Reserves Are No Answer
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It has been suggested that the use of reserve firefighters would be a good option in helping reduce operating costs of the Ventura County Fire Department. This would unnecessarily put the lives of Ventura County citizens at risk.
It takes a few more minutes for the reserve to arrive at the fire station so that he or she may respond to an emergency. This is because the reserve is either paged out for the call from his or her home or full-time job. These few minutes are crucial in critical medical calls such as full arrests (heart and breathing stops), because irreversible brain damage begins after 4 to 6 minutes without oxygen. This can be the deciding factor on whether a person lives or dies.
There is no price tag on a human life. Replacing career firefighters with reserve firefighters is not the answer. The duty of a firefighter is to protect lives first and then property. Resorting to the above option will greatly hinder the firefighter’s ability to perform that duty.
RAY PADAOAN
Firefighter
Ventura County Fire Department
Ventura
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