Rhode Island: Should Firefighter Have Jumped into Emergency? – Firehouse.com News
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CRANSTON — When is a firefighter not a firefighter?Steven Burgess thought he was a firefighter the night The Station nightclub burned to the ground. He went as a concertgoer, out on a date.
But as the fire consumed the club, the Cranston firefighter joined West Warwick’s Fire Department, fire hose in hand, as they fought the blaze — standing close enough that the heat burned his clothes and singed his eyebrows off.
The City of Cranston saw it differently. While he acted heroically and deserved praise, the city said, Burgess was no firefighter that night; he was a private citizen doing what he could to help.
Cranston denied his request for injured-on-duty status when he sought treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder stemming from the events of that night, Feb. 20, 2003.
I think that there is a compelling argument on both sides of this debate. I feel that if he had done nothing, he might have been reprimanded as well. This puts into perspective of how the localities view your assistance in the case of emergencies like this.
Would you have reacted the same way?
Do you feel that he should be covered?
