ” that are involved in these activities as well. Heres the difference in a paid firefighter and a volunteer. The paid guys are real men that care about what they actually do for a living. The volunteers are a bunch of low life pu*+ies that think they are the #### and need an ego trip. All of them are the same except for a select few. Loudoun needs to be all paid like most places are now. Get rid of all these losers and you get rid of the problems. I would put out names of all the people envolved in these activites on a weekly basis. But ill let my brothers behind the badge handle that cause they all will be caught eventually

THIS CROOKED COUNTY IS A JOKE~~~THIS WILL MOST LIKELY GET PUSHED UNDER THE RUG.

I am amused at the “professional” tone of some of the comments from supposed paid firefighters here.

My two cents:

I was a volunteer in a high-volume company for a dozen years.  I have a stack of certs that would choke an average paid firefighter.  I also have 6 years of college education and degrees in various engineering disciplines, which have helped me significantly during my time as a firefighter.  Contrast that education with the average paid firefighter who is a high school graduate (perhaps) who pursued firefighting rather than another career for, well, who knows…but perhaps because scholarships to Princeton were not forthcoming.  Sure, they may have picked up additional education…in Fire Science…which an eighth grader could ace.

Does education always equal intelligence…and does a lack thereof imply otherwise?  Of course not…just as the decision to not be a paid firefighter does not imply a lack of capability.  I earn about 200k annually at a job that I love.  Frankly, I would do either job (firefighting or my current career) for free.  Guess which one I choose to do for free?

In my department, we run duty shifts…and are on duty a minimum of 24 hours a week (in uniform, in station, training, running calls, scrubbing toilets, or asleep…waiting).  That commitment extends to 36 hours some weeks…and many members pick up more shifts.  We also train continuously, in station and in formal classes.

The volume of calls in my station is significant.  The average volunteer firefighter runs more calls in a month than a paid firefighter in the west end of Loudoun runs in a year.

Professionalism?  That doesn’t require a paycheck…nor does it come with one.  Shall I start dropping names of career firefighters in the county who have exhibited questionable behavior?  How about a former paid station captain with numerous DUIs who finally lost his command after his last DUI ended with a police chase.  Shall we start bringing out all of the dirty laundry?  Forget it, because doing so drags us all down.

4 out of 5 firefighters in this nation are volunteers.  Many names etched on the fallen firefighter memorial are those of volunteers who died in the service of their community…and who did so without a paycheck.

Volunteer firefighters choose not to be paid firefighters for reasons as varied as those men and women.  Many, like me, enjoy their primary profession…yet still strive to be as professional and as well trained as their paid brethren..if not better.  In other cases, they are paid firefighters in another jurisdiction.  Sterling is one example where any number of volunteers are paid firefighters in DC, MD, and other counties in VA.  Loudoun volunteers include engineers, law enforcement officers, HVAC repairmen, car mechanics, doctors, and lawyers.  Folks with nothing else going on?  Losers who can’t get hired?  Hmmm.  I’m not sure if you are just being disingenuous or are truly that ignorant…but Mark Twain had something to say about getting into an argument with folks like you.

The subjects of this article appear to be folks who needed to be weeded out of the system.  No argument…and the system is better to be rid of them if these details are all true.  Folks who think that the system would be better without all of the volunteers, however, either have an agenda or perhaps could benefit by actually learning something about the system.

Lori,

Why should the other names be released if they have not been charged with a crime?

Wow!  And people say the political blogs are tough places on the internet!  You guys (and gals?) are taking venom to a whole new level!

all of you that are bashing volunteers are dumb ass people plain and simple. Regardless paid or volunteer these people give up time with there faimlies and risk there lives just to be there when you need them most. So maybe you need to rethink about what you are saying because one day they might be there cutting you out of your car or rescuing from your burning house. people should be thankful that these men and women give up about a year of there life to go through school just to be volunteer They dont ask for money they just want you to go home to your family every night.

I’d like to know the names of the other drunk “joy riders.” In particular, the police officer. The driver is the only person whose name has been released. All others involved should have to face the same exposure!

