Seems like a pretty fucking stupid place to draw a line in the sand . Cant believe their union doesn't fight this idiocy. John Kass Tribune article.

The bosses at the Chicago Fire Department have just issued a particularly stupid and dangerous order:

Chicago paramedics can't protect themselves by wearing bulletproof vests outside their uniform shirts, a policy that makes them all but unwearable.

The city has been lucky in that no paramedic has been shot in the night violence of deadly neighborhoods. But the foolish order from Deputy Fire Department Commissioner John McNicholas is final.

No vest.

Paramedics pay for their vests out of their own pockets. And still, McNicholas' order stands, the department said on Wednesday.


"So they've given me a direct order, no vest," said Patrick Fitzmaurice, a paramedic field chief who supervises 10 ambulances each night on the ultraviolent West Side, driving alone, many times first to the scene of anger and blood and guns.

"And I'm thinking, are they crazy? No vest? On the West Side? We just had a job the other night, three people pull up, in a car, all three are shot. And they have guns. The police were rolling, looking for them. And they're armed. One was already dead.

"People get crazy out there when their emotions are up, it's volatile. So if I catch a bullet, then which one of these bureaucrat bosses are going to stand up at the wake and tell my wife?"

Paramedics aren't called to attend garden parties. They're called when hell breaks loose, and the guns and knives come out.



But no vest outside the shirt.

It isn't a matter of style. It's a matter of time and efficiency. Paramedics can rush from a street shooting to a fire. Under the new policy, they would be forced to waste valuable time taking off the shirt and the vest and putting the shirt back on before donning the heavy fire coats required at a fire scene.

It is an extremely dangerous policy, not to mention astoundingly asinine public relations.

And it now falls into Mayor Rahm Emanuel's lap. He doesn't deserve this. Emanuel is a smart politician. There is no way I'd ever believe he had anything to do with this nonsense.



But he's the mayor. And he'll wear the jacket if something bad happens as a result of McNicholas' foolishness. I'm sure they'll have a nice talk after Rahm reads this.

I'll tell you more about Pat Fitzmaurice, a tough Northwest Side Irishman who's spent almost 40 years working for the CFD, the last five or so driving the West Side alone.

But first, this:

During Emanuel's mayoral campaign with Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, there was a gruff-talking Irish guy who cut TV spots for Chuy.

He looked like a boxer and talked like he'd been punched a few times in the throat.

Who was he? Pat Fitzmaurice.



"I've been wearing the vest for years outside my shirt," said Fitzmaurice. "McNicholas has seen it. Even the mayor. During the campaign, after I did the commercials for Chuy, he stopped at a firehouse I was at. He saw me, walked over to me, and shook my hand. I don't think the mayor would have anything to do with this nonsense."

A few years ago, on a hot night around Father's Day, Fitzmaurice pulled over on Cicero and Harrison to complete some paperwork.

"I heard the sound of gunfire. I'm thinking, gunfire or fireworks. Then I hear on the radio they're requesting an ambulance at my location.

"I say, 'I'm right here. I don't see anybody.' Next thing I know, a girl bangs on my window, saying, 'I'm shot, I'm shot.' Where? Not 4 feet from where I was sitting."

He paid about $1,200 for his vest.


"Police told me it was money well spent," Fitzmaurice said. "The one thing they said was never take it off."

In a statement, the CFD said the department does not issue bulletproof vests and they are not authorized as outerwear.

"The vest in question is a tactical style vest that makes the wearer look like a police officer in tactical gear," the statement said, confirming that the order came from Deputy Commissioner McNicholas.

What color would the Fire Department prefer? Hot fuchsia? Leopard-skin print?

"It should be clear that nothing in our guidelines or in the order from the deputy forbids the use of a so-called bulletproof vest. What is strictly controlled is that which is worn OVER the uniform."


Peter Houlihan is the Emergency Medical Services director for Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2. He said Wednesday that the union has brought up the issue for years, only to be rebuffed.

"It's kind of like when we get on a scene, we're underdressed," Houlihan said. "Things happen. We're thrown into the middle of a situation where the police are not on the scene. We wish the department would make this as optional wear for members."

Fitzmaurice told me, "If I catch a round in my big Irish head, it is what it is, put my rosary beads in my hands and off I go.

"But in the back, in the chest. It's crazy. Why are you stopping me?"

That's the answer Mayor Emanuel should be getting from his Fire Department — before something bad happens.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Yeah that sounds stupid.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Fireman = Another job more dangerous than cop

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I'd unfortunately expect nothing less.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Eating french fries and drinking pop is more dangerous than being a cop too.
Just look at the stats, man.

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It really isn't a big deal. I'm guessing most of the times when a fireman or EMS gets shot it is not intentional and instead a missed shot against someone else.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

don't see the issue

It is a stupid policy. Especially when they pay for their own vests.

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Go Cubs!!!!

They caved in. Common sense prevails. A phone call from your boss probably helped too. Kinda shitty they have to purchase their own though. I guess its a tax write off at least.

The stubborn Chicago Fire Department brass finally cracked under pressure Friday and dropped their opposition to paramedics wearing bulletproof vests over their uniform shirts.



I'm told that Mayor Rahm Emanuel was furiously angry — even for him — with fire officials who made it quite easy for me to write two columns on the issue, and now a third.

It is a victory for Patrick Fitzmaurice, the tough paramedic field chief who drives the dangerous West Side alone at night. He's been wearing his vest outside his shirt for years, until Deputy Fire Department Commissioner John McNicholas pushed back and ordered him to stop.

The mayor interceded and resolved the matter, as mayors are wont to do when they're receiving heat for something they didn't cause.

"I'm in Wicker Park and a young couple just came up to me and said, 'Hey, you've got your vest on, good for you,' " Fitzmaurice told me over the phone.

Fitzmaurice said this wasn't his victory, but a victory for all paramedics. Many have told him they would wear vests.

He did credit the mayor, though, and rightfully so.


"It's a shame that the mayor had to get involved and wear part of the jacket. He didn't deserve it," Fitzmaurice said. "But there's a lesson to be learned. The fire department needs scrutiny. And EMS gets the short shrift.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said formal written changes to the uniform policy — allowing vests to be worn voluntarily outside the shirt — were sent to the Firefighters Union Local 2 on Friday morning.


The union has 10 days to approve the measure, but the department expects this to be fast-tracked and could be implemented as early as next week.

"It was decided, if anyone wants it in the future, we should just set the stage now," Langford said.

But there will be conditions. The color of the vest and graphics must be approved by the fire commissioner's office. The paramedic vests will carry blue and white lettering to distinguish them from police.

Langford said department members will be responsible for cost, acquisition, maintenance and replacement of the vests.


And, he said, vests must meet minimum standards. The base line is a "Type II-A" vest, which is considered a general outdoors ballistic vest.

"It can deal with your typical street weapon," Langford said.

Fitzmaurice said he's been on the receiving end of messages Friday on the controversy, but stressed that his battle with McNicholas "was never about me. It was always about paramedics feeling comfortable to wear a vest so they can go home to their families. That's what it's about."

He added that CFD brass could have resolved the matter earlier.

"They could have ended it quick. But they gave you two columns and a third," he said. "There's a lesson here. If you want to put your own head on the chopping block, OK. But don't put the mayor's head out there."

Truer words were never spoken about the Chicago Way.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

now that this article came out paramedics will be targeted

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

That's beyond sad that a PARAMEDIC would feel threatened