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Firefighters' cell photo causes flap

Fire department brass think it's inappropriate

By: Bartley Kives

5/12/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 74

Free Press photo of firefighter posing as another snaps cellphone photo has sparked interest from as far away as the San Franciso Chronicle.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE Enlarge Image

Free Press photo of firefighter posing as another snaps cellphone photo has sparked interest from as far away as the San Franciso Chronicle.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service is investigating the circumstances surrounding a pair of firefighters' decision to pose and take a cellphone photo in front of a Redwood Avenue blaze.

On Thursday evening, Free Press photographer Boris Minkevich took a photo of a defensive fire with two Winnipeg firefighters in the foreground. One posed for a cellphone picture shot by the other while they waited for aerial equipment to be set up.

On Friday, WFPS Deputy Chief Ken Sim said his department planned to investigate in the evening, when the firefighters in question returned to work.

"Our perspective at this time is this was inappropriate," he said. "This is one of those pictures that begs the question, 'What were they assigned to do that allowed them to take the picture?' "

While firefighters are provided with cameras to document evidence, Sim said it appears the camera depicted in Minkevich's photo was a "non-issued device." Sim said his department will take "whatever action is necessary to take" once the firefighters in the photo are identified.

The president of the union representing Winnipeg firefighters shrugged off the investigation, noting the personnel in the photo could not do anything but wait until more equipment arrived to douse the blaze.

"Is it inappropriate? Probably. But we deal with life and death every single day," said Alex Forrest, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg. "I didn't get one call about (a recent) fatality and the firefighters who risked their lives trying to save someone, but I got a dozen calls about this one."

Free Press photographer Minkevich, meanwhile, said he did not intend his photo to cause any harm.

"It seemed so innocent. There were numerous firefighters waiting for the apparatus to be set up," said Minkevich, a recent winner of an award from the International Association of Firefighters.

"This only lasted a moment. I perceived it as an innocent thing I would do myself. I've been to a lot of fires."

Media interest in Minkevich's photograph came from as far away as the San Francisco Chronicle which wanted a copy of the picture for its website.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 5, 2009 A11

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74 Commentscomment icon

This is the same location that the fire dept had to go out to later that day because they didn't put it out right the first time.

I'm a PAID firefighter in CA. This is what I do for a living. First off no one knows wether these two firefighters are waiting around for orders or what. When your just sitting around wouldn't you be tempted to snap a shot? The problem is the public does not understand firefighting tactics. This crew might be standing around because theres a crew inside searching for victims. The WORST thing you can do is shoot water in on a search team. It causes them to be covered by steam, and burned, and it also drops the smoke down making a search near impossible. This actually may be a picture of smart firefighting. Second Chiefrs is correct. We respond to medical emergencies all the time alongside other first responders. It is mandatory for all firefighters in my town to be trained EMTs so firefighters should respond. Thats all I have to say.

So, following the dissenter’s logic, all those pictures of the soldiers posing in front of their tanks or Hummers are bad too because the soldiers should be hunting the enemy, not taking a break? (Sorry I look forward to those on my cousin's facebook page to make sure she is still doing ok) Many comments on what these 2 shouldn’t have been doing (taking the picture) but nobody says what they should have been doing.
Nice picture! And I can show you many more of training burns where the whole department posed in front of a fully involved structure.

Boinky- actually I have no desire to be a firefighter. I worked as rural firefighter in a volunteer service for 3 years. Never applied to work in Wpg never will. It was fun but thats about it. I know what the job is about and the dangers, and it seems that its always sensationalized when it hits the papers. Like I said before I have friends who work for the dept. And the "heroic" and oh so dangerous things they do happen so far and few between. They don't risk their lives on a daily basis as some would like you to think.
Obviously you only read the comments about stories on firefighters because if you read anything else you would see me commenting all over the free press site. I believe all the comments I have made regarding this story have all been poignant and factual and enlightening and not a hate on. Except maybe the hero part. lol
Why do care anyways? Did you not get hired either and its your life's dream to work for the WFD and join the "brotherhood"?

CHIEFRS

i have noticed that you only come out and post when there is problems with the fire department. I think someone else below me also caught on to this.

Im guessing that you didn't get hired on to the department and thats why you have such a hate for them?

Every single one of your previous posts has bashed the fire department. what is your beef man?


Kingofsumthing- I have all of my facts straight! Apparently you just don't know how to read. Never in my post did I seperate out Engines from Responder vehicles. I simply stated that firefighters go to medical calls.
By the way you might want to check with your uncle and brother again, because my wife works in the dispatch center and she said that they send fire engines to medical calls everyday! They actually alternate between the rescue and Engine on every medicaal call. The only thing they don't send is ladder trucks. I also have 2 good friends that are Fire/medics that actually works on Engines, they go to medical calls everyday they works. Not sure if I can get that all in documentation for you, but, thats the fact Jack!

The same people who find this incident so horrifying are the ones who sit in their cozy offices making personal phone calls and goofing off at work. What would the public think of you if photographers could take pictures of you at work? Get off your high horses and concentrate on doing your job.

Although no one was in danger, I think this photo is unprofessional. I don't take pictures of myself at work when I'm doing my job. Unless its a staff party, it just isn't appropriate.

I think the picture speaks for itself, though no harm was caused or intended, it is mildly disturbing. That is why it is causing an uproar.

I'm gonna have to agree with most of the posters here. No one was in danger and they couldn't do anything until more equipment arrived. This shouldn't be something worth investigating or anything. It might be in "poor taste" if all you saw was this picture and didn't read the story. At the very most, all this should've resulted in was a memo sent to firefighters and whoever that actions like this are inappropriate. end of story.

This is ridiculous. The house is obviously well beyond saving. It's just a matter of keeping fire from spreading.
Sometimes city officials make themselves look even more foolish by wading in on a topic like this. Perhaps they should consider what they may be doing to workers moral and be quiet.

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