West End Volunteer,

As mentioned below, vollies and career staff do NOT receive the exact same training. They receive the same basic training. The career staff tends to get a little more.
There IS a double standard in the field. Volunteers are not held to the same standard or else the entire department would be operating under the same SOPs and SOGs. There would be staffing and officer training standards that everyone would adhere to. There would be no firefighters riding the seat with a red hat in the bucket and you wouldn’t have Fire Chiefs that don’t how to do ICS and have no medical training. Discipline would be the same across the board.

I moved here from Chicago.  Firefighter for 33 years.  I can’t believe Loudoun has Volunteers.  Are they left over from the 80’s?  The union would allow this freak $hit tho go on.  Send em packing, put the real boys in there! Volunteers are usually people that have no life and just looking for somewhere to hang out.  Always screw it up for the “real” guys.  Nothing to lose attitude.  Someone had it right earlier, Mall Cops!

West End…you can tell by the way they hold their hoses. Volunteers are tentative and not sure of how to hold themand their aim is a little off. Careers have a firm, authoritive grip and know where to point and spray. They also hold their mouths differently if you look real close. ;)

Yeap Volunteer = Paul Blart’s of the firefighter community

oh geez, here come the Volunteer losers and their cocky attitude.  Jealous because you could not get hired as a career? Plain and simple RIGHT! Volunteers always screw it up and the Career come to fix it! Never gonna be the real thang!

To Concerned Citizen…..Please tell me exactly how you can tell the difference between a Career Firefigher/EMT and a Volunteer?  I am curious to know the extent of your ignorance.

For the many posts here pointing the finger - brow-beating VFF’s, and their companies, carrying a holier than thou attitude…..HAVE YOU LEARNED HOW TO SPELL, put together a sentence, or even put a thought together that is understandable?

Like I posted previously - in every occupation, field or industry - there are those who make bad decisions, and put a “bad name” on those who do not deserve that bad classification!

Would love to see if you could pass the tests, get the certs or “EVEN STAND THE HEAT”....

Just to clarify.  In Loudoun County, Volunteer Firefighters and Volunteer EMT’s recieve the EXACT same training.  We have the same instructors and we take all the same tests.  We are all held to the same standards in the field.  We all operate under the same medical direction.  We all operate under the same State and Local Protocols.  This was a very unfortuant incident, however it has NOTHING to do with a paycheck.

This is not about paid or volunteer fire fighters but about drunks behind the wheel of a fire engine that could have killed someone. As far as the leesburg police officer who is sworn to up hold the law what a joke. I am sure this will be swept under the rug.

****correction the volunteers will probably be helping your sorry ass

right to speach… if you think wolunteers are wanna bes then why dont you get out there and go through the training and see if you can hang because i bet you couldnt and if you didnt know about 99% of your career staff are volunteers also. so dont hold volunteers to a bad name because of what these 5 people did because one day the volunteer serious will probably be helping your worthless ass

Plain and Simple
Volunteers are Wanna Be fire fighters.
Same as Mall Cops are wanna be Cops.
Don’t expect anymore respect from me than I would give any person.  You are no better than anyone type of person. What I am saying is… Anyone can be aan idiot and your title does not hide that

I have met both volunteer and career firefighters over the years in a changing Loudoun County.  I can truly say all of these people are some of the best, dedicated, caring and skilled people I have ever met.

Planning and researching how to steal one is different than randomly reading about it and retaining that information. Use a little common sense(unlike the joy riders).

If someone wanted to steal an emergency vehicle, there are plenty to choose from. Police cruisers, ambulances, fire trucks… all routinely left running unattended. The little piece of information that can be found in a Google search isn’t going to send the grand theft auto rate of emergency vehicles skyrocketing.

PROUD VOLUNTEER

Really?  Some is jeolous

Oscar Hernandez:

You are a biggot and a white hater.  Get over yourself.  And you are right.  Get the #### out of the country.  You sir, need to go back to your country..  or you can shut up and stop waiving your countries flag around.  Fly the USA flag and nothing else.  Be proud that we let you in.  DICK!

Sorry to have started anything about “keys”. Being as that I have never been on/in a fire truck on any other type of fire equipment I assumed that keys would have been kept out of reach of anyone not on duty…be it volunteering or as a career person. If said “keys” were kept out of reach, then those involved wouldn’t have been able to access the truck. If the fire truck that was used is in fact a retired truck, then why wasn’t it disabled since it’s a keyless start. I’m also sure that most individuals on here have enough sense that God gave a goose to NOT hop in any type of emergency vehicle and take it for a joy ride.

