r/Firefighting • u/Sure_Nose5038 • 9d ago
General Discussion Is this just me being soft
I'm all for a good firehouse prank. Don't get me wrong. It's what makes this job great. But isn't it sort of a unwritten rule to not fuck with other people's turnouts. Couple guys on the shift before us decided it would be a great idea for them to fuck with us and saan wrap our lockers before we got there. Our gear is grouped by shifts. And of course before we even get settled in and our gear on the trucks we get a call. Then go to find our lockers saran wrapped. Dick move or not from them?
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u/Edge-Fishe FF/EMT 9d ago
I would be surprised if they didn't get written up for this. They delayed a response.
Rules of pranks are.
Never fuck with a mans sleep
Never fuck with someone's meal
Never fuck with someones personal items ( gear , car , wallet etc)
Never fuck with someone's family
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u/ResponsibilityFit474 9d ago
IDK. I swapped medics "delicious" expensive, designer smart water, for tap water when they were on a call. They never noticed.
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u/Impressive_Change593 VA volly 9d ago
did you save the expensive water? if so completely fine. if not questionable.
though him not noticing means it probably was a scam. you switch spring water with pure water and I WILL notice.
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u/ResponsibilityFit474 9d ago
Yup. Saved it for the reveal. In all fairness, we have some of the best municipal water around.
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u/No-Procedure5991 8d ago
Jokes on you, medics have been refilling their water bottles with tap for 6 months. They want to look hoity-toity without paying hoity-toity water prices.
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u/RetroCola 8d ago
Now next swap his regular tap water with the most expensive water you can find and give him a kiss on the cheek
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u/Kingy_79 9d ago
And the golden rule, NEVER FUCK WITH PPE/PPC! That is your last line of defence if thinks turn to shit.
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u/Few-Ability-7312 9d ago
Does Coffee count as part of the meal?
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u/tvsjr 9d ago
I know many people who would be more tolerant of you fucking with their wife than fucking with their coffee.
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u/Archimedeeznuts 9d ago
I like my coffee the way I like my wife, without somebody else's dick in it. YMMV.
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u/tvsjr 9d ago
So you're OK with your own dick in your coffee?
Just making sure we're on the same page. š
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u/ARandomFireDude Engine Capt., Rad-Nuc Nerd, SIT-L 9d ago
How else am I supposed to check the temp? I don't want to burn my tongue, burned tongues mean less readiness for hazmat calls.
Pull yourself together man.
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u/flamekiller 8d ago
burned tongues mean less readiness for hazmat calls.
I had to think about what this meant for far too long š¤£
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u/Archimedeeznuts 9d ago
How else am I gonna stir it? With that dirty ass spoon that's been sitting in the same funky cup of water for the last week?
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u/McNoodleBar 9d ago
Meh. I've had my bed saran wrapped and also saran wrapped someone's car. It's pretty funny and harmless in my opinion
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u/Edge-Fishe FF/EMT 9d ago
One of the guys on my wildfire crew would always leave his car unlocked because we were in a super remote district. On his birthday some of the crew took him out for dinner and we filled his entire car with balloon's. Like im talking we are shoving ourselves into the car so all the balloons would fit.
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u/koalaking2014 9d ago
we double matress people occasionally (switch the box spring on their bed for a matress. Another good one if someone drives a big ass lifted truck Put a zip tie or two on their driveshaft. (ofc make sure they arnt stupid enough to just bring it to a shop before looking themselves).
Bucket of ice in the shower is another classic.
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u/Fly_throwaway37 9d ago
2 amended as such : 1 of the 12 late arrival's doughnuts has been injected with the liquid death hot sauce, this is why you work w medics. No one is above a bobbytrapped doughnut.
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u/ARandomFireDude Engine Capt., Rad-Nuc Nerd, SIT-L 9d ago
My go-to is to replace the cream filling with tartar sauce, mayo, or ranch. Key to the trick is saving some of the original filling to top off the hole so it looks legit.
Two other keys, do this to a shift who has a doughnut lover, be sure to refrigerate until five minutes before their normal arrive. (I wanna mess with them, not their underwear.)
