Staff Reports
Article Launched: 04/13/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT
To the editor:
The continuing feud between Mayor Malloy and the Belltown Fire Department has to end, and both parties must put Belltown citizens' safety first.
As a resident of Belltown since 1990, I was never made aware of or sensed that there was any problem with the coexistence of volunteer and paid firefighters. I think this arrangement has served Belltown well. I found over the years that the firefighters, regardless of their capacity (paid /volunteer), were professional, caring and performed equally in regard to responding to the needs and safety of Belltown residents and the general public.
The perception is that some underlying political agenda of a few in the Belltown organization is to make the Belltown firehouse 100 percent volunteer, autonomous from city control. This decision would result in decreased response time for emergency calls in the Belltown area, which greatly compromises the life-and-death factor when responding to victims of heart attacks and strokes. Minutes mean everything, and having paid personnel ready to roll within seconds of receiving the call from a 911 dispatcher is imperative.
Also, speaking as a taxpayer, why should I or any resident in Belltown have fire service and protection that is any less compared to other sectors of the city? I pay taxes at about the same rate as a resident from Glenbrook or Springdale, and I should have the same services provided.
A recent article quoted a Belltown firemen saying that residents have nothing to worry about; there is usually a volunteer at the firehouse all the time. I completely disagree with this assessment. Volunteers have lives outside of the Belltown Fire Department, and they are not expected to be at the firehouse 24/7.
A sign was recently placed outside of the Belltown firehouse stating that Mayor Malloy has taken away 90 percent of their firehouse funding. Well, if they do not want the city to participate with paid personnel in providing safety for residents, how can they expect to see city funding continue at the same rate? Maintaining minimal paid personnel at the Belltown firehouse is very critical for the safety of its residents.
Randy Reynolds
Stamford