If the others have not been charged with a crime, there is no reason to blast their names everywhere. Trust me, the people who need and should know who they are, already do.

You really can’t see the difference in telling everyone where keys are located versus running an errand at the store? What if they have it turned off? Won’t matter because now Joe Public knows how to start it. It’s a security issue you moron. Now any drunk idiot can go for a joy ride.

So, Moron. You’re telling me the career staff have never left a Fire/EMS unit running while inside a store… and that the career staff locks every single compartment when they are away from the vehicle? Give me a break.

I have read every comment that has been posted on this site about this incident.  I think people are missing the boat with the big issue here.  Five people, all members of the volunteer system did something that each of them knew was wrong.  Not to mention that in the mix was an off duty police officer, a carrer firefighter somewhere, and a person under the age of 21.  We all know that this type of incident happens every weekend somewhere in the country.  Drunk Drivers can be on the road at any given time.  Yes, these folks were volunteers and have done some really good things over the years.  ALL OF THEM have seen first hand what the outcome is with incidents like this and ALL OF THEM should have used better judgement that night.  I think the paper needs to do some research and make sure all of them are identified.  The Commonwealth Attorney needs to do his job and press charges on all of them.  I think a message needs to be sent to all of the residents of Loudoun.  This behavior is unexceptable no matter what your position is, what you have done in the past, or what you do for a living.  Each of these individuals needs to face what they have done and stand up.

To the VOLUNTEER idiot who answered the question about where the engine keys are, think about what you just did and where you answered it at. Information like that should not be public knowledge for obvious safety reasons.

As one of the part time instructors(and a volunteer) that teach at the Academy, I can tell you there is a basic set of State required skills both Career and Volunteers get for Firefighter and EMT.
But…
Career recruits get held to a higher standard and do receive more and better training than the Volunteers(more time to do so). There is a lot of slack given to some Volunteers during County testing. Career recruits are held to a physical standard. While the County has recently started putting the Volunteer firefighters through a Physical Agility Test, they are not required to pass it to continue with the class, while if people don’t pass it on the Career side, they do not get hired. Discipline is another difference for Career recruits vs Volunteers. We are not allowed to be as harsh on Volunteers are we are allowed to be with Career Recruits because the Volunteers will sometimes get butthurt. Then the Volunteer Fire and or Rescue Chiefs will complain that we are being harsh because we hate volunteers and such(even though most of the instructors are themselves volunteers…). Lots of the Volunteers I have talked to wish that we would be more aggressive with them in this regard. By no means is this meant to bash the volunteers, just pointing out some differences.

To concerned citizen:
  So you want the facts:  Volunteers in Loudoun County go through the same training that the career personel do.  Here is the difference…Career 1. get paid.  2. They get training daily from 8-4 both fire and EMS at the same time. 3. completed in 6 to 7 months! Voluneers: 1. take one class at a time, usually this class takes up two evenings a week and a saturday for 8 months.  2. They don’t get paid they do it on there own time, which is time away from their children, family and friends.

Regardless of how the certification is received: Volunteer or Career…It comes directly from the state!

And if they didn’t receive the same training, then why are there still two stations in Loudoun County that run strickly with Volunteers…They are all the same..one gets paid and the other does it out of kindness and caring for other!

Do you KNOW career firefighters or ARE YOU a career firefigher?

Let’s take a look at what volunteers would have to go through in order to reach the same level of certifications as a paid person. 5 months of fire school. 4 months of EMT class. Add in the co-requisites and that’s…. almost a year of schooling!

Loudoun Volunteer—Hardly, I know career firefighters and know what they do go though. If Voulnteers go though the same thing they wouldn’t be able to voulnteer for a long time due to how long the class is. Recrutes go though almost a year of schooling. When do Voulnteers go though that…Please let me know so I can get my facts stright

Sean is a second generation volunteer firefighter with over 10 years of service to his community and Loudoun County. How many of you have held the same PAID job for 10 years? How convenient of the media to tell only the part of the story that they want you to hear. Yes, what happened was wrong and they should be punished. But we should all take a moment to recognize the good things that Sean and his colleagues have done.

