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City memos show AZ firefighter refused response to Giffords shooting

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A veteran city firefighter's refusal to respond to the Jan. 8 shooting spree, citing "political bantering," may have slowed his Tucson Fire Department unit's response to the incident that left six dead and 13 wounded, city memos show.
The firefighter, Mark Ekstrum, retired from his 28-year career two days later, while his supervisors were still considering how to discipline him, internal memos obtained by the Arizona Daily Star in a public-records request show.
In a Jan. 9 report on Ekstrum's actions, fire Capt. Ben Williams wrote that when Ekstrum first told him he would not go out on the call, "he mentioned something about 'political bantering' and he did not want to be part of it." He said he was acting "for the good of the crew."
Williams said he told Ekstrum he could not refuse a call for that reason, and then talked to the firefighter privately in his office. He said Ekstrum "started to say something about how he had a much different political viewpoint than the rest of the crew and he was concerned." Despite being told that was not acceptable, Williams said Ekstrum informed him he was going home "sick," so they answered the call without him.

It pretty much speaks for the current political division in our country.


NATION: City memos show AZ firefighter refused response to Giffords shooting
 
What is noted in the article that the fireman actually liked Giffords but a statement in the article stated "He said Ekstrum "started to say something about how he had a much different political viewpoint than the rest of the crew and he was concerned."

With different political views some are now having a hard time working together. Slowly the thread of our country pulls apart.
 
This doesn't speak to anything but the fact that this guy is a complete and utter moron who should have retired a few years ago, back before his brain was singed to a crisp.

Let me put it like this: There are people, in every field, and of every political persuasion, who are just done, have lost their motivation, and should be put out to pasture.
 
This guy should be sued and stripped of his retirement and benefits.
 
Wait. They call the fire department in response to a shooting?
 
So he didn't respond because of his politics? I don't understand... what 'political bantering' is he referring to?
 
So he didn't respond because of his politics? I don't understand... what 'political bantering' is he referring to?

If you read the article it shows something different. I think the guy was not emotionally prepared to go on the call, therefore, he was right to retire. I hope there is no action against him. His record was good in the past.
 
If you read the article it shows something different. I think the guy was not emotionally prepared to go on the call, therefore, he was right to retire. I hope there is no action against him. His record was good in the past.

So then there wasn't any political bantering?
 
So then there wasn't any political bantering?

From what i read, he may have said that as an excuse but that wasn't why he refused to go.
I don't know...that's just my opinion. He knew Giffords and maybe thought more of her then he let on. Maybe he felt he wouldn't be able to do his job to the best of his ability. I just like to give people the benefit of the doubt before throwing them under the bus.
 
Wait. They call the fire department in response to a shooting?

They would have been dispatched had the shootings occured in my city. The FD responds to emergencies like that since most of them are certified first responders and EMTs.


They're not just for putting out fires anymore.
 
From what i read, he may have said that as an excuse but that wasn't why he refused to go.
I don't know...that's just my opinion. He knew Giffords and maybe thought more of her then he let on. Maybe he felt he wouldn't be able to do his job to the best of his ability. I just like to give people the benefit of the doubt before throwing them under the bus.

I'm going to have to disagree with you. He had a JOB to do, if he couldn't do it, and slowed or delayed a response that might have made a difference in saving lives he should be punished, perhaps a lowering in rank effecting his pension. You sign up to do a job like that, you don't let personal feelings affect the job. Period.
 
What is noted in the article that the fireman actually liked Giffords but a statement in the article stated "He said Ekstrum "started to say something about how he had a much different political viewpoint than the rest of the crew and he was concerned."

With different political views some are now having a hard time working together. Slowly the thread of our country pulls apart.

This is total bull****, and an over the top doomsday prediction. We have always had difference, and to say this is some sort of sign of doom, is pure silliness.
 
So then there wasn't any political bantering?

Why don't you read the article, and you'll get a much different picture of the Ekstrum?
 
I'm going to have to disagree with you. He had a JOB to do, if he couldn't do it, and slowed or delayed a response that might have made a difference in saving lives he should be punished, perhaps a lowering in rank effecting his pension. You sign up to do a job like that, you don't let personal feelings affect the job. Period.


Think everybody needs to read the details of this story again...


The call came to the fire station after all victims had already been transported to the hospitals. It was 90 minutes after the shooting spree occurred. And apparently the location of Ekstrum's firehouse was 20 miles away from the location of the event. So they were a still a half hour away at that point.

Don't know the details of what was in Ekstrum's head. But in this case they (his fire crew) were not called as "first responders". And as far as i can tell no lives were endangered.

The whole story has a funny smell to it....


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.
 
Think everybody needs to read the details of this story again...


The call came to the fire station after all victims had already been transported to the hospitals. It was 90 minutes after the shooting spree occurred. And apparently the location of Ekstrum's firehouse was 20 miles away from the location of the event. So they were a still a half hour away at that point.

Don't know the details of what was in Ekstrum's head. But in this case they (his fire crew) were not called as "first responders". And as far as i can tell no lives were endangered.

The whole story has a funny smell to it....


.


.

To be fair, I didn't get a chance to read it, because it wasn't opening when I posted. Web Traffic, who knows. 90 minutes later? And this guy wouldn't respond at all... something is up with this.

Regardless, IF he refused to go on the call, and delayed response, that demands some sort of punitive action.
 
What this really speaks to is this firefighter violating his Oath, being a narrow minded idiot and I think he should have been fired on the spot and if at all possible charges of some kind brought against this jerk.

Calm down now.
 
However, in the statement he submitted to the department late Wednesday - a statement the department was not expecting - he said he was distraught over the shootings and was "distracted to the point of not being able to perform my routine station duties to such an extent that I seriously doubted my ability to focus on an emergency call."He said he failed to effectively communicate that was the reason he needed to go home and "my communication centered more on how this event would affect the country and them and us, and, of course, led to their misunderstanding about my need to go home because I was at a point of distraction."

you have got to be kidding me. this is a guy with 28 years experience and he was so distraught he couldn't perform his normal duties?

as a critical care paramedic i call bull****. that's what we are paid to do and it doesn't take you 28 years to figure out you can't do it.


now if he had something else going on and didn't feel he could perform to a required level (sickness, family problems etc, which can happen,) then he needed to be up front about it and tell his work colleagues. you don't wait until it's time to go on a call out and then say i can't do this. time is of the essence.
 
Very very strange story. I hope we get more details about this. If the man was distraught and could not competently serve, that is one thing. Although one would think a 28 year professional would be able to handle such adversity. If he simply had political issues and did not want to respond, that is inexcusable.
 
This doesn't make sense. While Giffords was a known liberal, she wasn't the only victim, there were 19 people shot that day (or more). Nobody knew the political affiliations of any of those people, so how could politics play a part in this guys decision to not show up? I don't get it.
 
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