LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Rebuttals and replies to the editorial on the Arkansas incident
I am writing in regards to your March 1985 editorial concerning the failure of an Arkansas volunteer fire department to extinguish a fire because the fees were not paid.
Mr. Brennan, I suggest you get off your Irish fanny and look at the fire service west of the Hudson.
This department is in business. Their product is fire services. You cannot purchase services and equipment without paying for it any place else, why should the fire department be any different?
Remember this is not a tax supported organization but a department that exists upon annual fees. No fee—no service.
It is impossible to provide capital equipment and manpower up front and then be paid only when you respond.
This type of arrangement is not that strange in the western part of the country. It just seems radical to the eastern “volly” establishment.
James A. Geil
Chief
Apache Junction Fire District
Apache Junction, AZ
Cost of haz-mat protection should be offset by producers
I read with great interest your February 1985 editorial on hazardous materials regulation.
You are absolutely right. We are being misled into a war with our guns aiming at ourselves. I think it’s time the fire service stood firm at the pass and shouted, “Stop! Enough already!” Let those who created this hazardous material problem take on the task of supplying expert response teams, furnishing tools, protective gear, and specialized equipment to mitigate and resolve any hazardous material accidents. Of course, we will always be on hand to assist in any way we can. We must not lose sight of our basic responsibility—the protection of life and property.
Our department has just been through another annual battle of the budget; and I’m sure my fellow fire chiefs will agree that it has become increasingly difficult to maintain basic service and minimum manpower, let alone provide sophisticated specialty teams for what are, fortunately for most of us, rare occasions.
C. James Young
Chief
Otean Fire Department
Ole an, NY
I have been a volunteer firefighter for nine years, three as an officer. During this time, I’ve seen some good and bad firefighting, but the Arkansas department’s had to be the worst (see Editor’s Opinion, March 1985).
Such a situation must have been foreseen by both the department and the local government (if indeed a similar situation had not already occurred) and should have been corrected. Perhaps the local government taxing the residents might be an answer.
Many fire companies in my area (my company not being one of them) contract their services out. However, the respective towns collect taxes from their residents and subsequently pay the fire companies for protection.
I agree with your opinion, but I think the blame goes beyond the fire department. It goes to the local government that is responsible for “essential services.” Unfortunately, not enough people believe adequate fire protection is an essential service.
Of course, this is no excuse for refusing to do our job. The fire should have been extinguished.
As for calling departments like these volunteer, I disagree. They should be called mercenaries.
Ross A. Marrazzo
First Lieutenant
Engine Company f l
South Farmingdale, NY, Fire Department
Bravo, bravo, bravo on your editorial column in the March 1985 issue!
I was sick to my stomach when I read about the fiasco that occurred in Arkansas and wondered how in hell these pseudo-firefighters could look themselves in the eye in the morning without cringing at the thought of the atrocity they had perpetrated. But, I guess if you have the nerve to pull off a stunt like that, conscience is the least of your problems.
Please accept my heartfelt thanks for expressing the feelings of every true firefighter everywhere, because I know that the words you wrote were exactly the words I felt upon reading the story of the fire.
I recently renewed my subscription to FIRE ENGINEERING after an absence of at least ten years; and after reading your editorial. I’m glad I didn’t wait longer or I might have missed it. Keep up your good work!
John Morello
Battalion Chief
New York City Fire Department
Fire safety—a concern for all ages in Dayton, OH
Child safety? Who cares? They’ll learn it on their own. I don’t have time to worry about it. They already know. These were some of the ideas that the Dayton, OH, Fire Department’s Bureau of Fire Prevention has tried to change over the years.
Since 1979, the Bureau of Fire Prevention, Public Education Office, has implemented and tested several inschool, teacher-instructed curriculums designed to instruct children and their parents in home fire safety.
Since the inception of the 11-week fire safety program, we have measured significant increases in fire safety knowledge exhibited by students.
Following instruction, with actual hands-on emergency evacuation drills, school board emergency evacuation policies improved, as did cooperation between the fire department and school board regarding code and inspection problems.
Last December, a sixth-grade student who had completed the fire safety program, extinguished a fire in her home and alerted her family. All lives were saved.
Child safety. Who cares? The Dayton Fire Department cares. They’ll learn it on their own. No, Dayton Board of Education Administrators and teachers teach fire safety the correct way. They already know. Yes, the children do know fire safety skills; they have been trained to respond in appropriate and safe ways, helping to make Dayton a more fire safe community.
Edward H. Cross
Public Education Officer
Dayton Fire Department
Dayton, OH
Collapse of a structure —not a spirit
I was very impressed with the photos of the tenth alarm in your March 1985 issue. However, I do not agree with the headline “Collapse of Rescue 1.” “Collapse of Rescue 1’s Quarters” would have been more appropriate.
Rescue 1 is comprised of highly motivated and spirited individuals. We could lose our quarters and our apparatus, but the company would go on. We have been shaken and damaged, but we have not collapsed!
Jim Curran
Lieutenant
Rescue Company 1
New York City Fire Department