I am on the same page as the man who knows more. I believe there may be some PD/FF career’s on the line here if word gets out. Come on loudoun times mirror do some investgative reporting. You may be suprized at what you find out.

I don’t get how we can Pay a Leesburg Police officer to uphold the law and provide safety to our community. Police are sworn in to keep people like this off the streets. But yet taking a sworn oath to pull these people off the streets, this yet to be named Leesburg Police officer decides to enter the vehicle that he knows an intoxicated driver is behind the wheel. The character of the Leesburg Police force comes into play when I read that article. Something needs to change.

If they were minorities you would all want them imprisoned for life or ask if they were legal.

Typical Trash

As a person with a family that travels daily on Rt 704 I would like to thank the true hero in this event…. THE DEPUTY
He may have saved my life,your life,the lives of the persons in the fire truck and Loudoun County from having to write a huge check from a civil trial if there had been deaths and or injuries.
I hope the Sheriffs office recognizes what a great job the Deputy did.

What everyone is forgetting here is the perception of the county residents. They do not care if you are paid or volunteer. They only care about what happens when they dial 911. The people involved in this incident, including the Leesburg police officer, (Yes, there was a Leesburg PD officer on this joyride) are holding the trust of the public. Actions like these violate that trust. So yes, it will affect the filling of the boot and it does knock the Fire/EMS folks off the hero pedestal. This is a fine example of how the actions of a few, discredit many. The question to be asked, is how many times has this happened before somebody got caught? And how can it be prevented from every happening again?

I’m glad no one was hurt.  It appears they were just having a good time; it happens.  Who in their right mind volunteers to enter a burning building?  I totally respect firemen.  It was just a bad decision made here.

Thanks Lo. Vol. appreciate the answer.

This article fails to mention that one of the passengers was an off duty Leesburg Police officer. This officer has currently been suspended pending an investigation which guaranteed he will not lose his job or any salary during this process. Way to go Leesburg Police.

Quote from the Leesburg Today:
“The Leesburg Police Department confirmed that one person involved was an off-duty Leesburg police officer. All four members of Company 5 have since resigned from the department, following their suspension. The fifth member also has been suspended. The off-duty police officer also has been suspended from LPD pending an internal investigation, the police department has confirmed.” 

http://leesburg2day.com/articles/2011/03/07/news/9250firefighterdui030711.txt

I see other web sites have listed places of employment and the age of one of the passengers.
That makes the story even more troublesome.
I am waiting for the LTM to do the same

I feel so bad for the officer that had to do his job.  See some of them are not as corrupt as their boss. I bet he is glad that he is not in NY or a big city where the FF and 5-0 do not get along. Anyway, good job bringing this idiot in.  Now Loudoun needs to go after the idiot that gave him or anyone access to the keys!

I know the real story behind this and this guy is taking the rap for what happened.  It’s called brotherhood.  There is so much more to the story that will not come out, especially via LTMirror. The others involved will get a slap and then covered up.  He will get probation and lose his position.  Jail time served, 1 year suspended sentence, AA classes, 2 year probation.  It will cost him a grand and lawyer fees. The other ones will resign.  Except for one of them, his “town” will cover it up and disipline him.

What I’d be interested in knowing is how they got their hands on keys to a retired fire truck? Is it one key fits all? Are they just kept out for anyone to go pick up? If it’s a retired truck and not kept on site, isn’t someone watching the “yard” where they would be stored? How were they able to access it to begin with and drive around the county?

Where do you get your info from?  You are an idiot, 99%? You are nutz.  I am a career guy and that is not true.  I have been career for over 12 years…. True, some volunteers became career but, the career guys do not mix with volunteer as much as 10 years ago.  Very Political and Should Not exist.

Concerned citizen….the only dbag here is you because you obvisouly don’t know crap because 99% of career staff are also volunteers

Concerned Citizen, you should be ashamed for your comments. There have been career people who have made mistakes too. For you to criticize and say you don’t trust someone because they are a volunteer is idiotic. Thank God that when they respond to help you Volunteer or Career, they don’t judge you, or you would be in alot of trouble for that comment. Maybe you should give that some more thought if your house catches on fire or you are sick or hurt. Actually, you better hope that one of them help you because if it was me, I would think twice. People with your attitude is what is the matter with this world.

and unfortuantely for every decent one…20 of them out number!

