When asked whether he would save a drowning child in the chilly San Francisco Bay waters, Alameda Fire Chief Ricci Zombeck offered this bureaucratic and maddening answer to an ABC news reporter: "Well, if I was off duty I would know what I would do, but I think you're asking me my on-duty response and I would have to stay within our policies and procedures because that's what's required by our department to do."
In other words, no, given that the department doesn't allow such rescues without additional training that protects it from legal liability. Zombeck was being questioned because earlier in the week Alameda firefighters and police watched for an hour while a man slowly drowned to death. They did nothing, then blamed budget cuts for a lack of cold water training. Apparently, one needs special training to dive into water that is described between 54 and 60 degrees -- temperatures that didn't stop a bystander from wading in to retrieve the body. The division chief's continued defense of the incident -- and his admission that he would not save a drowning child without such training, at least while he was on duty -- is leading commentators to wonder about how our public safety agencies have become so bureaucratic and inhumane.
Zombeck's answer should make us wonder why we even have such agencies. Think about it. If the guy would go in the water and save your child if he was not at work, but wouldn't do so as part of his official responsibilities as a professional rescuer, that means that we're all safer with a bunch of bystanders than professional, well-paid first responders. Zombeck offers insight into the depth of the problems surrounding public safety policy. For years, such policy discussions have been dominated by the unions and the politicians who curry favor with them. It's time for that to change.
Zombeck's answer should make us wonder why we even have such agencies. Think about it. If the guy would go in the water and save your child if he was not at work, but wouldn't do so as part of his official responsibilities as a professional rescuer, that means that we're all safer with a bunch of bystanders than professional, well-paid first responders. Zombeck offers insight into the depth of the problems surrounding public safety policy. For years, such policy discussions have been dominated by the unions and the politicians who curry favor with them. It's time for that to change.
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