Critics really need to review the facts

Regarding the May 25 letter, “Other property makes more sense”:

Talk about uninformed. Two weeks ago, The Herald did a story crediting Getchell firefighters with saving a 17-year-old boy’s life. They have blanketed the fire district with free reflective address signs, installed countless free smoke detectors, regularly receive grant funding to purchase needed equipment, and have cut response times by as much as 25 percent from where they were when our influential fire chief took over. Does it seem like the taxpayer exists to serve the firefighters?

I drove from the Getchell Fire Station to the new station in Granite Falls and it took six minutes and 31 seconds to get there. A far cry from the two minutes cited.

About not getting service if resources are elsewhere: I spoke to the chief about this and he stated that most fire departments provide mutual aid to each other regularly. This eliminates increased costs and increases efficiency. The chief said that in the rare event the station is empty due to mutual aid, off-duty firefighters respond and back up the station, thus keeping fire and rescue protection ready 24/7.

Property at Highway 9 and 84th Street would provide better response times to other cities. That’s why the fire district has chosen a different location for a station that serves the citizens of Getchell.

The part about driving around town looking cool is ridiculous. The last time I checked, the Getchell community lacked a fuel station, hospital, hardware store, maintenance shop and the many other logical reasons any well-informed citizen could imagine why Getchell Fire equipment would be in town.

The critics need to get the facts straight before they go bashing the one group of people that is so dedicated to serving the community.

ROD DE CELLES