Really?:

To ha ha ha and curious-
You must be as ignorant as your statements are. I surely hope you won

I am glad to hear that chief Virts was not involved or knew nothing about the situation at hand. The names of the others involved should be released to the public.

To ha ha ha and curious-
You must be as ignorant as your statements are. I surely hope you won’t need the police or fire and rescue one day, you would regret your stupid ass comments that are entirely false.

@ ha ha ha ha

teehee that was funny and almost perfect 5-0 is right behind them.. hey guys i sucked at life in school and now i have a badge ;-) so take that suckaaaas

Got picked on, couldn’t hold a relationship, ignorant and cocky to everyone, lived at home when most had moved out and started a life, low self esteem, expect attention from everyone, depends on support from others, low paid job, did not exceed in school or life, sticks chest out and drinks beers like they are a badazz, volunteers on the weekends, wears Co# blue tee shirt to impress the ladies, thinks the plate and stickers gets them out of tickets….. Volunteer

Don’t worry the 5-0 are at the same level.

Just saying…

Concerned Citizen:  in response to your statement “they don

If there were other people involved in this ‘joy ride’ their names should be relased. They too thought it would be a good idea, if they didn’t then they wouldn’t have gotten in the truck with Sean.
I know him from high school and am disappointed in his acts. I don’t that anyone who was inovlved should be allowed to volunteer or try to apply for a career FF job, ever. What they did was stupid and they should pay for their actions.

This is one of many reasons why I don’t like or trust Volunteer Fire Fighters. With career they wouldn’t even think of doing it becuse if they come to work with a hangover they aren’t allowed to drive the equpment. Volunteers are a nice thought but they don’t go though the intense training that Career Firefighters have to go though.
I think Loudoun County should have all their fire houses go 24-7, meaning there is always a career staff at the house to run calls. If I get into an accident in loudoun I wouldn’t trust a Volunteer with my life.. just saying. This is one point that showes they are D-bags

isn’t one of the gentlemen on the crew of trouble makers a leesburg police officer? shame on them.

Names?  What are the names of the “other” volunteers on the Fire Engine? 4 other people were involved.

Don’t ever go to Ocean City, Md during fire fighter week. You’d be amazed at the abuse of equipment going on at the beach.

First off, don’t be bringing Purcellville Fire into this. The look of their station has nothing to do with the stupid people at station 5. We have alot of good volunteers out there. These guys just made a stupid decision based on alcohol. Station 5 has had their share of troubles, starting with the Cheif. But let’s leave out names of members that aren’t involved. Get your facts striaght before you open your mouth.

Unfortunately, this reflects badly on all of the personnel whether they are volunteer or career. Everyone needs to remember that although this was a stupid thing to do, we need to be thankful that no one was hurt and that hopefully they have learned a valuable lesson out of this and won’t do anything so stupid again.  Most of them have resigned and indeed they are going to be punished. Let’s try to get past this without throwing stones and being so judgemental. I know most of them and they are not bad people and they have served their community well in the past.
To FF in West, We also need to remember that there have been career personnel in the past that have done stupid crap too and got in trouble so let’s not get all high and mighty and criticize them because these were volunteers. Loudoun needs volunteers and career personnel. It doesn’t matter that it was a volunteer or career, it was wrong and we all need to work together to make this the best system out there serving the community.
To nickels in a pickle whoever you are, if you knew this stuff was going on you probably should have spoke up before now and maybe it could have been avoided. As far as I’m concerned if I knew something like that was going on and didn’t say anything, I would be as guilty as they were.
As far as the firefighters holding out boots for donations, well that money goes to the Muscular Dystrophy association, and I commend them for doing that.
Lastly, I am not really sure what 9-11 and taxes have to do with this but, I will say to those who think the building on the corner of Hirst and Maple is a Taj Mahal that you don’t know anything about it. The building however nice it looks on the outside has had so many issues and continues to; from water leaks, gutters falling down, mold issues and sewer back ups that a Taj Mahal would be the last name I would give it.

