As a veteran of the Glendale Fire Department, I’ve heard the Vanguardians speak their minds about the city in general and the Fire Department in particular (“Fire dept. critics rebuked,” April 1). Generally, I’m for the gadflies; someone’s got to be for accountability in government. But they tend to see all as guilty instead of being a little more discerning with the facts. And as one who’s been deemed guilty, I’d like to present a few of the facts they overlook.
Cold hard fact No. 1 is that when it’s a true emergency, seconds really do count. And the size of the response is just as crucial. The only way to provide a consistent, able and reliable response of less than five minutes to your true emergency is to provide a consistent, able and reliable group of people purposed to rush to your side.
Yes, in the waiting-for-disaster business, we do have down time, and if all you want to do is divide the amount of money we make by the amount of down time we experience, then it does sound pretty lucrative. But when you really need us, we’re there — skilled specialists in less than five minutes, 24/7/365, rain or shine. So yes, that is one thing you pay us for — to be critically unoccupied and therefore immediately available when you need us. What’s that worth when the chips are down, Vanguardians? The difference between five and 10 minutes in response time, between five versus 10 people working to save your life or home?
