Is alcohol (storage/ingestion) tolerated at your station?

[tskstorm]

Is it your contention that ingested alcohol produces a noticeable oder 24 hours later?

Maybe if they don't shower

[Michael]

Evaluating alcohol consumption on a case-by-case basis sounds like evaluating a whole lot of alcohol.

[ladyemt51_2000]

I might also add that this was a vollie dept so it was our choice. We didn't have an on call schedule either so whoever showed up went on the call. I don't drink much so it wasn't an issue with me. I also have a very low tolerance for alcohol so it takes less for me to feel the affects even though I have an "athletic build". We didn't get many calls either and I wanted to go on as many as I could so I made decisions accordingly.

The rules were made before I got on the dept. I either follow the rules or don't go on calls. It wasn't up up me to question as to why those rules were put into place. 24 hours may have been excessive but perhaps there were reasons that decision was made that led up to that long before I started with the dept.

[spenac]

The 24 hour rule was made in many places because Bubba would go on a 3 day drunk and show up after 8 hours of not drinking in no shape to work. Maybe alcohol out of his system but he was not mentally or physically fit to work even at the drive in food place much less on the ambulance. 24 hours in some cases isn't enough. Yes the 1 drink would be gone and not affect on most but like it is always said it only takes one person saying I stopped drinking 8 hours ago while stumbling to ruin it for everyone.

[mindenmedic]

i have brought a beer to work before to cook with, brotworst is awesome cooked in beer. of course i can't drink on the job but i guess in louisiana bringing a beer to work to cook with is acceptable.

[Richard B the EMT]

I will mention, without identifying the agency, a VFD where I have friends (That's just about every VFD in Brooklyn and Queens Counties in New York City), an officer there told me someone from "The State" (no specification as to if it was an EMS or Firematic State agency) paid a visit, and ordered them to open their soda machine, to verify there was no beer in it. The agency complied, and no beer was found.

A month earlier, I had been offered a beer by that officer, and he purchased said beer from that very soda machine (I declined the offer, I was driving that evening)!

[tskstorm]

I will mention, without identifying the agency, a VFD where I have friends (That's just about every VFD in Brooklyn and Queens Counties in New York City), an officer there told me someone from "The State" (no specification as to if it was an EMS or Firematic State agency) paid a visit, and ordered them to open their soda machine, to verify there was no beer in it. The agency complied, and no beer was found.

A month earlier, I had been offered a beer by that officer, and he purchased said beer from that very soda machine (I declined the offer, I was driving that evening)!

Thats as good as random drug tests, they simply aren't random and things leak down.

not saying this is an accusation everyone is getting hints, just saying it happens.

[UMSTUDENT]

I know of several volunteer fire departments that allow their members, specifically "live-ins," to consume alcohol on premises. They may only do this when they are entirely off the schedule and NOT on duty. Many of these departments have separate living quarters attached to the station and provide rent-free living arrangements for volunteers who meet certain hourly/duty commitments throughout the week.

At the same time, however, there are definitely limits as to the amount and kind of alcohol that these people are allowed to keep, maintain, and exactly where and when it may be consumed. I believe most of them have the general .00 level alcohol rule. You may have absolutely NO alcohol in your system when riding on any piece of apparatus or assisting any individual in the capacity of a firefighter/EMT. Doing otherwise will lead to immediate disciplinary action and even legal consequences. At the same time, most of these stations do routine drug testing for illegal substances.

Do I condone this? Not really. Does it usually work? Yes. Have there been abuses? Probably.

[Dustdevil]

I'm surprised that they were actually allowed to consume it later and that the policy wasn't just to dump it.

Me too. Sounds like they are applying different rules to alcohol than they would to any other confiscated property. I've known a couple (and heard of many more) officers who decided that the weapons they confiscated were theirs for the taking and ended up in jail and fired. Seems the same as alcohol to me. Just like the beer, the weapons were legal to own and no longer belonged to the original owner, so why not just take them for yourself, right? This just reeks of impropriety. Was this an "unwritten policy," or was it officially sanctioned? I'd be willing to bet that those involved wouldn't admit it to the mayor. I'd fire their arses and let the Union blow a bunch of money trying to get them rehired, just to be fired again.

Policy where I work: No alcohol tolerated on premises for any reason whatsoever. Regular random breath alcohol testing of all employees, and zero tolerance for any amount of alcohol detected. Immediate termination and permanently ineligible for rehire. Exactly as it should be.

While I understand what some volly squads are doing with their banquet hall scams, and recognise that it presents a special situation, I don't condone it. If they spent the time on training that they spend on these little side businesses, they'd be a lot better off. What's that you say? They have to do it to afford to operate? Sounds to me like it's time for them to go home until the community steps up to the plate.

[Richard B the EMT]

This may be off topic a bit.

In past years, I have seen officers of the NYPD, following directives for beach usage, randomly stopping families and groups carrying coolers, and having them open the coolers. If there's no alcohol, the officers wish them a good day, and allow them to proceed to the beach (no glass containers, they break, they become a foot cut hazard), but they either arrest anyone trying to bring alcohol, usually beer, or make them dump it in front of them, before wishing them a good day and proceeding to the beach.

The people are getting off either the "A" train at Beach 116/Rockaway Park Station, or the "Q53" bus, only yards from that subway stop. They are coming to the beach from either "the city" (Manhattan), Brooklyn, or what I refer to as "inland", meaning the main body of Queens, from the other side of Jamaica Bay.

Obviously, they are not going to be driving, they took public transportation. If they clean up after themselves, I don't see any problem, but that is the NYC Parks Department rules, no alcohol to be consumed in a city park.

UNFAIR AND UNEQUAL ENFORCEMENT: The "No Alcohol" rules are heavily enforced at the beach in Rockaway, lightly enforced in Coney Island, and the Mayor has been photographed at concerts in Central Park, drinking wine. When called about that, Mayor Bloomberg "explained" it by saying, and this is a direct quote, "Nobody ever drowned in a Tuba!"