Some people are down right rediculous. These people are the ones running into your burning house, while everyone else is running out. i STILL have great respect for these men, and women. granted, yes this was a major laps of judgement on their part, ill be damned if i dont still consider them HEROS. They made their mistakes, and they will recieve the consequences. Who are we all to judge? at the end of the day, they’re STILL the ones saving lives. This is not a political issue, or anything of the sort. It was simply a disappointing decision that swanny and the others made, and to sit here and bicker over it all.. it does nothing but show how disrespectful and not humble people are for all that these, and all of the other fire fighters around the county, do everyday. If they arent working out to your qualifications and standards.. get off your asses and volunteer yourself.

Is it possible that, perhaps, there could be people that make mistakes in every field? Life threatening, life altering and terrible mistakes? Volunteer or career? The people involved were obviously intoxicated making their judgment severely impaired. Big dumb dangerous decision making indeed; however, by the logic on these (obviously one-sided comments) we also must assume that all police officers, under-aged girls, and firefighter in general is diabolical and should be sentenced for their evil nature.

Thank god the LCSO caught them and noone was hurt. A rough way to learn but the price could be far greater. It’s a shame these people obviously enjoyed helping their communities. Perhaps a testament to the dangers of alcohol.

Here we go again….can anyone be nice on this board, really?
Yes, what they did was horrible, dangerous, out of line, and
disgraceful!

Yet, for those of you sitting back in your homes, not volunteering to do anything other than spewing comments about those who PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE to save your house, your families house, save you in an accident, rush you to the hospital in an emergency FOR NO MONEY, and are looking to get into a PAID Position while you sit all night long DOING nothing….

There are people in every field, every industry that give others in the same field and industry a bad name and reputation….BUT YOU CAN NOT CATEGORIZE in the same manner.

If everyone that is saving you is doing it wrong—get up, give up your spare time for the heavy training, go through with the testing, get the certs, and then continue training more and more to expand your knowledge, AND SHOW THEM HOW TO DO IT
“RIGHT”......

People really shouldn’t throw stones, when they don’t contribute to the cause!

Again, those involved in this deserve the consequences—but really, does every member at every fire house, squad handle themselves in this manner…NO, or you would hear about this DAILY!!!

I’m glad this finally happened to this crew. This has been an ongoing problem at company 5. They have numerous parties at the house near the old firehouse and will leave in the middle of these parties to run calls. Just what we need. Drunk fire fighters tryin to save my house. I’ll pass on this. This station has one of the worst crew of volunteers except a select few. I can’t believe there are people on here defending them. Who in their right mind thinks its ok to be drinkin and just jump in a fire truck that doesn’t belong to any of them and just take it for a spin. Owell atleast a few of them are gone. But not all the guily ones in the department have been caught. This is only 3. There’s quit a few more that have done this as well there. And I hope their time is coming to

i am a volunteer in the county, umm its news to me that VOLUNTEERS have unions. Come on guy!
Also can you please explain how 9/11 has anything to do with this.. most of you commenting are probably over payed government workers who live in your shitty built 1 million dollar homes that burn in 10 minutes and have not lived in this county to see how much it has actually grown over the past years.. so go ahead and drive around in your expensive ass cars and continue to do nothing but bitch and complain about every aspect in this apparent “perfect county” it hasnt been perfect since half this damn place was built.. I have lived here my whole life and i can tell you the hamilton firefighters along with most of the volunteers in this county are some of the best in saving life and property and being up to date with the most advanced trainings. feel free to move to jefferson county where most of the calls that go out are hardley answered if not at all, and are taken care of LOUDOUN VOLUNTEERS! from the west end of the county if you would like to not deal with volunteers please call 911 between the hours of 6a-6p when the careers staff are working.

@right 2 work:  that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever read.  Congratulations on being the very best at something.

We can’t look at all volly’s the same way as this DBag.

That station did receive funds from post 9/11.  Do you need to see the funding chart from Loudoun County? Though i doubt these idiots used those funds to buy thier alcohol with.  But that station received money.  The person below was responding to a comment made about the Taj Mahal in Purse a ville.

