Around 515 this morning Iam driving and see up in the sky what I think is smoke. Its still dark out but me eyes are good. I follow the source of the smoke and actually locate a structure fire. Burning like crazy. It was 2 large wooden sheds in someones backyard, near the house and SURROUNDED by trees and dry grass and leaves. I call it in and alert the residents of the closest houses. Fire gets there and puts it out. I clear the scene around 640 and go back to station to gas up and write the report. It takes me about 20-30 min. to type it, nice and neat. PLUS I called the homeowner in Fla. and tell her blah blah blah.
I get done around 735 so I put the OT card in for only 30 minutes, 7am to 7:30. I was asked to see Sgt in his office. He says bluntly He cant justify paying me 30 min. OT for what amounted to me WANTING to type the report instead of writing it in the FIELD, by the fire. We go back and forth and he accuses me of TYPING SLOW... He tells me he is there to help me stay out of trouble, which is true and me to help him stay out of trouble...THIS OT CARD is going to CAUSE A BUMP IN THE ROAD!!!!!! I tell him to rip it up, this aiont worth my 15 fucking dollars. Iam still fuming. Theres more to it but this is the crux of it...
-- Edited by Easy Eman at 21:45, 2006-04-21
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A monday morning lunatic disturbed from time to time...
Sounds like the sgt thinks the OT funds are coming out of his own pocket.
We have some of those in our dept. They rather you work with less cars on the street than pay someone OT....and they wonder why the calls get backed up on the dispatch screen.
We get paid until the moment we get ready to go home. If the sgt wants to smoke while reading the report..the clock is tickin. If we have to use two fingers to type..we get paid when the report is completed.
Exactly when are you suppose to be writting this on scene? I know that I would have other things to be doing then sitting in the car scratching out a report.
We do have the luxury though of pulling a case # and writting the report the next day, but if it is our Friday it has to be done before we go home.
You are right that the $15.00 is not the mountain you want to die on. Keep a record of the event, it may pay off someday.
I hate when bosses make it out like the OT is from their own pocket or maybe they get a bonus if OT is nill... I guess I shoulda left the fire scene and walked back a block to my car and sat in it and scribed it there. Then went back to the fire scene and asked for any updates and walked back to the car. This fire was a good 100 yards off the road behind houses. He even asked me at 7 what I was working on and I told him. HE shoulda said dont worry about it , finish it tomorrow. AHHH Iam getting mysef all worked up again...
Thanks again for the back up guys.
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A monday morning lunatic disturbed from time to time...
The fix is that you don't clear the scene until the report is written. Sit there all morning. It is a pain in the ass to hand write them, in face we can not do so, they must be typed, which make the narrative a lot easier, you just build up a bunch of generics and edit them.
We do have MDTs and I think they have wordprint? or word mini thingy. I guess I could lean over the consol and type on word than save it on a disk and then download it to regular word atr the station to print it up. They just dont want to pay OT, simple as that. If your out the next night, dont waste their money. Yeah like 15 dollars is gonna bust this place.
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A monday morning lunatic disturbed from time to time...
That really sucks, and if its a new sgt. then he is trying to show his balls.
the first question I would have asked is, since I was elping out in a fire, would you want me to leave before the fire was out? andhow would word that in YOUR report?
He tells me he is there to help me stay out of trouble, which is true and me to help him stay out of trouble...THIS OT CARD is going to CAUSE A BUMP IN THE ROAD!!!!!!
