From my Hometown: Should Firefighters Be Able to Carry?

The Cadillac News brings up an interesting article this week about Lake County, Michigan making a decision on whether or not firefighters who have a valid CCW permit should be allowed to carry when responding to a scene. Jeff Broddle who wrote the article brings up some great points:

The situation begs a number of questions: Should an armed firefighter, who is basically a volunteer, take the extra time to drop a gun off at home before going on a call? Should firefighters who can reasonably expect to be called out to a fire be required to leave their firearms at home or in a secure location? Given that there have been cases in which firefighters have been targeted by individuals, do volunteer firefighters have a right to defend themselves while on the job?

Should the volunteer firefighter take the extra time to drop his gun off at home before going on a call? Absolutely not.

Should firefighters who can expect to be called to a fire be required to leave their guns at home? Absolutely not.

Do volunteer firefighters have a right to defend themselves while on the job? Absolutely, self defense is a basic human right.

I do think that firefighters who choose to carry to a fire should make careful considerations when deciding how to secure their firearm while at the scene. I’ve got to imagine it’s easy to arrive and grab your gear from the trunk, and leave your vehicle unlocked or even leave a door open when rushing around to get the job done. A good secure strong box or vehicle safe may be a good idea for the firefighters (and probably anyone else who carries concealed).

Side Note: When reading the article you’ll think the numbers of CCW permit holders for the counties listed look really small. That’s because it’s a very rural area. I grew up in Cadillac, MI which is the biggest city in the listed counties, and it had a population of about 10,000 the last time I checked.