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| Firefighters laugh off jokes at their expense by police and ambulance crews | Firefighters laugh off jokes at their expense by police and ambulance crews |
| (30 days later) | |
| "Driving around in a red fire engine is like driving a red Ferrari," one firefighter laughs, while another, Malcolm Castle, points out: "You don't see calenders of oiled-up, buff paramedics with their tops off." | "Driving around in a red fire engine is like driving a red Ferrari," one firefighter laughs, while another, Malcolm Castle, points out: "You don't see calenders of oiled-up, buff paramedics with their tops off." |
| With a popular public image that positions them as everyday heroes, it's perhaps unsurprising that most firefighters seem unperturbed by the news they are the butt of jokes from their colleagues in the emergency services. | With a popular public image that positions them as everyday heroes, it's perhaps unsurprising that most firefighters seem unperturbed by the news they are the butt of jokes from their colleagues in the emergency services. |
| New research from Portsmouth University revealed that police and ambulance crews make jokes about firefighters, call them "water fairies", complain they sleep while on call, and resent the amount of attention they get from female members of the public. | New research from Portsmouth University revealed that police and ambulance crews make jokes about firefighters, call them "water fairies", complain they sleep while on call, and resent the amount of attention they get from female members of the public. |
| Yet fire crews – who say they often get applauded by the public, even when they are called out on false alarms – say they see the funny side. "There's always been lighthearted rivalry between the services," points out Castle, who recently retired and has written books about his 30 years as a firefighter in Shrewsbury. | Yet fire crews – who say they often get applauded by the public, even when they are called out on false alarms – say they see the funny side. "There's always been lighthearted rivalry between the services," points out Castle, who recently retired and has written books about his 30 years as a firefighter in Shrewsbury. |
| "The whole idea we were allowed to sleep has always stuck in the craw of police. But in our jobs it is all lulls and storms – if you were not out on a call at night there was nothing for you to do, so we were allowed to get our heads down." Although beds may be a thing of the past in many fire stations, he points out the barbs are not all one-way. "Of course we would wind up our colleagues in the other emergency services saying: 'Ahh back to bed!' Then we would ask the paramedics: 'Where's your next layby?' They couldn't go back to their stations, which were too far away. So they would have to pull over between potential call-out points in a cold dark layby in lashing rain. We made a point of saying things like: 'Glad I left my electric blanket on.'" | "The whole idea we were allowed to sleep has always stuck in the craw of police. But in our jobs it is all lulls and storms – if you were not out on a call at night there was nothing for you to do, so we were allowed to get our heads down." Although beds may be a thing of the past in many fire stations, he points out the barbs are not all one-way. "Of course we would wind up our colleagues in the other emergency services saying: 'Ahh back to bed!' Then we would ask the paramedics: 'Where's your next layby?' They couldn't go back to their stations, which were too far away. So they would have to pull over between potential call-out points in a cold dark layby in lashing rain. We made a point of saying things like: 'Glad I left my electric blanket on.'" |
| Firefighters also gently mock police officers for being "glory hunters" if they turn up at a fire before them, points out a firefighter who did not want to be named. "If there is a call to a 'person reported' incident – where someone could be in the building still, you get them racing to get there first – so they can kick the door in and save a baby or something. And so we would say: 'Guys, you are making a mess, leave it to the real heroes.'" | Firefighters also gently mock police officers for being "glory hunters" if they turn up at a fire before them, points out a firefighter who did not want to be named. "If there is a call to a 'person reported' incident – where someone could be in the building still, you get them racing to get there first – so they can kick the door in and save a baby or something. And so we would say: 'Guys, you are making a mess, leave it to the real heroes.'" |
| Paramedics, he says, are treated more gently, "because they are seen as doing a good job and are under pressure, so we leave them alone". | Paramedics, he says, are treated more gently, "because they are seen as doing a good job and are under pressure, so we leave them alone". |
| But, he stresses, the mockery never goes too far. "We all get on. And when there is a serious incident everyone works together and it's quite humbling. There are no jokes then." | But, he stresses, the mockery never goes too far. "We all get on. And when there is a serious incident everyone works together and it's quite humbling. There are no jokes then." |
| Yet Castle insists humour is an important tool to distract emergency crews from the heightened emotion of situations such as fatal car crashes or fires and allows them to carry out their work calmly. On the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Facebook page, Simon L'Enfant writes: "I'm a wholetime & retained firefighter & it's all banter between the services, daffodils, drip stands, smurf (small minded useless retained firefighter) we get all sorts, we give it out too to all the others its all said in jest to make light of the horrible sights we see when on incidents." | Yet Castle insists humour is an important tool to distract emergency crews from the heightened emotion of situations such as fatal car crashes or fires and allows them to carry out their work calmly. On the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Facebook page, Simon L'Enfant writes: "I'm a wholetime & retained firefighter & it's all banter between the services, daffodils, drip stands, smurf (small minded useless retained firefighter) we get all sorts, we give it out too to all the others its all said in jest to make light of the horrible sights we see when on incidents." |
| And occasionally, Castle admits, the jokes about firefighters may by well-deserved. "According to the new Lynx advert, firefighters are second only to astronauts as the perfect man! And some firefighters do use this as a lever. There was one classic time when a 'jockey', a new fireman, was overheard saying seriously to a woman he had his eye on: 'Underneath I am just an ordinary guy.' As you can imagine he never heard the last of that!" | And occasionally, Castle admits, the jokes about firefighters may by well-deserved. "According to the new Lynx advert, firefighters are second only to astronauts as the perfect man! And some firefighters do use this as a lever. There was one classic time when a 'jockey', a new fireman, was overheard saying seriously to a woman he had his eye on: 'Underneath I am just an ordinary guy.' As you can imagine he never heard the last of that!" |
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