News brief: Don’t run over the firefighters, please

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters will be “occupying” the intersection of Belmont Avenue and Haviland Street near the Centralia Outlet Mall on Friday afternoon as they conduct a “boot drive” fundraiser.

Dollars collected will benefit burn victims and their families, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

“This an opportunity for our community to raise money and awareness for burn prevention and help families affected by burn injuries begin the healing process,” Firefighter-paramedic Jennifer Ternan stated in a news release.

Donations will go the the Northwest Burn Foundation, to assist with housing for families while their loved ones get treatment at the Seattle Burn Center and for children who have survived burns to attend summer camp, according to Ternan.

The event takes place between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. and may cause traffic congestion, according to the fire department.

Ternan offers some facts and advice:

• In Washington state, scald injuries are the second leading cause of death to children ages 4 years and younger.
• Just one second of contact with hot liquid can injure a child for life.
• Scalds can be prevented by lowering your water heater’s temperature setting to below 120 degrees.
• Never leave any child alone in the bathtub or in the kitchen.

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16 Responses to “News brief: Don’t run over the firefighters, please”

  1. I Smoke Spice says:

    Ge whiz a fire fighter just got caught smoking spice at the fire department….What were you saying? I hope the rest of the crew left the spice at home. Just saying lets quit pretending that people are not people.

  2. WendyC says:

    DCE…are you kidding? Even though it perhaps should be, panhandling is NOT illegal. We have silly laws that allow those pesky and sometimes aggressive panhandlers work by freeway offramps because the way the law was written would prevent girl scouts from selling cookies door to door! But complaining about a legitimate fundraiser for a legitimate organization is just a waste of breath!! Our volunteer firefighters should be lauded not ridiculed when they generously donate their time to raise funds for our underfunded fire departments AND could actually save the taxpayers a few bucks. They will use and report the monies legitimately, not blow the monies for drugs and alcohol as the typical “panhandler” will.

    I’d be interested in any kind of report which proves an actual accident or injury has occurred with this type of activity…in recent OR distant past. Why ask for trouble where trouble doesn’t exist? Next you’ll be bashing the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Salvation Army, Marine Corps League Toys for Tots and all of those other aggressive and most dangerous panhandlers who could cause injury by their proximity to an entrance or exit door of a licensed business. Dear Lord!!!

  3. Falsetto says:

    It’s wrong to occupy Wall St. but it’s perfectly okay for the Centralia F.D. to occupy Belmont Ave.

    Excrement!

  4. sunshinegirl says:

    Amen George, as always I like your style , and saysme ,word dude, been in the burn unit with a wee one also. Let ’em rant about God they’ve ranted on just about everything else. The problem is they are not even comic relief anymore.

  5. George says:

    @J.Z., I fully understand where you’re coming from. I have also seen the firefighters in other places being very aggressive in their collection of funds… but around here, I’ve never seen them be anything other than polite and helpful. Hopefully, there won’t be any major issues with idiots careening through there trying to run them down…

  6. saysme says:

    Lewiscountysirens needs a delete button for everytime DCI starts on one of his rants, he probably just says what he does, to get a rise out of people. Actually can anyone take him serious.?. I say Kudo’s to the fireman.. for raising money that way..if you ever had a child that nearly died from burns over 30% of his body and spent months in a burn unit, like I did, you would get down on your knees and thank God for them, among others. Oh yeah, but dci will come back with a rant about God too..I have news for you.. including me, lots of people don’t even read your posts…I sure won’t from here on out..

  7. J.Z. says:

    @George…Maybe I’m being unclear. I’m not the one saying they’re panhandling or breaking the law. I don’t actually care about permits. It’s the safety issue that bothers me. What part of ‘standing in the street isn’t safe’ is not obvious?

    I have seen firefighters standing right in the middle of the road raising money. I don’t know if they’ll do that here, and you’re right, Belmont and Haviland isn’t too dangerous a place to do it. But based on what I have seen, namely big-city firefighters standing right in the middle of the street slowing things down and thrusting their boots at drivers, this doesn’t seem safe. Let’s hope our firefighters show more safety consciousness and common sense than Tacoma firefighters (the ones I saw a couple years back).

  8. George says:

    DCE, you go right ahead and do whatever it is that you’re going to do, because that’s all you do, anyways.

    I’ll just let the firefighters continue on with their good deeds, and not be a shithouse lawyer.

  9. George I beg to differ with the comment about fill the boot. I have seen the Firefighters at the corner of HWY 12 and Old 99 in the middle of the street with the boots. Lets face it though, The system does not abide by the Laws, yet they make people like you and me the Slaves abide by the Law. See my Problem?….What if I want to collect money for police brutality victims. I of course would be treated like a Criminal…Would I not? Or should I film this and Challenge It?

  10. Falsetto says:

    Some firefighters engage in this kind of aggessive panhandling in Pierce County as well.

