The Goldens Want Your Help

[ChristineGolden]

Hello!!

My name is Christine Golden. I am Bradley Golden's sister-in-law. My family and I would like to thank the firefighters on this web site, for their on going support though this tragic time. We have been monitoring this site for the last eight months, but chose to stay quiet until after the trial. It has been very difficult at times. We would also like to thank all the contributors to these forums. Your questions and answers have not only been educational, but also very humorous, at a time when we needed to laugh. Now that the trial is over, we want to look past the criminal aspects of this case, and use this opportunity to gather information from the experts that contribute to these forums. We would like to use the information to bring about positive change that will ensure the safety of all present and future firefighters. We do not want what happened to Bradley to ever happen in the firefighting community again. Our hereos must be protected. Our family is very dedicated to our firefighting community. We have fellow family members that are both volunteer and professional firefighters. This tragedy may have been caused by a small group of firefighters that do not reflect the professionalism of the entire firefighter community, but we can not allow for the excuse of " the system failed me" to be used again.
Our job now is to gather information regarding training standards, regulations, and rules, and how they are enforced in your area. We realize that NYS is not an NFPA state, but what can we do to make NY become an NFPA state or ensure some form of state- wide standards for our firefighters. These standards should be easily accessable and enforcable. We have already been in contact with some elected officials who support this cause. Hopefully, your insight and recommendations can help us to bring forth positive change. Please, feel free to email any information to our e-mail mg3030@hotmail.com or post your information here. Again we, the Golden Family, thank you all, for your prayers, concern and your words of consolement. They have been heard and are appreciated. Bless all of you and please stay safe.
Sincerely,

The Family and Friends of Bradley Golden

[Steamer]

Christine,
Words can't express the sorrow we all feel with the senseless death of Brad. You and your family remain in our collective thoughts and prayers.

[Ohiovolffemtp]

Christine,
I'm deeply sorry for your loss. No one who tries to serve their community in fire or EMS should ever have their life or health lost in such a totally preventable way. There's no excuse for the total lack of judgement among all the players in this tragedy.

I'd ask you to ask your legislators not just to impose standards but also to ensure that the training that departments need to follow those standards is funded and easily accessible. How departments perform in the field and on the training ground is directly tied to how well trained their officers and instructors are. So, ask NY to make quality officer/instructor training required and to fund its delivery on a regular basis at the local level.

I'm afraid I can't use my own state as a model. We have the requirements to follow NFPA standards, which is an important 1st step, but the availability of training for officers/instructors is meager at best.

My prayers go with you and with the entire department.

[StayBack500FT]

You have my most sincere sympathy.

[Bones42]

I'd ask you to ask your legislators not just to impose standards but also to ensure that the training that departments need to follow those standards is funded and easily accessible
I believe this statement says it best. Having the standards in place is a great start, but the training to achieve those standards has to be available and accessible.

[GregGolden]

Thanks for the kind words and everyones input so far. We did not mention funding in the original post and should have done so. We are aware that if you are going to mandate training that it is going to need to be paid for by someone. I am sure that part of a small departments problem is funding. Keep the ideas coming.

Thanks,
Greg Golden

[glowpop]

Christine and Golden Family;
When I first read of Brads' death, I was horrified. I was saddened by your loss and hope that you take solace in knowing that we will continue to keep you and Brad in our prayers.

I was also angered that anyone would even attempt to use ignorance of the NFPA Standards particularly a fire officer in the year 2001, as an excuse for such a horrible and senseless loss.

Many of us in the fire service, volunteer and career have been trying to promote positive change and we have had very limited success. There are many, in positions of influence, that can facilitate change, but there is no one right now that can have as much of an impact as you and your family on this issue. Your actions now will do more to honor Brad than anything than we can ever hope to accomplish. The iron is hot. STRIKE NOW!

[EastKyFF]

Here in KY we are required to have 20 hours of training before we can respond to calls, then 150 specified hours, including a FF safety & survival class, to be certified. If an FD has at least 13 members, of whom at least half are certified, they are eligible for $8,250 of state aid per year. That money is generated by an insurance surcharge that also pays incentive pay to paid FF's ($2,500/FF/yr if they have 400 hrs of training in specific categories) and pensions for FF's & police.

Training can be done by state-paid part-time instructors, who have been hired by area coordinators that cover 5-6 counties. Those instructors are highly experienced in both firefighting and teaching.

Experienced FF's in local FD's can be state-certified to teach within their own departments. Hours are logged by local training officers in a web-based state system.

Just some aspects of KY system--good luck and God bless you all.

[LT1/101]

To the Golden family

Our deepest symapthy to all of your family and friends. Nothing can replace the loss Brad, the all the Brothers weep with you. There is nothing as tragic as the loss of a firefighter when with planning it did not have to happen. Our thoughts and prayers are with your family.


FDNY- we will never forget 9-11

[FlyingKiwi]

(New Zealand Maori) for "Be Strong"

announced "Key Ah Car Ha"

Our thoughts are with your Family

[MalahatTwo7]

Our deepest thoughts and prayers go to you and your family for the loss of your loved one. I hope that your efforts to make New York State a NFPA state go well.

The NFPA does have it's own website: nfpa.org and in there will be pretty much everything you wanted to know about the NFPA but were afraid to ask.

