To Whom It May Concern

My Lightbar Is Bigger

Volunteer fire departments are a necessity around smaller towns, because of the inability cost-wise of the town to actually hire out full time firefighters, paramedics, and drivers. Regular people from around time spend their valuable time as volunteers to not only maintain a fire fighting, rescue squad, and emergency force, but the time to train themselves to be technically efficient to use the newest equipment to save lives.

With this in mind, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about what I'm posting here. I have the utmost respect for these people. The problem I have is with the idiot volunteer who goes and buys a gigantic $750 regulation police light bar for his vehicle, along with 'fireman' stickers all over the windows of his truck, fireman license plate borders, personalized fireman plates, and whatever other gaudy advertising he can think of to point at himself and say "LOOK AT ME, I'M A FIREMAN!!"

You never see actual firemen doing this, I drive by the downtown fire station headquarters here in Omaha, and at most you will see a little sticker about 4 inches around and once in a while borders on the license plates, but that's it. I guess the biggest problem I have with people like this is the gigantic lightbar, it's just completely ludicrous and serves no real purpose whatsoever over the ordinary interior flashing red light, people can see that red light just as well as they can the lightbar... oh, except you can't see the red light unless it's turned on, but with that massive light bar on top of your truck, well, no one can miss the fact that you are a fireman.

God forbid you actually do what you do in relative anonymity without trying to promote yourself to the fullest extent of your abilities and then some. I appreciate the guys and gals out there who do this job without having to go to such lengths to let everyone else know what they do to help their community. I just wish everyone who does it was that way.