How Much Fire Service Can We Really Do Without?

摘要

As american cities and towns face unprecedented issues regarding budgets, we all must begin to anticipate what the ramifications could potentially be regarding service delivery in our communities. The great statesman Tip O'Neil once said, "All politics is local," and he was absolutely right. We also know that all fire protection is predominantly local in nature, and local budgets are shrinking fast. Reacting to these shrinking budgets in major metropolitan cities, towns, and villages, local fire departments have already experienced fire station closings, reduced staffing, and companies removed from service. The effects of this economic meltdown will reach every corner of American life, and public safety is no exception. We are witnessing local governments explain fire station closings and company removal with carefully chosen words such as "deacti-vation," "brownouts," and "furloughs." These politicians are simply using words they learned from Frank Luntz, the author of Words That Work. These are words that make people feel better about closing fire stations and reducing fire protection.