I have a couple of other websites that might be of use to you, but they are Canadian Provincial and Federal sites. I don't know if they will be much help, but if you wish to know what they are, please feel free to contact me at either of the following:

(Home) rabbitgo@shaw.ca

(work) HillsR@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

I wish you well in these unhappy times.

[hfd66truck]

To the Goldens;

My deepest sympathies to your family. I am sure this has been a difficult time, made even more difficult by the circumstances that have surrounded this tradgedy.

All firefighters, career and volunteer, should have to have a minimum number of hours of refresher training a year. This combined with a mandatory number of hours to be certified initially. To hold a Emergency Medical Technicians license you must pass an EMT course..(somewhere around 100 to 150 hours depending on the state. This would be the equivalent to a Firefighter 1 training program. Once certified as an EMT you must (it varies from state to state) have between 20 and 30 hours of continuing education every 2 years as well as a Department of Transportation approved 20 hour refresher. The Fire Service needs to adopt a similar standard for all Firefighters.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Dave

[captstanm1]

To the Golden Family:
My condolences and prayers go out to you and all your loved ones. When I first read the story I was so furious and then my furor turned to disbelief and shock as I continued to read. I support you efforts to make a change. The fire service is traditionally reactive as opposed to proactive. In this I mean, something has to happen for us to make a change.

My thoughts:

Even though NY is a NON NFPA State, the fact remains that the standard is out there. It does exist and it is Nationally recognized. Even though your state is not an NFPA state....if you chose not to follow it, then you should be willing to accept the consequences if something happens.

You do not become a firefighter, fire officer, training officer or safety officer overnight. That require time on the job, actual experience and extra training.

Good luck

[sfdlt5]

Hi I am from a firedept about 45 mins south of you. I heard of this incident the day it happend. I am very sorry for your loss and this never should have happend.

You need to focus on the local fire commisioners first. They are the ones who fund the training and decide what training the officers need.
As for you all being so upset I understand. I hope you realize that another local family has gone through a similar incident but there son lived ( The Moran family).

The fire commisioners in our town still refuse to purchase NFPA guidles for us. There reply to us was " we will decide to buy them after we see what happends in the Baird case" If you would like more info on the town so you can help us out email me at TIMLT5@aol.com.

Sorry for your loss:(

[NJFFSA16]

My prayers also go out to the Golden family.

To those that still haven't got a copy of NFPA 1403, I submit this from the NFPA website:

NFPA 1403: Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions, 2002 edition
Price-$26.75

$26.75...is that to much to pay for some information that might prevent this from happening again? Regardless of whether you adopt the standard, or not...what prevents departments from picking up a copy and getting the benefit of these guidelines? Good God people...we're talking about $26.75 here!!!:mad:

[littlemissemt]

Dear Ms. Golden-

I am deeply sorry for the loss of your brother-in-law. It is always hard to lose someone so young, espically in such a senseless way. I was saddened to read about his death.

I regret that I cannot give you any safety information, as I am not in the firefighting field.

Again, I am deeply sorry for your loss.

[Funkyfire13]

First and foremost, i want to extend my deepest sypathy to you on this horrible tradgedy. I hope and pray that your efforts to make the fire service safer for all of us are achieved.

What i would like to mention here also is that, sfdlt5 mentioned that our local fire commisioners will not buy or adopt NFPA standards for our district, well that is just the beginning were they are concerned. They refuse to fund a OSHA refresher on a yearly basis, we have members whose gear has burns wholes in it but they refuse to replace it, and they refuse to fund any type of extra training that is offered not on the free county level. WHy one might ask, they are affraid to raise the fire tax. Our commisioners allow us 11,000 dollars a year for equiptment and that is both fire and EMS, hardly enought to make a safe, efficient department. Sfddlt5 is right when he says that changes need to be done with commisioners, better yet maybe the state should audit and inspect every department, and hand out the fines that are needed in a effort to bring all of us up to snuff and make it safer to do the job we have all volunteered for.

[JHaggsff35]

In the case of your commisioners not funding the refresher!!
There are laws against that!!

In regards to them not buying or adopting any of the NFPA standards, I say now would be a good time to go to the media about it. The public in that area are surely aware of the events of the past seven months. Your situation is not unlike many others in central NY.

The Goldens said that they want positive changes to come out of what happened, and to ensure that this does not happen again.

We are the one's who must ensure that it doesnt.

[MIKEYLIKESIT]

I give your family a ton of credit for looking beyond the anger and tears and trying to make some good come out of this horrible crime. It is especially gratifying to know you are concerned about firefighters safety. We owe it to Brads memory to not let this kind of thing happen again.

[Temptaker]

Christine and Greg Golden,

My thoughts echo those of everyone else who has posted here. I commend you for your own bravery. It is bravery that allows you to look past the anger and pain caused by the senseless death of Bradley. You are hero's in your own right.

As I was reading the post, I remembered that the US gov, has allocated several million dollars nationally this year to the fire service, and no one seems to know what to do with it. Perhaps it could be used to ensure vol depts are trained to NFPA standards country wide, and that equipment in the smaller depts isn't substandard. I'm sorry I don't have any idea of who you would have to contact to find out about it, maybe someone else on the forum does.

[Bones42]

For those that can't afford the NFPA guidelines and are being told it's only $26.75, please remember, that is only for 1 guideline, there are many others to do with the fire service. It was also mentioned in another thread, check your libraries. NFPA manuals have been found in libraries, not saying all libraries will have them, but it's worth a check. Good Luck.