Those guys in Brentwood are getting off easy.
Remember back during the War Years, the natives couldn't tell the difference between a PD and an FD uniform.
Then the IAFF had that red bumper sticker that had "Fireman Fight Fires, Not People". The cops loved it!
But even that pales in comparison to being a fireman on the Belfast Fire Brigade in Northern Ireland during the "Troubles" (1960's - 1998).
Those guys did their best to stay neutral and out of the fighting. One big problem was that the IRA snitches would sneak in the firehouse and tell the men about an upcoming arson, ambush, explosive placement, etc. If you pass it on, somebody is going to find out and then the Fire Brigade has a target on their back. Doing the right thing had severe blowback. Anybody waving or being nice to the fireman was a traitor.
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