News 5-14-08 Fire Station
Post your commentsPosted by: EyesWideOpen - 5/14/2008 6:01:58 PM
Firefighters RULE! They take on a lot of responsibility every day, responsibility that most of us will never face.
Posted by: Fireman - 5/14/2008 11:37:20 PM
First, Thanks for your support and appreciation. Being one of the Firefighters that is currently at Station 1 (at least until may 19) I do believe that vacating the city core would be foolish and dangerous to anyone who lives, shops, visits, or merely drives through this area. Even though Station 1 is being dismantled around me as I respond to calls, I try to remain optimistic. In the grand scheme of things this AAA baseball team, along with the retail aspect, is probably the best thing to happen to this city considering the current economic climate. But, it could have been done with a little more forethought. Do I believe SK baseball (The owner of the baseball team) sold us out. No, he's just a businessman making deals. In fact another firefighter has stated that he has promised to replace our Fallen Firefighter Memorial with a new one somewhere on the stadium site. Mark Lewis on the other hand.... well let's just say any and all input that went in his direction never made it very far if it didn't fit in with the "plan". Are we willing to live in tents? Absolutely! Why? Because that's what we get paid to do. In any other job besides public safety you could sabatoge the plans or goals of your co-workers or superiors. If we as fireman did that, homes would burn, people would suffer and people might even die. Hell, one of us may buy the farm now due to these long response times. We don't like it at all, but when the tones go off, each one of us will get in their gear, get on the rig and respond to that call no matter if it's from a tent, a house, or the best fire station money can buy. That's what we get paid to do. That's what you pay us to do. I listened to Keoki Borges speak to the City Council today,(he was the first speaker) and he made great comment that "six minutes is an eternity". After you read this, imagine that your house is burning, or your childs choking, or you start to feel a heavy crushing pain in your chest. Really think about what would be happening to you if any of these were the case. Now start a stopwatch and count off 6 minutes. It will be the longest six minutes of your life. And if the city council doesn't wake up to attending to the public's safety, it could be your last. Or mine.
Posted by: Fireman - 5/14/2008 11:47:02 PM
Sorry, just one more thing to contemplate. Station 1 gets @ 11000 calls for service each year. Thats @ 30 runs per day on average. Just to give a more accurate count. Last saturday Reno fire department, all 18 stations, went on 124 runs in 24 hours. 44 of those runs were ran by the crews at station 1. 44!! That's 1/3 of the whole deparmtments calls out of one station that's going to be closed in 5 days. In comparison to other fire departments, station 1 would be ranked in the top 10 busiests firehouses in the country based on the number of crews stationed there. Something to think about. Thanks
Posted by: Bugsy - 5/15/2008 9:05:33 AM
Hi fireman...one question ...How many of those 35 calls a day are medical that involves a passed out homeless bum who is drunk or tweaking? I don't mind the extended responce time to those calls.......be safe bro.
Posted by: Steve White, Reno Passport - 5/15/2008 10:00:04 AM
We support the fireman on this one. The AAA stadium is important from an economic standpoint. Public health and safety should precedence in this situation. Seems like city council should have the ability to do the right thing for all parties. I live 4 blocks from the fire station and hear them responding to calls all the time. Thanks for keeping Reno as safe as it can be guys. Here's to the men and women in the Fire Department keeping this town safe!! Thank you.
Posted by: Anakin-Marc - 5/15/2008 3:45:24 PM
Just throwing out an idea here, but has any thought been given to moving Station #1 to the Greyhound station site, and moving the Greyhound bus station to be shared with the new 4th St RTC station? That would move all major transportation hubs in downtown to within a block of eachother (Amtrak, Greyhound, RTC), and in addition would keep Station #1 at the same distance from the downtown core as it currently is (3-4 blocks). In addition, it would also provide better coverage for the area around Keystone since responding units to that area would not have to fight downtown core traffic as much, no longer having to cross Lake, Center, Virginia, or Sierra. Just a thought...