Role playing
Staff Editorial
Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: Opinion
Something profoundly refreshing has happened: The College Park City Council has actually done something about its concerns regarding fire safety. As reported Friday by The Diamondback's Kevin Robillard, the council unanimously voted Tuesday to send a letter to Prince George's County Fire Chief Lawrence Sedgwick in protest of planned cuts that would slim the budget of each county volunteer fire department by $7,500.
Unfortunately, the fact that the council's letter-writing act can be considered refreshing is not a good thing. The fact that this letter stands out as being one of the most active stances the council has taken recently on fire-safety issues is scary.
The city council's letter comes shortly after city officials did next to nothing in response to a recent fire that caused more than $15,000 in damages in Hartwick Tower, a building that lacks a sprinkler system and had an alarm system that failed to work. It also comes in light of the fact that, in the past three years, there have been four major student-housing fires in the area, two of which resulted in the death of a student.
An apartment was gutted in a building where no alarm warned residents that their lives were in danger and no sprinklers fought the blaze, and the city council did nothing in response. The city council seems awfully worried about the $7,500 its volunteer fire department may lose, as it should be, but it doesn't seem to give a damn about the city's massive fire-safety failures made apparent in the recent Hartwick Tower fire. Why?
The College Park Volunteer Fire Department receives some of its funding directly from the city. A skeptic would think city officials only care about the budget cut because they fear they may be asked to replace what was cut. An optimist would think city officials are solely concerned about the safety of their constituents. It's hard to know who would be more correct, but the city council certainly doesn't have any sort of record to support the idea that it is overly or actively concerned with fire safety.
Unfortunately, the fact that the council's letter-writing act can be considered refreshing is not a good thing. The fact that this letter stands out as being one of the most active stances the council has taken recently on fire-safety issues is scary.
The city council's letter comes shortly after city officials did next to nothing in response to a recent fire that caused more than $15,000 in damages in Hartwick Tower, a building that lacks a sprinkler system and had an alarm system that failed to work. It also comes in light of the fact that, in the past three years, there have been four major student-housing fires in the area, two of which resulted in the death of a student.
An apartment was gutted in a building where no alarm warned residents that their lives were in danger and no sprinklers fought the blaze, and the city council did nothing in response. The city council seems awfully worried about the $7,500 its volunteer fire department may lose, as it should be, but it doesn't seem to give a damn about the city's massive fire-safety failures made apparent in the recent Hartwick Tower fire. Why?
The College Park Volunteer Fire Department receives some of its funding directly from the city. A skeptic would think city officials only care about the budget cut because they fear they may be asked to replace what was cut. An optimist would think city officials are solely concerned about the safety of their constituents. It's hard to know who would be more correct, but the city council certainly doesn't have any sort of record to support the idea that it is overly or actively concerned with fire safety.
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jimbo
posted 11/19/07 @ 7:27 AM EST
The city isnt your mother, take responsibility for yourself instead of demanding the government hold your hand.
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