KEEP THE Lovely Firemen

I'll just post the letter I wrote:

I just heard that the Fire Department is slated to lose 7 people.
This is a travesty.
I have had several emergencies and the ONLY AGENCY that responded was the Corning Fire Department.

The latest scare for me was the loss of electricity on Saturday, May 8, 2010
I called 911 and told them the story and they sent me to the police.
When I spoke to the police they were rude and dismissive, "we're not the utility", the
officer snarled (!!) I told him that 911 told me to call. My bed is electric, and while i finally got out of it, I faced not being able to get back into it.

So I called the utility who told me no one else had called (!!!!!) and perhaps i had done something to make the electricity disappear!! It took hours for other folks to call.

Contrast this hostile and indifferent response to the Fire Department: they have a hot line to the utility, asked if I was okay, assured me that if i needed help i would get it--- as they have so many times before.

When i was able bodied-- they caught frightening bats for me. When the house was new to me, one of the cats knocked over some unnamed liquid in the basement -- a frightening chemical spill. The fire department did the possibly hazardous waste clean up. When I thought my ceiling was falling down, it was the fire department that answered my call. When i thought i was having a heart attack, the fire department beat the ambulance to my house. When a pipe burst and I couldn't reach the shut off, the fire department saved the day-- swiftly, with kindness.

Sad to say, 911 and the Police are not as compassionate, on point or as speedy as the Corning Fire Department. Please join me in telling our representatives and the City Manager that this vital, critical and skilled service needs to remain!