In Defense of the Ocean View Fire Company

To the Editor:
Recently the Ocean View Fire Commissioners have been on a mission to replace the Ocean View Fire Company, Station 17. The Commissioners are currently on the path to start and fund a new fire company. This would be a terrible mistake that will not only cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars but will also endanger the residents of Ocean View, South Seaville and Clermont.
The Ocean View Fire Commissioners have called for a vote on Nov. 13 to use $400,000 of taxpayer funds to start a new fire company. A new fire company would only have a handful of properly trained members. They certainly do not have enough men and women to safely run a fire company. For the first several months under the new proposed fire company, Dennis Township Fire District 1 will be unprotected. Residents’ lives will be jeopardized this winter, which sees a spike in fire due to the increase use of wood stoves and fireplaces. This summer, tourist lives will also be in danger, those that live in campgrounds and especially those that travel on the parkway. It would take, at the minimum, six months for the new fire company to become fully manned and fully trained to protect residents and tourists of the district. It seems illogical to endanger the citizens of Fire District 1 and to cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars when there is already a capable, competent fire company protecting these same citizens.
The fire commissioners will argue that the Ocean View Fire Department is not competent to handle the job. They will cite the fatality this past January. However, the Ocean View Fire Company performed to national standards on this call. According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the average response time for fire companies is five minutes, with the majority of fire companies responding within four–eight minutes.
At one particular fire, Chief Gurdgiel was on scene in five minutes, with trucks arriving within eight minutes. Keep in mind that this fire also occurred at 3:30 am, a time of day when response times are the slowest. The fire commissioners will also allege that there is poor leadership within the Fire Company. However, within my time at the department I have only seen the opposite. Good leaders are those that lead from the front. They do not delegate, they do not dictate, they act. One of the best examples of this comes from a fire that occurred March 9, in Avalon. Ocean View Fire Company was on a cover assignment in Avalon when they received a call for a house fire. One of the first firefighters in the door was Deputy Chief Mike Deluca. From the chief to the lieutenants, the Ocean View Fire Company is filled with great leaders.
The fire commissioners call this vote with a website that has not been in compliance since June. There are several meetings where the commissioners have not posted their minutes, thus violating the Sunshine Law. How can we expect these commissioners to lead the new fire company if they cannot run a simple website and be transparent about their business? I encourage all residents and registered voters of Ocean View, South Seaville and Clermont to come to the Dennis Township Hall on Nov. 13th at 7:00 p.m. and vote against the measure to start a new fire company.