Quote Originally Posted by Dutch_guy View Post
It's a sad story, but I believe the above quote deserves mentioning. Having civilians without any proper training run into a burning building is pantamount to suicide, whatever their motives may be, and it's the same for a member of the police. This article could very well have been about the ignorant and cowardly officers who let untrained civilians get themselves killed by running into a burning building. So yes, there is indeed something to say for the behaviour of the officers in question.

You are quite right, and that is something that has been overlooked in this thread I believe. Related to that though, there have been many American policemen (not firefighters) who entered burning buildings to save people without proper equipment. These people went above and beyond though, it is 'not in their job description' to do things like that, and they should not be considered cowards for not doing so. To run into a building that is consumed in flames, without the proper equipment and training, you are basically kissing your life goodbye. To do it is heroic and deserves praise, but it is not something that should be expected of people. People today like to lay blame even if wrong has not been done. Like my dad used to always say, "ed if you do, ed if you don't".