The Right Focus on Firefighting

The Right Focus on Firefighting

Your headline on Sept. 18 was accurate and informative. The headline I am referring to? “Fire destroys car, but firefighters protect home.” Every single day of the year, firefighters in the city of Decatur respond to countless emergencies of a wide variety and do everything in their power to mitigate them. Often times these emergencies go unnoticed with little fanfare. Not that firefighters and paramedics want recognition, in fact quite the opposite is true. Each one of them took an oath and swore to protect the citizens, visitors and property within Decatur. I think it is important to remind readers that without the professional firefighters and the quick response time to this particular incident, there could have very easily been a far worse outcome. Quick response time and proper staffing are vitally important not only to the citizens but to the firefighters as well. Thank you for recognizing what was “saved” in this emergency. The media is typically interested in what the estimated damage was in dollar figures. We should focus more on the dollar figure that was saved due to the response time and actions of members from Decatur Firefighters Local 505 and the Decatur Fire Department.

 

Chuck Sullivan

President Associated Firefighters of Illinois