Residents, please consider voting ‘yes’ on Issue 6 in May
letter to the editor
To the Editor:
My family has been a part of Westfield Fire and Rescue Department since 1994. My husband and son are volunteer firefighters/EMTs, who stop whatever they’re doing or wherever they’re going when you call for medical or fire help. It’s because of their dedication to serving the community that their safety and well-being, and that of all WFRD volunteers, deserve your support. On May 2, Westfield Township and Village residents are asked to approve a levy (Issue 6) that will create a station that is ADA, OSHA and NFPA compliant, unlike our current multi-level, undersized facility. Passage of the levy will allow continued savings on homeowner’s insurance premiums. It will also create a facility to meet the long-term needs of the fire district with lower operational/maintenance costs. It will create a training room for EMS/fire instruction and will serve as a community instruction room for CPR/First Aid classes, health checks and serve as a disaster Emergency Operations Command Center. The more central placement of the new station within the fire district will allow quicker access to the schools and highways.
The levy will create parking dedicated to the fire station. Currently, parking belongs to the adjoining church. If parking is full, the responding volunteers must park across the street at the church or company and run back to the station, slowing response time. A new station will create bays large enough to hold all trucks and provide walking space around them for quicker, safer access by the volunteers. The current fire station bays are so small there isn’t enough room in front or back of the parked trucks to walk around them. This creates a safety issue and can cause a delay in response time. The current station doesn’t contain proper exhaust ventilation, requiring the bay doors be open while checking the trucks, losing heat from the bays and still not fully removing the exhaust. Studies show higher occurrences of first responder cancer and breathing issues due to emission ingestion. The new station will have exhaust hook ups for each of the vehicles to vent directly outside making the air safer for our volunteers. Cleaning of fire/EMS gear is critical in extending their useable life. The new station will provide a facility for the safe and effective cleaning, care and storage of the gear. It will also provide a dedicated area for decontamination of the volunteers and their gear. Currently, effected personnel are hosed down in the driveway of the fire station, year round, in all weather conditions. The cost for state and federal compliance, allowing volunteers to be safe with quick response time when they receive your call for medical or fire help, is $0.22 per day per $100,000 of taxable value ($77 per year per $100,000 of taxable value).
We invite Westfield Township and Village residents to tour our station on Wednesday, April 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. to see what our volunteers work with when they respond to your emergency call for medical or fire help.
Jane Rych
Westfield Center
My family has been a part of Westfield Fire and Rescue Department since 1994. My husband and son are volunteer firefighters/EMTs, who stop whatever they’re doing or wherever they’re going when you call for medical or fire help. It’s because of their dedication to serving the community that their safety and well-being, and that of all WFRD volunteers, deserve your support. On May 2, Westfield Township and Village residents are asked to approve a levy (Issue 6) that will create a station that is ADA, OSHA and NFPA compliant, unlike our current multi-level, undersized facility. Passage of the levy will allow continued savings on homeowner’s insurance premiums. It will also create a facility to meet the long-term needs of the fire district with lower operational/maintenance costs. It will create a training room for EMS/fire instruction and will serve as a community instruction room for CPR/First Aid classes, health checks and serve as a disaster Emergency Operations Command Center. The more central placement of the new station within the fire district will allow quicker access to the schools and highways.
The levy will create parking dedicated to the fire station. Currently, parking belongs to the adjoining church. If parking is full, the responding volunteers must park across the street at the church or company and run back to the station, slowing response time. A new station will create bays large enough to hold all trucks and provide walking space around them for quicker, safer access by the volunteers. The current fire station bays are so small there isn’t enough room in front or back of the parked trucks to walk around them. This creates a safety issue and can cause a delay in response time. The current station doesn’t contain proper exhaust ventilation, requiring the bay doors be open while checking the trucks, losing heat from the bays and still not fully removing the exhaust. Studies show higher occurrences of first responder cancer and breathing issues due to emission ingestion. The new station will have exhaust hook ups for each of the vehicles to vent directly outside making the air safer for our volunteers. Cleaning of fire/EMS gear is critical in extending their useable life. The new station will provide a facility for the safe and effective cleaning, care and storage of the gear. It will also provide a dedicated area for decontamination of the volunteers and their gear. Currently, effected personnel are hosed down in the driveway of the fire station, year round, in all weather conditions. The cost for state and federal compliance, allowing volunteers to be safe with quick response time when they receive your call for medical or fire help, is $0.22 per day per $100,000 of taxable value ($77 per year per $100,000 of taxable value).
We invite Westfield Township and Village residents to tour our station on Wednesday, April 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. to see what our volunteers work with when they respond to your emergency call for medical or fire help.
Jane Rych
Westfield Center
