Wow, that is a pretty lame security guard.
Sorry Wade, have to disagree with you there. I've worked with some pretty lame security guards. Things I've had to put up with include: My relief not showing up on time and not calling ahead to tell me he'll be late, he calls but tells me he's still in bed at about 2 minutes before the end of my shift, or decides to quit but doesn't bother to tell anyone, (and my personal favorite) always shows up late despite having worked at the same spot for the past 4 years.
Speaking from experience, the entire security industry in America is bull$#^%. That's the best way to describe it. That guard went in, put his safety on the line, and saved lives. Reminds me of an older guy I used to work with. He was posted at the WTC on 9/11. When the planes hit, he called up his Account Manager to report what had happened. He was then told to run upstairs and get the client's employees to safety. And damn, that's just what he did! Saved a bunch of lives, got hurt, in the hospital for over 6 months. When he got out, the client (Bank of America) gave him a check for $5,000 as a thank you. What did he get from the company he worked for?.... A cheap @$$ plaque as an award, and the "honor" of coming back to work at the same security company. They didn't pay him a single penny for the 6 months he was in the hospital. And since that particular company doesn't even offer medical benefits, he got stuck with the entire hospital bill.
In this industry, if the guard mentioned in the first post had run across the street for his own safety, dialed 911 from his cell, and then pointed to where the fire was when the fire trucks arrived; he'd be hailed as a hero
just for doing that much! Even the security company he works for would have thought of him as a hero.
Yeah, he should have had a decent light on him. But I can tell you that as a guard, I've had to buy my own equipment, deal with broken equipment, or was issued horribly substandard equipment. I've worked the night shift at a couple of client sites that were considered prime terror targets by the FBI. Both places issued me p*ss poor flashlights that made a Mag Solitaire look as bright as the Sun. Don't be upset at the guard for not having a flashlight, be upset at the cheap @$$ client who never even bothered to issue him a decent one.