On Sept. 18, our community was chosen by U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert to host his fundraiser with Vice President Dick Cheney as his special guest. I think it was nice that our community had this opportunity to become more aware of politics and bring to the forefront the importance of not only registering to vote but actually participating by voting for the candidate of your choice.

I would like to give the community some food for thought and keep this in mind when our local politicians are considering our city’s course regarding growth. The National Fire Protection Agency creates policies and standards for our nation’s fire protection; many of these policies are adopted by OSHA and other protective agencies and governments. NFPA No. 1710 is a staffing standard for fire departments. In DeKalb, our fire department has been substandard when it comes to staffing for many many years, with or without this NFPA standard. Our prior chief outlined this very well with a five-year master plan, which was “received and filed” by the city council in April 2000 without action and now is outdated. This master plan was a council directive that included citizen input. Our demand for services continues to climb as our community continues to grow. Over the past 30 years, our community has grown and daily staffing has increased only from 10 firefighters/EMTs on during with two fire stations, to 12 firefighters/EMTs on during per day with three fire stations. Our call level has undoubtedly skyrocketed over the same period of time.

When Cheney came to DeKalb, the requirements for protection were rightfully elevated. However, Cheney’s visit required staffing of 20 firefighters/EMTs with specific training specialties all dedicated to the potential need for services for one person while the city of DeKalb, with at least 45,000 citizens, only has the protection of 12 firefighters /EMTs every day.

Our dedication to protect our city has never changed. We have a very good fire department with a great bunch of firefighters who are happy to serve our citizens in their time of need. As our political awareness elevates this year, please keep in mind that it is imperative that our city services keep pace with the growth of our community.

Mike Thomas

President, DeKalb Fire Fighters IAFF-AFFI Local 1236