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Welcome to the fraternity. I've been a volunteer with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service for nigh on 15 years. Way too old and wise to jump on the back of a truck, so I work in Command/Communications. It is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.
Cheers,
Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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Thanks, Peter. It feels great, and certainly is a rewarding "hobby", even though it's for everyone of us more that just a hobby - It's a way of life.
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Serious question I've always wondered about: How do you manage emergencies during your work day? Being off call while at work would seem to leave a big hole in the duty roster between 8 and 5, while even if you work close to home being called out regularly seems overly disruptive in any but the most flexible of jobs.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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I don't know how it works in Switzerland, but in Israel the (paid) fire brigade is large enough to handle most routine fires. Only when there is a bad outbreak of fires (e.g. towards the end of summer, when we sometimes have both very dry fields and strong winds) do they need to call up their reserves or volunteers.
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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Where I live in the US only the larger cities have full time fire depts, small towns and rural areas are covered by volunteers for any normal fire/traffic accident; with pros from the nearest city only showing up for support in really large fires (that are sucking in reinforcements from the surrounding area).
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Israel is more densely populated than (most of) the U.S., so fire departments are much closer to each other. I assume that is what makes having full-time fire departments an economically viable proposition.
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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Probably a major factor, the relative size of administrative districts could be a factor. A lot of the small town/rural municipalities (or whatever they're called) struggle to be able to fund even one police officer (or the equivalent share from a partnership with a few surrounding communities), so multiple full time firemen needed to have a single engine available 24/7 are totally out of the question. (If they don't have any cops the State Police will cover major crimes, but petty issues are extremely low on their priority list and they don't enforce municipal ordinances at all.)
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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I work 30 minutes from the FD main depot, thus I take on the night shifts.
Events are classified in 3 different levels - small, middle, big (30, 80, 160 people). Those who have the day shifts have a supportive employer - Mind you that we don't get called out too often, many things (ambulances, for example, or smaller oil spills) are being handled by professional paramedics or towing companies. We're just here for the greater stuff. Apart from that, many employers here are very supportive towards volunteer firefighting, especially since it is a way to keep a good employee.
Also I'm just a simple soldier: The higherups do have their own schedule, and have weeks when their on active duty - But since they're enough they can easily split it up between each other, so each gets their work done.
As for how it works here in CH, about 99% are volunteers, and only really big cities such as Berne and Zurich do have a full-time fire dept.
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Congrats Marco it's for a good cause. I have another friend in North Carolina that is a volunteer fire fighter also and he loves it.
Someone's therapist knows all about you!
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Thanks, Mike.
OT: Do you still live in SFL? Chances are I'm coming over there during the passing year.
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Next up: Ghostbuster!
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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<meta http-equiv="X-Clacks-Overhead" content="GNU Terry Pratchett" />
veni bibi saltavi
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You don't have to set it in the server anymore though. Meta tags are supported 
The latest updates need 'webNavigation' permissions for reading the HTML meta tags (a feature which a lot of people were asking for).
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I'm proud to say our web site has been passing that in the clacks since 2015.
If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP.
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I'm working on a web site at the moment and you'll never guess what's gone in...
veni bibi saltavi
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Saw this through the joys of Reddit. Even though they are cobras, it made me smile. Enjoy! Python Programming
Sudden Sun Death Syndrome (SSDS) is a very real concern which we should be raising awareness of. 156 billion suns die every year before they're just 1 billion years old.
While the military are doing their part, it simply isn't enough to make the amount of nukes needed to save those poor stars. - TWI2T3D (Reddit)
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good stuff mate! 
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Those youngin's are all vipers. The minute they think they know something, they'll bite you and take your job. Beware of teaching!
Marc
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Marc Clifton wrote: The minute they think they know something, they'll bite you and take your job. Beware of teaching!
lol. But so many younguns reckon they already know everything and don't need teaching,
and that's when one should just sit back and watch them bite themselves in the ass.
Sin tack
the any key okay
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Trivia question of the moment:
What TV theme song has only 2 words?
Bonus: write the lyrics to the song
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The Simpsons.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Don't watch it, so can't confirm.
Not the one I was thinking of, but, there may be other correct answers.
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