Tina Bishop, identifying herself as a former Bradley County building official and the mother of a current county firefighter, urged commissioners to address firefighter pay during the public-comment period and described remarks at a recent fire commission meeting as "very condescending." She told the commission those who fight fires are trained professionals who risk their lives and that many cannot make ends meet on current pay.

"They are trained professionals who are willing to go into a burning, terrible situation in order to rescue you and your family," Bishop said. She criticized a comment characterized in the record as likening firefighters to "children coming to parents asking for allowance," calling it hurtful to members of the department. Bishop asked the commissioners to "honor those folks" and said county pay for comparable municipal jobs can be substantially higher.

The transcript records no formal response from commissioners beyond acknowledgments and thanks for her remarks. The comment came during the communications-from-the-audience portion of the meeting following a public hearing on a separate agenda item. No vote or directive about firefighter compensation was recorded at this meeting.