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u/Fly_throwaway37 9d ago
That's good. Around d here we usually spend all day trying to get each other, the other shifts just catch strays on occasion
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u/koalaking2014 9d ago
my (work) partner and I for his birthday bought a bunch of creme/frosting filled donuts. At random we
Put mayo in the Boston creme ones Put toothpaste in the frosting filled
Watching some of the guys faces as they realized was priceless
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u/Indiancockburn 9d ago
We get chicken wings then one super hot wing. One person gets the Russian roulette of wing night.
Even better if the victim doesn't react to the spice.
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u/Few_Werewolf_8780 9d ago
Good rules but read the book Hazing FD and you will understand these rules are not followed.
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u/Edge-Fishe FF/EMT 9d ago
I got hazed and did enough while I was in the navy. If someone is fucking around especially involving my family I would have no issue telling the highest person and making it public to everyone in the department. Even my worse co workers I hated I refused to ever mention their family.
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u/Few_Werewolf_8780 9d ago
I agree. Coming from the Navy you get it. Not right but happens. I agree never mention family.
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u/Outrageous-Leek-4940 8d ago
Food and cars are absolutely fair game, as is sleep (to a degree). Gear however is never fair game
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u/Edge-Fishe FF/EMT 7d ago
I think there is a major difference in food pranks. Putting a ghost pepper hot chip in a bowl filled with regular chips = fair game. Messing with someone's meal they paid for and prepped at home that was left in the fridge and ruins the entire meal = not cool.
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u/Optimal_Bowler7327 7d ago
Had a firefighter/EMT fuck with me and my family not too long ago.
Glad to read this, thanks for the inside baseball. Noted.
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u/Goddess_of_Carnage 9d ago
This is legend.
Fuck with one of these things and Iāll promise there wonāt be soft retaliation. Iāll take you before city brass so fast it will make all (or both) of us dizzy.
And I promise there will be legit consequences that have zero to do with pranks.
Think discipline up to dismissal.
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u/abuffguy 9d ago
Yikes. You're "that guy." Many departments would barely give out a slap on the wrist for something like that. Dismissal, LOL. But then again, nobody will want to mess with you after the first time and deal with your "retaliation." They also won't want anything to do with you - bid, eat meals, be in the same room, etc. But you do you.
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u/Goddess_of_Carnage 9d ago
Seriously.
Fuck with someoneās SCBA or turnout?
Iāve seen my share of pranks heck even pulled a few.
But pranks are one thing.
Reindeer games that take Rudolph off the front line are something different.
But then again, Iām out after over 30 years.
As you were or are.
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u/abuffguy 9d ago
Ah, perhaps I was confused on what you were replying to. I thought you were talking about sleep, personal stuff, etc.
Messing with SCBA & Turnouts are a huge no-no and would certainly warrant major discipline, up to, and including termination. Looks like we are in agreement - sorry for the confusion!
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u/JPBx573 9d ago
Why didnāt you make them take the call if it was before you got āsettled inā and they directly delayed your response time?
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u/firefighter26s 9d ago
That would have been my question. In my corner of the world you show up prior to your shift and get your gear ready so that you're good to go at the turn over time, not after. If a call came in before turn over it still belongs to the outgoing crew; if comes in after turn over you're all set and ready.
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u/silly-tomato-taken Career Firefighter 9d ago
I usually relieve about an hour early. From here on out, they'd be getting relieved 10 minutes early.
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u/trapper2530 9d ago
We change at 7. Most guys in by 545-6 to get guys to miss traffic coming off. We take them off and by order theyre supposed to stay until 7. No one is held to that snd everyone takes off once relieved. Its not a. All at one time. Some guys get in 530 some at 545 some 6.
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u/BuilderGuy555 9d ago
I'm going to disagree with most commenters.
Typically PPE pranks are off limits ....
But if it's the shift before you that saran wrapped your locker, wouldn't they have to take your calls until you get your gear out?
I'd call this fair game for a prank.
Turn it around on them - go make yourself some coffee and take your time getting your locker opened, while they have to hold over to cover you after shift change.