Why do you halfwits always have to turn this into a political issue? This has nothing to do with unions, 9/11, or anything of the sort. It has to do with a handful of idiot volunteer fireman who screwed up and will hopefully pay for it. Stop trying to turn it into something it isn’t.

Right to work sounds like a scab. Tell me your name please I’d love to see your kneecaps.

I bet these guys wish they pulled this stunt in Wisconsin,Ohio NJ or NY.
Then they could hide behind a union which has always done a great job of keeping failures employed.

Station 602(which you are referring to) was not paid from 9/11 funds. Get your facts straight.

The problem with post 9/11 funding is that governments (federal to local) received money to spend.  The excuse was 9/11.  I ahve no problem with giving the money to much needed areas of public safety but when an entire country was given money and was forced to spend it or risk losing it, they wasted it. Instead of having the opportunity to save it, invest it or even simply give back and say “we didn’t need it all”....They simply spent it on anything.  The Taj Mahal is a perfect example. Did they need it? Maybe.  But they certainly would not have got it if 9/11 funding was not sent out.  This problem was not just with fire and rescue.  It was an entire country.  Everyone over hired and over spent.  Now that the money is gone and the economy sucks, they are laying off people and cutting spending. And now we have the media blowing it out of proportion. Governments are only Re-Adjusting their budgets. If they are able to function with less people, it shows that they should not have hired the ones they are letting go in the first place.

Maybe now Loudoun will eliminate the volunteer side and go all career like they should have done 10 years ago.  Don;t get me wrong, volunteers are needed in the fire community, just not Loudoun.  There is enough funding in Loudoun. Smaller counties and the less fortunate rely on un-paid fire fighters. The stereotype of big bellied mustache wearing alcohol drinking volunteers fit in elsewhere.  Loudoun is too perfect to have incidents like this….. yes I am being a smarta$$. What we have here is a simple mistake made by a few adults that deserve to lose their position and face the penalty.  They could have caused a serious incident and need to pay the consquence.

I find a lot of fire fighters drink and drive.  I know this from the Western Loudoun crowd.  While most are not stupid enough to drink and drive in the fire truck, they are stupid enough to get behind the wheel and drive their own vehicles.  This a problem no matter where you go, we just happen to be lucky enough that it did not cause a secondary issue to an innocent person.

What over reaction to 9/11 are you talking about A.Noyd? The influx of people wanting to serve their communities after 343 firefighters perished while trying to save people trapped in the towers and the thousands that dug through asbestos laced rubble trying to dig them out after they fell?

Or the relization that local departments were unprepared training and equipment wise to deal with large terrorist incidents like that in NYC and the Pentagon, so grants were established to help better train and equip public safety personell to save the lives of citizens like you?

Years ago, I was a volunteer for Loudoun Fire & Rescue.  As to whoever posted that they had 10+ years of training and service….WHO CARES??? THAT more than anything else, should have stopped them from doing what they did…they’ve seen the results firsthand!!!  Like I said, I was an EMT for Loudoun and I for one have had to see too many innocent men, women, and CHILDREN die or suffer from life changing injuries because of people like that (especially people who are supposed to do everything they can to PRESERVE life).  They SHOULD lose their positions at the very least.  I

Also, what 9-11 over reaction are you referring to?

No one said it was ok. Vicky seemed to think this was done at the normal station while these vollies were on duty.

A.noyd, those “6-7” apparatus is stretching the truth alittle bit for a basic car accident. You usually get an engine and an ambulance unless there are multiple patients or an extrication, which then there would be more apparatus on scene.

I have a feeling you wouldn’t be talking about trimming public safety when you need us someday.

also @ A. Noyd, the county requires certain trainings for all officers volunteer or career in loudoun county. purcellville was the first station to have 100% compliance..“morons” for sure…..

@ A. Noyd First off purcellville fire is one of the most well run departments in this county along with sterling fire. the “taj Mahal” was needed due to the growth from 15 members to over 100 members.. every night there are 6-12 volunteers on duty to respond to emergencies across the western end of the county.. this stems back to the whole, oh the fire department is going to fast or is wreckless, unless its you then we dont get there fast enough. if you want to bitch and complain then DO SOMETHING AND COME JOIN!!!!

Our public-safety-industrial-complex needs to be trimmed.

