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Shame on three fire board commissioners

By Staff | Dec 23, 2009

To the Editor,

What is this love affair that three members of our fire board have for retaining the ambulance service in Lehigh Acres when common sense dictates that Chief Don Adams is correct in suggesting taking ambulance personnel and putting them on fire fighting equipment, such as the aerial truck, and the other fire equipment.

From what The Citizen story said online this week, the commissioners voted 3-2 to retain the ambulance service.

The chief is a professional and was elected

because of his knowledge of operating a fire department. What these three commissioners – David Adams, Julie Barrett, and Frank Hemingway – did was to micromanage the chief. According to Florida statute, he is charged with running the department and the board can suggest things for him to do and set policy, but it is his job to operate the department. Then when I learned that a

million dollars of our taxpayers money goes to Lee County EMS, I am just completely startled that the three commissioners of the group of three on the

board have no business sense. Do any of them run a business? From what I have learned, the answer is no.

Then you have Robert Anderson saying who says he has conducted polls that the majority of people of Lehigh want to retain the ambulance service. I don’t believe him at all. He is not a professional to conduct polls.

Most people I talk to don’t even realize that we are paying County EMS for ambulance service already.

I think that the bunch of three thought the locals would vote them out of office if they voted to transfer the ambulance service to the county.

I got news for them, more than likely, they will be be voted out of office anyway.

The County EMS chief, John Wilson, said he would put ambulances at strategic locations in Lehigh to maintain the response the county follows. He’s also a

professional in this ambulance patient transfer business.

Don’t the people on the board who voted no realize that with today’s roads’ networks, ambulances can get around this county fast. No longer do they have

to come out on what was a two-lane, back and forth, Anderson Rd.

Sure Lehigh residents back in the 70s raised money to buy an ambulance. They would tell you from their graves to spend our money on firefighting and not ambulance service since we pay for it now.

The injuries or deaths of anyone in Lehigh due to an tragic house fire or brush fire will have that on the hands of Commissioners Adams, Barrett and

Hemingway for the rest of their lives.

And we’re heading for the dry season. If they showed any leadership, they would bring the subject up in January and reverse their votes, apologize to the chief, and let him run his department.

After all, he is the professional, not either of them. As for people like Anderson, he doesn’t work, has never run a small company and knows nothing about finances of how to run a fire department, despite his constant complaining on your message boards and at meetings.

I support our chief and our firefighters. With the amount of firefighters having been reduced in the county, who will we call for help if there is a

brush fire and they are on other calls? In the past, our firefighters have fought aggressively to put down a fire before it spreads. I guess the bunch of three don’t seem to realize what it takes to fight fires.

I am ashamed to be a citizen in Lehigh with people like those who voted to keep men and women off of our fire engines. I agree with the paper in Fort Myers that editorialized a year or so ago when it suggested all fire companies consolidate and get rid of the local “political” fire boards.

Lehigh should be renamed Greenacres, like the county wackos on the old TV show. The only two members of the fire board that understand are Joel Guzman and Jeff Berndt, and I do not know them personally. Shame on you David Adams, Julie Barrett and Ralph Hemingway. Neither of you apparently can defend your decision when it comes to money and saving lives and property.

Kyle Kennedy

Lehigh Acres