Cuts put lives of firemen at risk

Albert Einstein said, "The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything."

On Jan 29th, the City Council voted 4-2 in favor of the original budget which would cut 4 firemen and not fill 2 opened positions. Prior to this the fire department researched knowing cuts had to be made city wide and searched all avenues to find a solution to their problem as a fire department that was already stretched thin. They submitted a proposal that by using 80,000 dollars of the fire department's own money to be used for the salaries of the 4 looking at possible lay-offs that is already in their fund, that it could by 7-8 mths time for these men giving the department time to file for grant funding that they would qualify for and in return saving these 4 positions.

This plan would not have effected the city's budget or cost the citizens a penny. The city voted against this option without explanation given at all. I would like to go further to say, I realize that there would be risk in the submitted proposal just like anything else. I realize that the department would be just buying time with those funds with zero guarantee of being approved for those grants. I realize, that the mentioned 80,000 dollars could be used for maintenance, equipment, etc. However, the same men that took an oath to put their own lives on the line for others were willing to take that risk if that meant not losing 4 of their brothers so they could better protect and serve the citizens of this city.

I honestly can't sit here and say what our city council members and our mayor go through. I can't say that I know what kind of stress their jobs come with and how it effects them mentally, physically and emotionally or what kind of toll it takes on their families because that would be nothing but speculation, assumption and honestly juvenile of me. However, I am more than qualified to tell you as the wife of a fireman, the mother of 3 wonderful children and a community full of people I love how my husband's job effects me. Every shift my husband is on duty, I have had to learn over the years to mask my worry of the possibility our department's good fortune may run out and my husband or another fireman may not return home. I have worried countless times when the fire pager goes off in the middle of the night and as I listen to the guys on the radio that I will hear "man down" and my phone will ring. I have worried many, many of nights when I hear the address being called out of a fully involved structure fire that the address they are calling out will be one of the many kids in our school that I have come to love as my own. I worry constantly of the impact it would have on my husband, God forbid, if he ever has to carry the body of someone's child out of a house because he will never stop wondering what he could have done different. I have personally seen these guys fighting fires for hours and having to rotate out because of dehydration and on the verge of exhaustion only to jump in the back of an ambulance to receive IV fluids so they can rotate back in giving the other guys a chance to re hydrate, fill their air tanks and go back in. I could go on and on about the physical, emotional and stressful impact working in the emergency field has but I can only assume the newspaper wouldn't be allowed to designate 4 pages to my letter.

I am asking the citizens of the town that has been my home for 40 years to please think about how these cuts could personally effect your family and those you love. Last night, my husband was on duty. He was 1 of 7 men working a 24 hour shift ready to jump into action at the sound of a bell to help someone in need. Reality is 7 men is not enough to even work 1 fully involved fire. If you check public records yourself, you will see that their are more occasions than you would think that there are multiple fire calls at one time or even back to back. Keep in mind, our firemen don't only respond to house fires. They respond to accidents, hazmat scenes, etc. and in some events backing up other departments. Friday, Jan. 29th I read in the paper what the actual budget cuts were in dollar amounts and that was the first time as a fireman's wife that I felt the city finally put a dollar amount on a life... $160,000 for those who haven't seen the new budget our city approved. Service before Self. These 3 words speak volumes about ones personal beliefs, decision-making and commitment to a specific cause. In some cases they're attached to a tragic event or an individual as a matter of reference, but in every case, they represent the highest level of commitment that an organization can ask of an individual or team... Our firemen took an oath, they know their risk and are willing to risk their lives for you and your families leaving their own behind. I believe that alone deserves more respect than what I witnessed Friday night. Let's not just stand by saying nothing when bad things happen. I am the wife of a fireman.

-- Misty Manrique

Blytheville