Dear Editor,
I have seen a lot of rants and raves and letters to the editor regarding the agreement. I am a retired firefighter from Los Angeles County (31 years). I have seen comments that Chief Rhoades will be putting the $155,000 in his pocket. Nothing is further from the truth. No one pockets any money. This agreement will greatly benefit both departments as well as the residents they serve.
If anything, this will create a lot of extra work for the chief and his staff. But when fully implemented, we will have two departments that could function as one. Gone are the days when fighting fire meant just squirting water on a fire.
Today, besides water, firefighters use their brains. Lots of training goes on daily to make a well-functioning department. Kingman Fire is one of the most respected departments in Arizona due to programs set forth by Chief Rhoades and his staff. The men and women of Kingman Fire are dedicated to helping us.
NACFD is a good, small department that will benefit from this agreement. The men and women of NACFD and the same caliper people as KFD, they just haven’t had the kind of training they will get. I live in NACFD and have used them, and they were very good. The advantage of the two departments cross training and working together only helps all of us. Fire does not respect boundary lines. Remember with this agreement NACFD does not have to hire a fire chief.
I wish both departments much success, because their success is our success. Thank you mayor, city council, and Chief Rhoades for your vision.
Michael Dennis
Kingman
