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For The Good of The Community?
April 8, 2000 You've likely heard me spout off about this subject before in the 'beanery' where we maintain a certain level of dialog between my personal views and those of Seattle's Fire Fighters. I admire these guys alot - enough admiration to create this system for the benefit of all emergency responders. I guess you could say that I have a vested interest in the success of our fire fighters - especially in the City of Seattle. The so-called 'Ballard Fire' has put me on another rant about taking care of our emergency services personnel in this country. Judging by what I've heard about the collapse of the aerial unit on the scene of this three-alarm plus, I'm left to ponder where we can strike a balance between the needs of the city and the needs of fire fighters. Better yet, do we NEED to strike any such balance? Where ARE our priorities? I hear discussions by communities within the City of Seattle which focus on the need to plant flowers in curb-side boxes, installation or de-installation of pay-phones in various places, widening or narrowing of streets to accomodate this business or that 'special interest,' but I don't hear much talk of the issues that matter most: Fire and Police protection. In fact, given my personal choice, I'm prone to assign a higher priority to Fire protection. Let's quit mincing words: When the proverbial stuff hits the fan, who are you going to call? Certainly not the Ghost-Busters! Nope, when you're feeling those chest pains, or your car/house/business is on fire, you're going to be dialing '911' and asking, no, begging, those individuals in funky hats to respond and bail you out of your misery. That's a pretty tall order to place on the shoulders of ordinary men and women, don't you think? But it is a crying shame that we expect them to respond after we've taken away their funding, jacked-up the rent on their station houses, raised their fuel rates to twice the price you and I pay at the pump, and ignored them when their issues are put on the table for discussion. The largest city in the State of Washington is using equipment that is 20 years old to keep us safe. Granted, there are times that a 20-year-old piece of equipment is a fine thing to use. But the fact of the matter is that this piece of equipment was outdated enough to be set aside as a reserve unit because somebody understood the age and lack of capabilities of this machine. Do you drive a 20 year-old car? If you do, then you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, might I pose a question: Why not? I'd suggest that the issue is much more serious than the City Council, the Mayor's Office, or 'regular-Joe-on-the-street' would like to acknowledge: It is called a lack of proper funding. Don't get me wrong here, I think fire fighters are some of the greatest people put on this earth: They do their job day in, day out, with few complaints. They are resourceful and use the limited equipment in their possession to get the job done -- even to their own detriment. You don't see these guys lined up at the city finance department whining about the lack of funding. You don't see them hitting up the public for our support. No, these are proud men and women who 'just do it' with the resources we've been handing them. Then we feel guilty when a fire fighter is killed in the line of duty and say, "What a terrible thing to have happened. Somebody needs to be held responsible for this terrible tragedy." Wake up, smell the coffee, then take look in a mirror! You and I are responsible for the lack of funding, the lack of concern and the lack of pride in OUR fire department. You can't expect a Mayor or City Council Member to have much respect for our fire department when they know we aren't going to hold their feet to the fire! We've allowed our government to put these men and women in a serious bind because they're 'nice guys' and we all know the old adage, "Nice guys finish last." These issues shouldn't be required to become overblown political battles, nor should we require our fire fighters to become politicians to get what they NEED. Instead, the community must step forward to fight the good fight on our own behalf. The simple truth is that these men and women are conscientious stewards of our money AND our guardians. If we turn them into politicians, for the sake of their own survival, what monster will we have created. For the past few days I've been listening to the NPR pledge-drive, in support of Public Radio. I find it ironic that we'll take an active part in providing half a million dollars to support a radio station but remain silent on the sidelines when the very men and women we beg to rescue us are put under the knife by an uncaring surgeon. I urge you to do your part, today, to support fire fighters in your community. Take a few moments of your time to visit your local fire station and ask the men and women there how you can support them. Find out what their needs are and see what you can do to help meet those needs. Write your Senator, Congressman, Mayor, City Council Member or anyone with an ear. Let them know that you support your fire department. Demand better funding for these men and women and let them know that this is NOT the place to squeeze every last dime out, in support of another special program. The cost is too high if we allow our fire department to become diluted and our fire fighters turned into part-time park rangers. Bob Nelson can be reached at administrator@ndcrt.org |
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All contents copyright 1996 - 2005 by Bob Nelson |
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