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u/llama-de-fuego 9d ago
My thoughts exactly. "Don't fuck with turnout gear" is really for when it is staged ready to be donned for a call.
Fucking with someone's locker so they can't get their gear? Fair game.
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u/Impressive_Change593 VA volly 9d ago
unless it's a vollys locker. cause then it may get grabbed at any point. several of us at our station do keep our gear in our vehicles but most are that close to the station it stays at the station
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u/llama-de-fuego 9d ago
That's fair. Never been a volly, never worked with any, not familiar with how different it may be.
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u/trapper2530 9d ago
Exactly what id do. Aw sucks man you have to go on this run now. They get back. Sorry tried. Still couldn't get it cut open. Since all my gear is inside I have nothing to use. It truly only hurts them.
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u/Careful_Reason_9992 9d ago
Thatās fine if its a BS medical call, but what about if its a fire? Iād be pissed. Gear is off-limits.
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u/Candyland_83 9d ago
Easy solution: they take the run.
Our biggest prankster got his locker welded shut. We relieve super early so it wasnāt a big deal.
Stuff like this does break the rules of pranking. You have to know your audience/victim.
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u/Strict-Canary-4175 9d ago
Why would you just be finding out that your gear is Saran wrapped in a locker when you get a run?
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u/silly-tomato-taken Career Firefighter 9d ago
Sounds like the other shift had to take the call then.
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u/Keptthatenergy 9d ago
Iām confused, if you didnāt have your gear out ready to swap onto the truck then the off coming shift should have their stuff on the truck and they should take the call. If your stuff isnāt even near the truck when your shift starts I feel like this is on you.
Messing with gear while youre in service is an obvious no no, but wrapping your locker, idk man, you should have known you didnāt have access to your gear way before the second your shift started.
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u/joeyp1126 9d ago
This is my question too. I don't really see a problem with the prank because you shouldn't have relieved them before having your gear at the truck. So in a scenario like this they really just screwed themselves with having to take the call. It's really on you and your officer for letting them leave before being ready.
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u/fight-fire-with-milk 9d ago
Years ago we were drinking sweet tea from the Tupperware jug (I believe all fire departments world wide have the same one) and we noticed a gloopy brown substance at first thinking chicken gizzards so we dump the jug and inspect the substance the more we sift it and find a yellow what we thought was corn kernel we in unison all said itās poop! We were mad gagging and wanting revenge till we finally figured out it was a half dissolved giant chocolate Easter bunny ā¦..
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u/Few_Werewolf_8780 9d ago
Read the book Hazing FD. Same humor.
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u/PissFuckinDrunk 9d ago
Why are you spam promoting your book in here?
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u/Few_Werewolf_8780 8d ago
Because it fits the subject and is a great book for new firefighters and any firefighters. Could really help a new firefighter on how things could be in a firehouse.
Wish I had read a book like this before I started.
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u/-Samg381- 9d ago
Don't fuck with gear. I try not to even touch anyone's gear without permission. It's life safety equipment, for both your team, and the public. Plus, you have no idea the little subtle subtle things they have done to stage it in their locker for donning.
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u/light_sweet_crude career FF/PM 9d ago
Assuming you hadn't relieved them yet (since you didn't have your gear on the rig), sounds like they pranked themselves cause then they had to take that call. If you told them you were ready to relieve them when you weren't (since your gear was actually still in your locker)... I can kinda see where the idea for this prank came from.
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u/EverSeeAShitterFly Toss speedy dry on it and walk away. 9d ago
Was the off going shift in the know and able to take the call?
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u/Extreme_Drawer578 9d ago
Take a knife and cut it down? doesn't seem like its that big of a hassle. Gotta take doors in a timely manner but some wrap is what hinders us? Especially when they should be taking the call since you are getting "pranked" on. Dick move if they didn't imo tho.
If it were like shaving cream in your boots, or something of the sorts, id say that bs big time for sure.
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u/Salt-Light1314 9d ago
Iām not a firefighter, but it doesnāt take one to say this is stupid and a huge liability. Where is the common sense these days?
