Midway Fire District needs extra tax to keep 20 firefighters on staff

My name is Shannon Stone and I am a Navarre/ Midway resident that receives emergency services by both Holly Navarre Fire Department and the Midway Fire Department. I wanted to comment on several items in reference to your recent article. ("Business Tax to Skyrocket" Jan. 3, 2008).

I really wish reporters like yourself would report the facts objectively and with accurate information. Your recent story was full of inaccurate information that portrays the Midway Fire Department in a very negative light and more and likely hurt the fire department's chances of maintaining their current level of service. Do you realize if the homestead tax is voted for and the fire assessment fee is voted down the Midway Fire Department will literally shut down half of its operations?

Did you bother to talk to the fire chief of Midway before you irresponsibly reported your story?

My guess is no because if you did you would know that the Midway residents are in jeopardy of losing (laying off) 20 firefighters, paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, shutting a station down, loosing fire prevention activities and loosing their Advanced Life Support Paramedic Services.

I only speculate this because you failed to mention any of this as a possibility with the upcoming tax vote. I hope you realize that if this does happen that the midway residents chances for surviving a life threatening medical emergency, such as a heart attack, have tragically decreased. Did you realize that if this happens that the chances of your home burning to the ground and a successful rescue of a family member from a burning home have tragically decreased.

THESE ARE FACTS and straight from the American Heart Association and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). You start removing emergency services and people will die. How much is fire protections worth then? If it was you needing the service, my guess is the cost would not matter.

So I ask three simple things:

As a responsible reporter, get ALL the factual information before reporting the issue.

If you have any integrity at all, you will run another article correcting your inaccurate information in regards to the increases you claim there will be.

Support your firefighters, it just may save your or one of your family members life one day.