No one every sung, “Fuck the firemen!”
Shower thought inspired by this Short.
And while we’re at it, my ex-FIL fought two tours in Iraq, won a Bronze Medal for successfully delivering a monster generator for civilian use. No issues.
Came home and ordered his men to cut houses in half with chainsaws, push them off the road, to clear a path through the Mississippi back roads, in order to relieve civilians after Katrina. They scooped corpses out of trees. Gave out Walmart bikes to little blacks girls so they could feel some semblance of “It’s OK”. I saw the fucking pictures.
Lived Hurricane Ivan. It ain’t what you see on the news. Ever seen transformers exploding across the city, like blue lightning, one after another? Ever seen the Milky Way because there is no power? Ever heard that train sound for 10-hours, non-stop, terrified there’s a tornado across the street you cannot see? Ever went to bed in the summer and woke up with no leaves on the trees? Ever wept in the street for your new city? Katrina was worse.
PTSD saw him leave his wife of 32-years, abandon his only child, my ex-wife.
Sorry if my prose is a mess, I’m crying, again.
Fuck these masked animals rolling all over our country. The 2nd Amendment is your right, whether you like it or not. Take that as you fucking like.
That’s a myth. The Crassus story is true though. In modern times it wouldn’t have made sense to ignore a fire in a city since fires spread.
To my surprise, you’re right. Brigades letting buildings burn didn’t happen - at least not by company decree.
The most I’d ever looked into it was to see what those plaques looked like. I appreciate you countering the idea, it led me to an interesting read of this correction article that seems a great summary of what really occurred.
Primarily it seems they all just worked together for reasons that, after reading them, are painfully obvious and I can’t believe I hadn’t considered even the first one.
The article by Paul J Sillitoe is worth the read, but here are some highlights for anyone interested:
More recent writers have more firmly rebutted the notion of letting uninsured buildings burn. In 1996, an insurance company history referenced, in 1702, “the first of many recorded examples” of insurance fire brigades working together to fight fires. The insuring fire office recompensated the other offices whose men who had assisted.
The “erroneous myth”, is said to have originated only in the 1920s.
Originally writing in 1692-3, Daniel Defoe noted that the firemen were “very active and diligent” in helping to put out fires, “whether in houses insured or not insured”.
Only two occasions have been reported (in 1871 & 1895), though, where insurance companies threatened the authorities that they would cease attending fires in uninsured properties.
With no reward, no water, and no insurance interest in a burning building, it is not difficult to envisage firemen standing back on occasion, jeering and generally interfering with rival brigades fighting a fire in which they did have an interest. Or, alternatively, simply packing up and going home. Arguably, therefore, the legend of insurance fire brigades letting uninsured buildings burn originated in the first half of the 18th century.
Hell ya, not only taking a correction well, but coming back with extra information to correct the original misconception. You seem like a cool person, thanks for that!
Glad I could correct some misinformation. :)