Mt. Hope Fire District Being Dissolved

[idlewildvfd 88]

http://hudsonvalley.twcnews.com/content/news/760558/town-of-mount-hope-residents-vote-to-ax-fire-district/

[Dinosaur 844]

And so it begins...

Some have been predicting this for a while now. Including right here on EMTBravo.

[dwcfireman 656]

It's so sad that these times bring us to stories like this. Politicians will spare no expense to put flower planters at every street corner, but will cut funding to emergency services because "it's just not necessary." It seems that the majority of the public has forgotten why they pay taxes in the first place, that is until their house is on fire and the first due engine takes 12 minutes to respond. The point being that we're not here because we NEED to be, rather for what we MAY need to do in the future. Working under the business model of "what if," it's easy for residents and governments to say we don't need that new rescue truck, and we don't need that tower ladder. Hell, apparently some fire departments don't need to exist! The big 'what if" is why we do the job, both carreer and volunteer. What if I need the fire department, or an ambulance, or the police? They're there to respond. What if I don't need them? They're still there. So many people are too worried about pinching a few pennies here and there that they forget where those pennies matter the most. I would gladly pay an extra 2% in taxes if that meant superior emergency services in my town. Unfortunately there are far more people who don't see it that way.