    They will organize around an intersection and when there is a red light, they will walk up to people’s windows like bums in firefighter halloween costumes.

    They knock on the window and give a suprised look when you ignore them. It’s so ridiculous. It makes the fire dept. look like a gang of panhandlers. There are other ways to go about making money than begging.

  11. George says:

    @J.Z., I just did a search of the Revised Code of Washington, looking for anything containing the word “panhandling” (or any form of that word) or “begging” (again, or any form of that word). The only thing I found was something in the juvenile code that said that you can’t hire minors for the sake of begging. Pretty good thing, I might add.

    Panhandling is NOT against the law, but some municipalities have enacted laws against AGGRESSIVE panhandling, or against panhandling in certain areas (like inside a store or restaurant, within XXX feet of an ATM, that sort of thing).

    In Centralia, the municipal code chapter 10.37 covers “pedestrian interference”. If the firefighters do NOT have the proper permits, then they could be considered in violation of this code. Do they have the proper permits (as would be required under CMC 14.28)? The only way to find out is to ask them to show proof of having that permit.

    In reality, though, they aren’t standing in the middle of the freeway stopping cars and demanding money. They aren’t going to be on Harrison blocking traffic. they are going to be at Belmont and Haviland, where the traffic is almost always at a crawl anyways (and there are three stop signs…).

    That, and every time I have ever seen them (the firefighters and their “fill the boot” campaigns), they stand on the SIDE of the road, and will only approach a car IF the car indicates that they have something to put in that boot.

  12. Here is the Law about standing in the Street.
    Chapter 10.37
    PEDESTRIAN INTERFERENCE
    Sections:

    10.37.010 Definitions.

    10.37.020 Pedestrian interference prohibited.

    10.37.030 Penalty.

    10.37.010 Definitions.
    The following definitions shall apply:

    A. “Aggressively begs” means to beg with the intent to intimidate another person into giving money or goods.

    B. “Beg” means to ask for money or goods as a charity, whether by words, bodily gestures, signs or other means.

    C. “Intimidate” means to engage in conduct which would make a reasonable person fearful or feel compelled.

    D. “Obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic” means to walk, stand, sit, lie, or place an object in such a manner as to block passage by another person or a vehicle, or to require another person or a driver of a vehicle to take evasive action to avoid physical contact. Acts authorized as an exercise of one’s constitutional right to picket or to legally protest, and acts authorized by a permit issued pursuant to Chapter 14.28 CMC in reference to parades, shall not constitute obstruction of pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

    E. “Public place” means an area generally visible to public view and includes alleys, bridges, buildings, driveways, parking lots, parks, plazas, sidewalks, and streets open to the general public including those that serve food or drink or provide entertainment, and the doorways and entrances to buildings or dwellings and the grounds enclosing them. (Ord. 2244 § 1 (part), 2010).

    10.37.020 Pedestrian interference prohibited.
    A person is guilty of pedestrian interference if, in a public place, he or she intentionally:

    A. Obstructs pedestrian or vehicular traffic; or

    B. Aggressively begs. (Ord. 2244 § 1 (part), 2010).

    10.37.030 Penalty.
    Pedestrian interference is a misdemeanor. (Ord. 2244 § 1 (part), 2010).

  13. J.Z. says:

    @George…The point isn’t the cause. The cause is excellent, and money should be raised for burn victims. The point is that, whether it’s panhandling or not, whether or not they have a permit, whatever the cause they’re raising money for, standing in the middle of the street isn’t safe.

  14. George says:

    If you don’t like the way the firefighters are raising money to help burn victims, don’t give them any money.

    This is NOT panhandling, because it is not for personal gain. It is for a charitable cause, and they are taking the time out of their lives to do this. Would you take the time out of YOUR life to go out and try to raise funds to help someone, especially a child, who is disfigured because of burns?

  15. J.Z. says:

    I don’t agree much with DCE, but he has a valid point here. There are dozens of better, safer, smarter ways to raise money for burn victims. Firefighters should set an example when it comes to safety; standing in the middle of the street is the exact opposite of safe behavior.

  16. I know everyone is going to try and attack me like usual for my comment, but I really don’t care.
    The fact that FireFighters are allowed to collect money and stand in the street is illegal. This activity is labeled as panhandeling and their are laws against it. I know If I tried to collect money in this fashion I would be stopped and ticketed. So what makes the fire fighters any different. Do they have special training that can help them jump over cars.? Not that helping the community is bad, I’m all for it. But traffic accidents can be caused by this activity and law suits can be formed from this activity. The citizens of Lewis County will be out the funds if the Fire Department does in fact cause an accident. Stopping traffic is illegal and doing it in the roadway is pathetic. The roads are made to drive on, they are not a place to generate funds for Burn Victims…. If people really want to donate there are other ways…. Maybe I should have a Fill The Boot Day. I could collect funds for my web-site…What would be the difference? Any Suggestions?