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Show LETTERS -' Blue Church Firefighters Defended get burning. Lynn Borg stated after investigation that there was not much anyone could have done to save the structure at the time the fire dept. was called in. I arrived on the first engine on the Blue Church fire and was directed by Mr. Roger Schmidt to bring a hose into a north basement door just below the furnace room. He and another person had opened the door prior to our arrival. I'm sure their intentions intent-ions were good, but the open door had served to feed the fire the oxygen it needed to really take off. Mr. Schmidt also tried to unlock the door to the furnace room over the objections of one of the firefighters and then was asked by the police to leave the fire scene or face arrest. Mr. Schmidt did not realize that only a minute or two the Cattle Company, the new and the old structures up Daley Avenue and Prospect Avenue for that matter look at any area of old town and there are potentially hazardous hazar-dous structures. But is it the fire dept.'s fault that these structures exist? Paying full-time full-time firefighters to man the fire station is a step in the right direction but will not stop Park City from having fires! On Sunday, January 17 at 6:30 p.m. there was a fire alarm at Parkwest in a dumpster. At that time there were three firefighters man- s ning the fire station in Park City because of the traffic problems we've been having on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The three fire fighters too three minutes min-utes to respond to the fire because it takes at least that Dear Editor: Why is it that each time we have a fire, the fire dept. is attacked by every paranoid person in town? You would think that it was the fire department's fault that there are fires. The medias eat up reports that if the fire dept. would have done this or that different the Blue Church could have been saved. Why doesn't anyone listen to the findings of Dan Bowker who was the investigator from the MGM Grand Hotel fire, or Lynn Borg who was the investigator from the State Fire Marshalls' office. They found that the fire had been burning for quite a period of time, had spread from the area of origin and had crept outward into the walls and ceiling of the basement and had only needed air to really after he failed to unlock the door, it blew off its hinges. Why must fire dept. members mem-bers take verbal abuse from sidewalk superintendents and experts like Mr. Gun-nerson Gun-nerson who's grandfather was a fireman, immediately qualifying him to tell us what to do. If Mr. Gunnerson is so paranoid, he should take his violin and go back to California or. wherever he came from where he might feel safe. There have been numerous fires over the past several years that have caused the people of Park City to see first hand what sort of problems we have around here, but because there was no fire code or building inspection until two years ago, we still have many problems with fire protection. protect-ion. Look around old town at some of the Mine Camp, Quitting Time, or Sweetwater Sweetwat-er buildings. Some of the old abandoned structures at the top of Main St. that should be torn down, but are "historic" buildines. Look at long to don gear and get the truck running. On the morning of the Blue Church fire the first truck was underway in five minutes. Not too bad for getting up from a sound sleep, getting dressed, going to the station, putting on gear, and starting the fire trucks. It took another two minutes for the first engine to arrive. Currently, the Fire Dept. and Fire Commission are studying costs of paying firefighters to man the fire station. It isn't cheap. You need at least three men to man an engine 24 hrs a day- times 365 days a year times $8.00 per hour comes to $210,240 per year. If it was manned by three salaried men at $18,000 per year you would need three shifts or a minimum of nine men to cover it 24 hours 365 days a year. This comes to $162,000 but you must add about 25 to this to cover insurance, retirement, and other bene- Please turn to page 6A More Letters r f . rt p Continued from Page 2A fits plus sick leave and vacation pay. Currently, the fire station has no sleeping facilities. A second story would need to be added to the station. How much would this cost? $200,000? According to councilwoman Helen Alvarez, the city has no control over the fire district, but the city is currently considering what it calls a redevelopment district dis-trict which would t.ike much of he money it would get from any new development within the city away from the fire district. He'en stated on a TV interview she would like to consider having the city take over fire protection again. That would be great! Maybe the Fire Dept. should have the dispatcher call Helen the next time that the dumpster catches fire at Homestake Condos or the pipes freeze at Fawngrove or someone smells smoke in their home because they didn't oil their furnace motor. The Fire Dept. responded to 102 different situations last year only a handful of which anyone took anv notice of. The Fire Dept. needs your support, not criticism. Check your home and place of business for fire hazards. Install smoke alarms. Dig out your fire hydrant if its buried under snow. Call the Fire Dept. immediately if you suspect a fire. Don't try to fight a fire yourself. Memorize Memo-rize the Fire, Police, Ambulance, Ambu-lance, emergency number 649-9561. Attend a fire commission meeting if you have criticism or suggestions. suggest-ions. If you want to help the Fire Dept., join it. Jim White |