An Australian mother has sparked a debate online about whether firefighters and other first responders should be able to skip the line for coffee.
Jacqueline Fauvel, from Melbourne, said she had been waiting in line for coffee with her baby for 15 minutes when she witnessed a group of on-duty firefighters queuing briefly before leaving.
“That makes me so sad because I assume they are on a short break and they need to be free and available at all times in case a fire breaks out,” Ms. Fauvel said on TikTok.
‘I’ve also seen paramedics queue up and turn around because they were taking too long.
‘I feel like people should just automatically let them go first. They just work so hard and all they want is some damn coffee.”
Jacqueline Fauvel, from Melbourne, said she had been waiting in line for coffee with her baby for 15 minutes when she witnessed a group of on-duty firefighters queuing briefly before leaving (supply)
Ms Fauvel’s video, which has since been viewed almost 76,000 times, sparked a major debate, with many speaking out in support of her position.
“As a paramedic in Aus, I thank you!” wrote one.
‘Sometimes it’s our only opportunity to get coffee and we’re always so nervous that the next job is just seconds away. We don’t want a discount, we want priority.’
One firefighter said her comments “mean a lot.”
“We don’t get any ‘breaks’, that pager is going off, we’re out, so your generosity in giving up your spot is greatly appreciated,” they said.
However, not everyone agreed.
Some poured cold water on the idea that firefighters were busy, claiming they had a “soft” job.
‘No, fires hardly do anything and have a lot of free time. They are NOT busy,” one wrote.
Another claimed that their brother had been a firefighter for almost forty years and would brag about the ‘soft working conditions’.
Ms Fauvel’s video, which has since been viewed almost 76,000 times, sparked a major debate, with many speaking out in support of her position. Others, however, poured cold water on the idea that firefighters were busy
But senior firefighter Dan Spooner, from Sydney’s Darlinghurst Fire Station, defended his colleagues against the critics.
“We don’t get a break,” he said Yahoo News Australia.
‘If you’re on duty, you’re on duty. When you go to the coffee shop you can queue and an emergency call goes off and we leave the coffee we bought.
“But we would never cross the coffee line or expect anyone to let us.”
Mr Spooner, who has been in the role for almost 30 years, said they had slow nights where they were allowed to sit back.
“But you’re not sleeping well,” he said.
“It’s not sleep when you go to bed at home, it’s interrupted sleep because you’re always tense: a garbage truck goes by and you’ve woken up.”