LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

摘要

Editor in Chief Bobby Halton hit the nail on the head in "The King Has No Clothes ... or Firefighters" (Editor's Opinion, July 2008). My department is small-six full-time personnel and 26 call members-but our budget has been cut for three years. In Fiscal Year 2009, I have to present a zero budget, meaning I have to be at the 2008 minimum-only contractual increases-and I have to cut to get to zero. I have no deputy, and I have to conduct training as well. We have no equipment maintenance, so rather than doing preplans, inspections, and fire prevention education, we fix stuff. It has been the culture here: Operate on a shoestring; get it done cheap. I sent them (the board) the Charleston Report, and they could care less. We are "only Pelham." We don't have to meet these standards. Even my personnel fight me on doing inspections and preplans. Training? They know it already! We are making some progress, but not having any financial support makes it tough. I changed our run cards, bringing in automatic-aid engines to make up the gaps. But we are all hurting. How long can we sustain it?