Firefighter resignations a sad state of affairs for municipality

May 07, 2008

To the Editor:

Well, Magnetawan council has done many things over the years, including one step forward and two back, but it appears this time they have stepped off the proverbial cliff.

I served for a few years on council there and never once felt that the fire department were untrained.

My son took training weekly with the fire department when he served on it. I was a member of the Fire Board, and we were apprised at every meeting of the training sessions that were being undertaken monthly by the department. Those training sessions were mandatory, and if you were not trained in a particular area you did not dare go into dangerous situations.

The province downloaded emergency calls to the fire departments and training began with great haste to upgrade everyone. These volunteers have wives and children and if you think for a moment they are going to put their lives in danger, think again.

As a fire board member, we were encouraged to sit in on training sessions if we had the time. Any questions we had were answered freely.

It seems to me council has some schooling to partake of as to their duties as a councillor. Did you, in fact, take that training? I certainly did when I became a councillor.

Get off your duffs and eat some crow. It’s about time you started to earn those high salaries you get. We got $300 a month for all the meetings we attended, just what do you get now for doing what you are doing?

You should be ashamed of yourself. These men and women are a big loss to your community. You owe them big time. Maybe its time you all resigned and let the firemen go back to their jobs. And before you resign, give them all a big raise. They deserve it.

Alice Cain
Niagara Falls