Editor:
Respectfully, Becky, you write frequently about the fire department in most unsavory terms. The week before last, it’s that the firemen are paid too much and we should have a volunteer fire department.
You also say our Idyllwild Fire Department is basically an emergency medicine “outfit” (EMT).
We are very fortunate to have our own fire protection department here in Idyllwild. They do much more than just run an ambulance out to the house of anyone who calls.
The firemen train constantly so that they are prepared to deal with many types of emergencies in our area, including putting out forest fires.
Have you ever considered what we would do without their services? Maybe not because you live in Pine Cove and realy on Cal Fire for help, but the residents of Idyllwild are extremely fortunate to have this group of well-trained, intelligent and many times fearless men who keep us safe.
In many other areas of the country, there are truly fewer fires to worry about, you are correct. While they suffer from such events as tornadoes, hurricanes and severe snowstorms, they are safe from forest fire.
We are not so fortunate. We live in and around the forest and could face a disaster at any time for which our fire department is trained to handle.
I’m surprised more people don’t respond to your critical columns about the fire department. Personally, I think you might write about something else.
Jan Goldberg
Idyllwild
Editor’s note: Just for the record, we do not live in either Idyllwild or Pine Cove.
