Hikel’s concerns exactly accurate

This letter is to provide a point of clarification from the Herald Sept. 26 editorial endorsement, “Dode, Decker, Smith for Lynnwood council.” The editorial stated that Council member Ted Hikel was overstating the need for six more firefighters in lieu of devoting more resources to emergency medical services.

The city of Lynnwood Firefighters and Paramedics are the sole Emergency Medical Service providers for the city. It is important to clarify council member Hikel’s concerns. The need for more firefighters is critical due to rising emergency call loads (20 percent increase over six years) and the transient nature of the daytime population (plus 115,000) in Lynnwood.

The Lynnwood Fire Departments call load per responder is one of the highest in the state. Increasing call loads is not unique to Lynnwood alone. Continued reliance on help from neighboring fire departments takes away their ability to service their citizens and does not ensure rapid response times to those in need. The Lynnwood Professional Firefighters stand in support of Council member Hikel and his recommendation of additional personnel to offset the increase in call load of both fire and EMS calls.

Scott DiBenedetto

President