Argumentative Essay: Firefighters

Envision yourself in a deep sleep, your spouse lying next to you. For seven years of marriage, your greatest quandary has been your partners obnoxious snoring. Now, you are rattled awake by the wailing of your smoke detector, just outside your bedroom door. You hear the sobbing of your three month old baby boy from just down the hall, and feel the tug of you five year old son on the sleeve of your t-shirt. Forced out the second story window by the fuming blaze barricading the only outlet of the room, you free fall 22 feet onto the frozen ground. Beyond smoke inhalation and second degree burns, you now have a fractured ankle and several severe lacerations. Your spouse, your eldest son, and yourself are now free from the bloodthirsty inferno. Sirens howl, two blocks away. A rescue engine, equipped with three firefighters, is first on scene- 18 minute response time. A second engine arrives, equipped with three firefighters- 23 minute response time. Twenty-five minutes after the initial alarm, a hand line is pulled. Incident commander declares the residence unsafe for entrance. This rescue mission has now become a recovery mission.

Fires are burning hotter, medical-related incidents are skyrocketing, and automobile accidents are escalating.

Why, at a time like this, would it be deemed appropriate to minimize the staff and shrink the budget of the fire service?

For centuries, the men and women of the fire service have been pioneering new ways to “do more with less”. When faced with a predicament, these individuals use the resources available to them to find a suitable resolution. How will this be possible if those resources are not available?

The public views firefighters as a group that has vacuumed up a lot of municipal resources, and to the public's ignorant eye it looks like they just keep taking more for pleasure because they don't understand the need to upgrade, replace, and repair equipment, whether it be for work in the field or training

scenarios.
It is our duty, as citizens of a community depending on these men and women to be at our beckon call when an emergency presents itself, to ensure that they have all the resources they need to thoroughly serve us. Unfortunately, this reality is dwindling.
Cities across the United States are declaring bankruptcy and fire departments are suffering the consequences. In December of 2013, the city of Detroit declared bankruptcy. (Rielage R.) The Detroit Fire company responds to the greatest number of emergency calls in the U.S, including fires, motor vehicle accidents (mva’s), and medical emergencies. Seeing that Detroit is plagued by poverty and unemployment, political representatives are seeking to shut down large portions of the city, thus removing those who currently live there. The corporate and financial elite of Detroit developed the "Detroit Works Project". This plan supports the “browning-out”--temporarily taking a firefighter, apparatus, or station out of service-- or closing of fire departments. In 2014, 15 stations in Detroit were shut down, a considerable number of those were affected by the projects plan to depopulate. (Porter L.)
Chicago too is facing a similar situation as Detroit, but is postponing the decision to actually declare bankruptcy. Chicago’s current economic position is the worst of any large municipality in the nation. Governing.com, a website that compiles data on state and local governments across the nation, reported in 2014 that ten local municipalities and 26 other taxing districts had filed for bankruptcy.
As large cities file for bankruptcy, and inevitably begin to receive lower bond ratings, it could possibly bring forth a domino effect, and therefore lowering ratings in smaller cities, towns, or townships. Furthermore, this could result in an increase in the interest rate to borrow money for everything from new fire stations, apparatus, and infrastructure improvements-- water mains, streets, and highways-- resulting in a self-perpetuating cycle of debt. “In the eyes of the government it [would] just be easier to make cuts to the fire departments.” (Rielage R.)
In addition, local governments have underfunded capital improvement or equipment replacement funds. For these fire service troubles we should not blame Congress, the White House, nor Washington bureaucracy; it is the mayors, city managers, county executives, and city and county officials who are to blame for these policies and budget cuts.
Now, we must recognize that these policies and budget cuts are what is causing so many deaths throughout the nation. Diminished finances are leading to longer response times and depleted fire services, thereby putting both firefighters and citizens in increased danger. The replacement of worn fire and EMS equipment, turnout gear, self-contained-breathing-apparatus (SCBA) and fire stations has been deferred or eliminated. Some local governments sited personnel as the largest expense, so they reduced their number of firefighters, whether paid or volunteer.

The public needs to face the fact that people are dying! Brutal budget cuts are leading to tragedy after tragedy. In Detroit alone bodies are piling up. In January of 2013, six-year old Miguel Chavez was killed when his family’s house, in Southwest Detroit, caught fire. His death was blamed, in part, on the delay of the arrival of emergency services.
At another time, firefighters in Southwest Detroit were called to a structure fire in Northwest Detroit due to fire station closures. They had to travel 18 miles, which took 21 minutes. The 85 year old owner escaped but the building but contents could not be saved.
In November of 2013, an elderly couple died in a house fire in Detroit due to cuts made to the fire service.
A 71 year old man died in a house fire, in Detroit, four minutes away from a recently closed fire station.
But, Detroit is not the only place where bodies are falling. In San Fernando, 53 year-old Jack Mocaer had 63% of his body burned, when his house caught fire, while waiting for help. The nearest station was not even two miles from his house, but the station was empty because one of its two engine companies had already been cut and the other was responding to another call.
Why do we need more staffing? Residential and business communities are continuously expanding at such an extensive rate that it is becoming impossible for many departments to handle their additional duties.