A LETTER TO THE EDITOR – A PREVIEW   

I couldn't help myself today! After reading an article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (Sunday, September 13, 2015) I was compelled to respond. The letter is longer than the Press Democrat generally accepts, so they may not print it, but I hope they will. I am putting it on my blog today just in case.

Dear Editor,

For the last few days, the horrendous Valley Fire in Lake County has been on the minds of every Northern California resident who has a heartbeat, I would expect. Before this current disaster two other devastating fires occurred: the Jerusalem Fire and the Rocky Fire. The populace of Lake County clearly needs a break. They need our donations, our prayers, and our good will. That should be easy for most of us; the difficult work must come from the firefighters who have been on the frontlines from the first alarm.

The folks in the line of fire need our firefighters and the many employees behind the scenes who support their exhausting, dirty, and dangerous work. CAL FIRE, in particular, once again has answered the call, of that, I am certain, for my son was a CAL FIRE Fire Apparatus Engineer and Inspector for CAL FIRE. He died in the line of duty, so this letter is not about him; it is about the others, his brothers and sisters, the brave souls who, in the current catastrophe, have not hesitated for one second to do whatever is necessary to save lives first, property second, and our precious land resources third.

A firefighter does not don turnouts, boots, helmet, and breathing apparatus to look cool. He or she marches instead into frightening, hazardous, and unpredictable situations to save lives and property. They do not think twice. Without a doubt, I have the deepest respect for the firefighting community. I know many firefighters on a personal level; I understand their passion and commitment for their jobs. It is perhaps not surprising then that I felt compelled to voice my outrage when I read the article, entitled Too Many Firefighters? by Fred S. McChesney on Sunday, September 13, 2015, incongruously printed for all to see only two days after the anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

McChesney’s clearly biased article, filled with statistics that may or may not be accurate, is one thing. To see it printed so boldly in the Press Democrat, in the midst of the worst fire season in recent history, was absolutely appalling. Mr. McChesney scoffs at the high salaries firefighters earn, implying that they live lives in luxury. Absurd. Luxury for them is likely a bottle of cold water when they stumble into basecamp after brutal hours fighting flames. McChesney infers that firefighters are lazy, lounging at the station, with too many days off. The CAL FIRE firefighters I know have given up their days of summer away from their families, working overtime harder than most of us could imagine, in order to answer the call of service. Instead of denigrating the firefighting community, as Mr. McChesney has done in his offensive article, perhaps he needs to take a closer look. Lake County residents, and those in other ravished areas of California, are quite apt to agree.

Sincerely,

Judith DeChesere-Boyle

Author, Retired Teacher

jdechesereboyle@yahoo.com

 

Alex with his niece and nephew at Boggs.