Referendum failure will appear in future insurance bill

The vote which would fund the Midway Fire District fire departments failed. Why? What was going through everyone's heads?

As a former household preinspector for various insurance companies, I can attest that instead of saving $240 per household the voter will find themselves a year from now, complaining again about their high insurance rates due to expected layoffs and cutbacks. Insurance companies require inspection reports to contain: ISO (International Standards Organization) ratings of each station, distance and response time to fire site, distance from hydrant, water pressure of hydrants, paid versus volunteer force, response time, unit availability, tanker water capacity, sump pumps for ocean and pool transfer. Each vehicle has a minimum number of people required to operate it by state mandate. It takes four to man a tanker/pumper vehicle. Which one of them can leave the vehicle or hose to run into your burning building and save a baby?

Midway Fire District has taken us forward from our rural roots by installing as many hydrants as their budget could handle especially in non-subdivision rural areas. Layoffs and cutbacks will be noticed immediately by insurance agencies that are already complaining of hurricane losses and reluctant to write new policies. Remember, we are still required to pay for outside support dispatched to our fires. I would suggest that this vote puts our neighborhoods in a high risk area. Response times will lengthen while some neighborhood stations will close causing skyrocke ting insurance rates and homes at risk. Be ready with your garden hoses!

To the large businesses that fought this proposal with halftruths and misinformation due to their own immediate greed rather than long term good of the community, I say, don't wait for us to show up for an old fashioned bucket brigade. Maybe your employees will offer to risk themselves as the firemen would.

I am not a wealthy person, but my home and family is worth the proposed cost. I know the few firefighters left will be discouraged but will still bravely arrive at the scene of a fire even if it means only to watch it burn to the ground and prevent it from spreading to another home. What happens if we have another drought season with increased risk of wild fires in our neighborhoods? The $240 a year you saved will soon translate into a $500 a year insurance increase. To insurance companies you are only pawns in a "risk management" statistical ledger. Monetary costs are only secondary. Are you willing to bet against the odds for your home and family? Let's hope we get a chance to vote again on this issue soon with everyone properly informed.