With all the budget cuts occurring nation wide fire chiefs are again screaming death and destruction and the risk to the community posed by - brownouts, fire station cuts, cuts to staffing, etc. We are using the same old defense and taxpayers are growing tired of threats and "the sky is falling" line. Every agency claims "if we have one more cut people will die!!

Now it's not that this is not a fact or a possibility. It's NOT that staffing and stations are not needed. It's that this approach is numbing the public and falling on deaf ears. Most people don't believe they will have a fire thus this is not a concern for them.

Why do we continue this approach? Why are we like everyone else? Prevention fits into the daily quality of life and safety of every citizen and is tangible every day in this risk management conscious society, so why is this not the approach to prevent the cuts from occurring in the first place? Why is prevention not the focus of value in contrast to budgets; why is it always death and mayhem - when we know PREVENTION is the #1 way to save the lives of our citizens and OUR OWN!!!

Stations who have successfully rallied their neighbors to their defense are stations that are active every day in their community thus the community sees a daily value to protect. Same with departments who do the same.

You must adapt to remain relevant yet we are singing the same old tune and wonder why people aren't listening.