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u/Rude-Adeptness-1364 8d ago
If you donāt understand how relief works than you probably do think itās stupid, when itās really not an issue
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u/_jimismash 9d ago
Pranks that are appropriate:
- Challenge coin from a former chief that everyone hated left in a locker
- Cursed items: something (reasonable)the person hates that they throw away but somehow keeps reappearing.
- Headlight fluid/muffler bearings/flight line/etc.
- Maybe the trick where you fill a basketball with water and pass it to them.
We had a guy named Brandon. I was going to get some shirts made up that said "Let's go Brandon" and had his picture. I still think it was a good idea, but I felt like it might have crossed a line into bullying (given local politics).
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9d ago
I spent most of a shift walking up and sliding pennies underneath a guy's belt. He thought I was just getting close to him and being weird, because we do that anyway. Later he went to change into shorts for a workout and like 30 of them bounced off the floor. He was super confused.
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u/_jimismash 9d ago
On ship for a deployment I used to slide a domino under another guy's blankets. you couldn't see, and he couldn't even feel it right away, but after 30 minutes laying on it he would get really uncomfortable. His retaliation didn't work super well - I can sleep through anything. Then he just started tickling me, which is unpleasant.
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u/incompletetentperson 9d ago
Um yeah its an unwritten rule you dont fuck with peoples gear. Were not even allowed to touch or carry the cadres gear during our academy.
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u/Radguy911 9d ago
Dick move. Some guys would hide a guys scba mask all the time, there was a hook on the ceiling. It was kind of funny seeing it up there hanging but he knew where it was.
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u/Crash_override87 9d ago
Iāve heard of itching powder in turn outs. That was considered border line as it was messing with turn out gear but, it didnāt affect the job. Actually affecting response would be an issue
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u/Indiancockburn 9d ago
Don't fuck with life safety equipment. That could lead to a death if the person didn't know if the potential manipulation of their gear. It's a offense that should be elevated.
I'm all about commaraderie and fun, but not at others misfortune and especially with emergency gear.
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u/Typical-Efficiency31 8d ago
The fact that you think that itās most important to āget settled inā before getting your gear together tells me everything I need to know about you.
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u/Rumpeltrillzkin 9d ago
Seems fine. Just the lockers. If they actually messed with your actual PPE, that would be a different story
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u/Capable-Shop9938 9d ago
Youāre being soft, we get to work about 45 minutes before shift and put out stuff by the rig for change out. If a call comes out before shift swap and your gear is still on the truck , then you take it. Thatās on Yāll for waiting until shift change to go get your gear
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u/Rude-Adeptness-1364 9d ago edited 8d ago
If your gear is not ready by the truck and you relieved them, that is on you
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u/Spooksnav foyrfiter/ay-ee-em-tee 9d ago
Nah they're in the wrong for this. You NEVER fuck with someone's gear.
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u/Few_Werewolf_8780 9d ago
Never screw with a guys turnout gear. Read the book Hazing FD to see how new guys are treated and to enjoy some firehouse humor. Good luck! No matter what happens enjoy the greatest job in the world!
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u/Dear-Shape-6444 9d ago
Not a dick move because there was no way for you to relieve the off going shift. Not your problem. Unless you were lazy and did relieve your guy and never put your gear on the truckā¦ then it makes you the dick.
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u/Barryzuckerkorn_esq 9d ago
Don't fuck with my shit , unless it keeps getting left were it isn't suppose to be then I'm putting people shit on the ceiling
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u/KPlayer84 9d ago
Total dick move and thatās on the officers to handle. Just a straight up unprofessional shithead move. Literally could cost someoneās life
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u/WeirdAttention1746 9d ago
I have always said unwritten means not everyone knows the rule. I would be PISSED if this happened to me.
Back when I was a pipeman at a small house I told everyone clearly that I liked to play, but my bunker gear was OFF LIMITS. For the 6 months he was a on phase testing it was all good, but as that time wound down he got fired up by another guy on the shift and put koolaid powder in my gloves. Next fire I knew it was there and of course came out with stained hands. Needless to say a physician confrontation occurred back in quarters and the captain stopped it before it got further, and flatly stated the next person that touches anyone's gear goes downtown. I got him back with pennies in the center caps on his truck and putting large zip ties on the driveshaft of his truck next to the gas tank. B
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u/Careful_Reason_9992 9d ago
Gear is off-limits. And saran wrapping a locker is pretty fucking lame, be a little more creative.