Have you noticed how a little fender bender can bring six or seven “emergency” vehicles to the scene?  Notice that Taj Mahal they built on Hirst Road in Purcellville?  The behavior of these morons stems from this “we’re privileged” mindset. 

This is all a hangover (sorry for the pun) of the 9-11 overreaction.

As Fill to Boot said
“The engine that was used for the joyride was not at the normal firehouse. It was stored at another location. They were not on duty.”

Oh I did not know that as that makes it OK.

Can I volunteer too?  Sounds like fun!

Otis we might adopt you…....

Gone are the days when you could ride around and drink beer by the case on the roads of Good Ole Western Loudoun County….Don’t worry good citizens this was just one knucklehead…cut his nuts off and let him go free!

Just saying that it was a stupid mistake is naive.  They knowingly were drinking and driving, and a fire truck at that, not even a regular automobile.  What would have happened if they would have hit that deputies vehicle headon in that fire truck?  Or an innocent family with young children?  An automobile is enough of a weapon when you are drinking and driving, but a firetruck?  They could have seriously hurt or killed innocent people all for the fun of a joyride.

Virts was not involved.

Was Keith Virts involved in this incident?

Unfortunatly these guys made a very stupid mistake which gives both the career and volunteer companies a bad reputation.  However even though it was an extremely stupid and unproffessional before we completely bash them, know that several of them have been volunteering for 10+ years. They have sacrificed an saved lives and helped the citizens all those years. Yes they deserve punishment, but we have politicians, doctors, lawyers, celebrities all charged with DUIs and they go to work the next day and pay a fine. Is it really worth throwing them out of the fire service, all the training and knowledge they bring to the table. On top of legal punishment the driver has already had his face plastered all over the news, Internet and even the national firehouse.com website. So don’t think he’s getting away with nothing. Again, not condoning their actions, just saying let’s hold them to
the same standard that all the other regular Joe-shomes that get DUIs get held to.

@Otis, the firefighters who fill the boot are employed by Loudoun County Fire & Rescue, they proceeds go to MDA.. If you see a firefighter with Loudoun County Fire-Rescue on the back they are career firefighters..  This is a sad incident for hamilton and i hope that this gives them a reality check “its needed”..  volunteers in the county already have a bad name and we didnt need this to make it worse for us.. I hope citizens can see past this incident when other fire departments in the county,(career or volunteer)are called to their aid that this is not the standard that is to be expected.  With the higher ups in hamilton’s ranks I am sure the proper punishments will be taken..

Otis, the Career firefighters pass the boot for MDA every year. That is who you see doing that, not volunteers.

The engine that was used for the joyride was not at the normal firehouse. It was stored at another location. They were not on duty.

Shame on them… but one wonders…how long were they out?  How did this come to be?  Do we not have a system of checks and balances in place to be sure that the trucks are not being used this way?  If a volunteer reports for service and is drinking - shouldn’t they be sent home immediately?  If a truck is not on a call and not in the station, shouldn’t dispatch know where it is and why?  Just seems like this should be more than just a “how could you” to the ones involved but a wake up call to put systems of checks and balances in place.

I would not want these type of people entering my house.
I hope a oversight committee looks into this criminal behavior at this station and others if alcohol consumption is the norm.
Thanks to the deputy for doing his job, he or she may have saved a life and a huge civil judgment against the county

check that:  County, not Country.

Wow, they really left the Country (read taxpayers) open to a huge liability, had something bad happened.  Fire them.

OK Joe
How about I get my facts straight, my fax seems to work fine.
I would never give cash to any organization.
And with the waste in Loudoun County I would find a better managed more worth while organization.

To the guy talking about filling the boot that is career firefighters not volunteers. Get your fax straight.

OK tell me again how these are Heroes.
I guess next time I see them standing in the road with a boot begging money I will give them a 6 pack.

How stupid of them ! That stunt could have been VERY COSTLY for them, innocent people, and for Hamilton Engine Co.5!!! I do hope a “reality check” is handed to these five volunteers..

http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/557246/Former-firefighters-charged-in-arsons.html?nav=5222

ABSOLUTELY AWFUL TO READ THIS, BUT AT LEAST THEY WEREN’T SETTING FIRES LIKE THESE IDIOTS IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS!