DEAR MAYOR.......

 

Friday, June 5, 2009

Dear Mayor & City Manager,

Odds are at this point, as hard as we have tried, you still don't seem to understand the need for our department, YOUR fire department, to be well prepared and fully able to respond quickly when our citizens call 9-1-1 for a fire. Mr. Mayor, this has nothing to do with how many fires we have----it has everything to do with every fire we have.
Actually, at this point, Mr. Mayor and Manager, you are probably tired of hearing our reasons why THE FIRE DEPARTMENT must be the only department that does not get cut in any area related to our ability to respond and protect our citizens. We absolutely feel that way. We are absolutely the MOST IMPORTANT service along with public safety in this community.
Mayor...especially after City Council backed down to the pressures of the Home Builders Association on residential fire sprinklers, our community needs a fully funded, staffed and trained FD more than ever!
So Mr. Mayor and City Manager, the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is our next attempt to help you understand. Understand that if our community does not have an adequately trained fire department with the right number of available firefighters and an ability to arrive within minutes of a reported fire, what is worth having in the community?  As one of your fellow council members recently said, if we cannot protect those who elected us, why are we here?
Sure, we may not have many fires, but when we do have one, please understand how real it can be. The below video will show you that very, very dramatically. It is very real as far as happening in our own community. And when it does, because it will, the question will be: did we have the available firefighters, the training, open firehouses and response times to assure that those citizens have a chance?
Please take a moment and watch and listen to this video. (CLICK ON VIDEO LINK) There is every reason to believe the fire in this video can and will eventually happen in any community in the USA. The difference is, you as Mayor, you as City Manager and we as the firefighters only have ONE community to be concerned about: OURS.
As we shared with you in that recent council meeting, the FD is not very different than a good insurance policy, it is critical that we know up front what we will have covered by insurance....instead of waiting and hoping we never have a problem.
Respectfully,
Your Fire Chief, Officers and Firefighters
(DISCLAIMER: The above letter is meant for educational purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Void where firefighter training, staffing and response times are adequate. Years of training required. Elected officials refusing to understand the seriousness of this issue should consider future political career related options)

Orlando Apt Fire with Entrapment - Staffing Video