Should public vote determine number of firefighters on the job?

We were laying in bed watching the late news on Channel 4 - the local NBC affiliate - and once again had to listen to Dave Aiazzi suggest that voters should determine in November whether or not there are three or four firefighters on each call.

The dispute between the City of Reno and its firefighters centers around the city wanting to reduce the number of firefighters responding to each call to three. The firefighters say they can live with that, but that they won’t be entering a building to save lives or contents - that it’s simply too dangerous to send a single firefighter into a burning structure without backup.

As voters, Mr. Maven and I think it’s asinine to expect these types of issues to be decided by voters. We don’t know firefighting best practices, and I doubt many other average voters can speak to such issues with any real confidence.

I do know, having watched firefighters contain a whole house blaze (they sat in my kitchen come morning, with coffee, dog tired) that when well equipped they are able to save house contents that I would never have thought possible. But to try and do that without all the safety protocols and backup needed is ludicrous.

This is always what happens when budgets get tight. Rather than raise taxes (gasp!) and budget realistically, the game is to squeeze the necessary services until the people finally get a gutful and beg for them back in full - at any cost. Back in full usually comes at a price - like padding the budget elsewhere to build more convention facilities or ballparks to serve corporate masters.

At the end of the day, the community interests are not served.

Taxes are necessary. Services like fire and police are necessary.

Dave Aiazzi isn’t.

Friday Fish Wrap: July 31, 2009

It’s been a week of dreams deferred and dreams answered. I’m just grateful that I’ve got a great crop of heirloom tomatos coming along as it takes the sting out of the dreams deferred … healthcare reform denied until at least September when Congress reconvenes.

Here’s the bottom line. They’d better damn well get it done by years’ end, or it won’t get done at all.

I have my doubts, because I believe the summer recess from that ‘special needs’ school known as Congress, will give the finge wingnuts and the Blue Dogs time to truly sink the whole idea. The fringe, having run out of plausible arguements entirely, are now claiming that HR 3200 is mandating euthanasia for old people ( that’s why AARP is supporting it, of course) and abortions. The Blue Dogs, having long forgotten the huge blank check for two unnecessary wars, keeps nattering on about “it’ll cost too much!”

It could drive one to drink. If I weren’t already there.

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