This is a response to a suggestion that Fire Fighters get merit based pay.
I am a Firefighter.
I play ping pong, cook a lot, play dominoes, basketball, croquet, repair computers, clean guns (well, not anymore), get our fishing boats ready, dress deer, clean fish, watch TV and movies, play a lot of Halo, and throw washers at work. I tell stories, make up lies, and gossip a lot. I read books. We get paid for all of this. I get paid for sleeping, too. I worked a shift of overtime two weeks ago and got paid about $1000.00 for the shift and I was asleep for seven hours of it. I make over $80,000 a year. By this fall, my Captain will make over $100,000 a year. I have no mortgage, car payment, credit card bill, outstanding loan. I am out of debt. I don't make a single apology for any of this.
The Second Alarm is below the fold.