A curious story arose from the Victorian bushfire tragedy last week. According to the Herald-Sun in Melbourne and the Daily Telegraph in Sydney, a firefighting chief called John Wills got sacked from his position for swearing over an emergency radio while directing his subordinates. Subordinates who had, apparently, disregarded Mr Wills' directions and put themselves in serious danger.
The story was unusual from a couple of viewpoints. First, while the Victorian bushfires made headlines around the world, this aspect of it is hardly newsworthy relative to some of the appalling tragedies arising out of the fires. So, why the front page treatment? One can only assume it was a slow news day for the Herald Sun, with no genius from the IMF foretelling economic doom or no prominent footballers caught urinating in public.
Secondly and more relevantly, if the story can be taken at face value, what on Earth were the Country Fire Authority thinking? On the face of it, the punishment just doesn't fit the crime. For better or worse, profanity has become ubiquitous in modern society and while Mr Wills should probably have minded his P's and Q's, swearing in public is hardly the no-no it once was. Also when faced with what Mr Wills was up against, I'm tipping most people would have let fly with a few choice expletives. Battling raging bushfires in 46 degree heat - $£*@ that !
As with a lot of newspaper articles, I suspect we aren't getting the full story or there has been a misreporting of the facts. If however the story as reported resembles the truth, then Mr Wills should feel entitled to hurl a few more profanities in the CFA's direction. They seem to be missing the point here. Mr Wills is a volunteer, not a paid employee and was entitled to be treated with a bit more respect and leniency.
Unfortunately though this seems to be just another sad example of how volunteers are grossly underappreciated in this country. Year in, year out, these selfless souls fight our fires, patrol our beaches and man our charities and for no other reward other than the satisfaction of a job well done. We are all guilty of taking these people for granted, and why? Because generally they aren't the sort of people who big note themselves and are content just to serve the community in their own way without making a fuss.
The work they do clearly merits a substantial slice of government funding, however unfortunately the maxim that the squeaky wheel gets the oil applies all too often here. Many government programs that are less worthy but have more persistent lobbyists wallow in cash while organisations like the Surf Lifesavers have to eke out an existence based on chook raffle proceeds and other forms of private fundraising.
Another thing that might get firefighters swearing a blue streak is the benefits received by Army Reservists called in to help the volunteers. As Army Reservists, these men and women are entitled to tax free money for the time spent on active duty. Sure, they gave of their time and out themselves in the line of fire (literally), but if they can get some tax-free cash from the government, why not offer the same sort of breaks to volunteers? It would be a lot more tangible reward for effort than what they usually get, which pretty much starts and ends with a "thankyou".
It's hard to see this happening however, so let's pray that volunteers continue to give selflessly of their time and expect nothing much in return. If they did pull up stumps and started putting themselves first, society would be mush the poorer.
So, Mr Wills, take heart. Despite your occasional potty-mouth, there are those of us out there who appreciate you. I think you're a #£$%*# top bloke, and anyone who disagrees is a #%$#@ ##£!%%* and can go and get ##&@* !
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