[RP TownTalk] Our fire department

[Susan Lewis]

I have to chime in on this one.  The RP Fire Department were the first to
respond when my husband was gravely ill.  They were kind, professional, fast
and thorough.  AND they are unpaid - hence the name volunteer.  These are
ordinary people who have taken their extra time to offer a vital service.
Taking a look at the quality of other County services - I am personally very
happy that they are here.  Once they realized that they were not qualified
to help Marvin, they quickly called the County EMT's who were also
professional, kind and thorough.  Nothing anyone could have done would have
saved his life at that point, but I am glad they were all there and I hope
they stay.  I'm sorry that some have had different experiences with our Fire
Department, but maybe if they didn't spend so much time on the corners
begging to have boots filled with cash and got some decent funding, they
would behave more professionally.  Do we want to have a professional fire
department instead of a volunteer one?  Imagine the cost buzz that would
generate. The median salary for a firefighter in this region is $41,839.
each. (Monster.com) You do the math.