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u/HolyDiverx 9d ago
we had a guy who would unscrew scba bottles off of packs. "to make sure we were checking"
that guys the chief now
and I dont work there anymore.
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u/seanbob226 8d ago
Nahh, this prank is stupid on their part. They can't leave until you get your stuff out IMO. Then, when the chief asks why they (the pranking shift) wants OT because they had to wait while you wrapped their stupidity-it falls back on them. It's a dumb inconvenience. They didn't damage your stuff, but they damaged their reputation lol.
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u/037600 8d ago
Years ago, one of the other firefighters I worked with was always pulling practical jokes on everyone. I asked him several times to stop because i did not appreciate it, and I never did that to others. Dumb ass stepped up his game too crazy level toward me. I asked him to stop again and he basically told me fuck off. I escalated my issue with the captian who did nothing to stop the behavior. So i filed a hostile work environment complaint with the agency. A few days later the HR team showed up and had a conversation with him. He got the shit scared out him. Both FF and shift Captain got letters in their file. I found out later a couple of other people filed as well.
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u/Wadsworth739 8d ago
I'd page them and tell them all to take the call while y'all undo their stupidity. Sucks to leave later than you planned.
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u/Abject-Yellow3793 6d ago
That's not soft, that's putting lives at risk. A prank should be funny and harmless. That missed the mark.
Saran wrap bed linens, maybe the shift fridge, sure. Turnouts, no.
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u/HazMatsMan Career Co. Officer 9d ago
What, did you show up at 1 minute to shift change? I agree gear should be off limits, but if all of you are showing up so close to shift change that this affects response... maybe the other shift was trying to tell you something. i.e. show up earlier. Most of the people at my station show up a minimum of 15 to 30 minutes before shift change. Had that happened at our station, the first person there would have said "ha ha guys, very funny", then pulled out their pocket knife and cut the plastic off. If a call had come in at that point, the other shift would have taken it. Dick move? Maybe... but you're also making a mountain out of a mole hill here and/or there's more to the story you're not telling us.
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u/Electrical_Hour3488 9d ago
At our dept the second your trucks in park your expected to run the call. Early or not
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u/OneSplendidFellow 9d ago
Beyond dick move. Safety and response time issue, could easily have cause a fatal delay, and is wholly unacceptable.
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u/Pitiful_Watch_3173 9d ago
Although itās a dumb prank, he shouldnāt have waited to get his gear off the rig until a call came in. Should have been set up before shift start.
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u/Few_Werewolf_8780 9d ago
The problem is most guys do that but their is always a few that don't and grab their things only if a call comes before roll call.
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u/Pitiful_Watch_3173 8d ago
Thatās just not acceptable to be unprepared when your shift starts.
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u/Few_Werewolf_8780 8d ago
I agree. I always had my gear next to the rig before my shift started. A few left there gear in their storage locker until shift started. Always interesting to see the scramble when a call came in during roll call.
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u/RevoltYesterday FT Career BC 9d ago
The furthest we ever went with gear is Kool aid powder in turnout boots
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u/Patriae8182 9d ago
Thatās kinda fucked up honestly. I canāt imagine getting that out of a boot once itās mixed with sweat and everything.
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u/kraany Firefighter 9d ago
Should have told the higher ups you're gear is currently unserviceable and your shift is off-line, I'm sure the shift before would love coming back in, especially when half are probably looking after their kids.
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u/Few_Werewolf_8780 9d ago
Read Hazing FD and see how things are in other departments. What happened was not good but happens.
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u/[deleted] 9d ago
Absolutely a dick move. That affects department readiness. Imagine if this were the worst case scenario. Structure fire or vehicle fire with entrapment and the response was delayed because the firefighters were having to cut a bunch of plastic wrap off of their lockers to get their gear.