It doesn’t matter where you live in Chilliwack, you pay the same amount for fire protection whether you are 20 seconds or 20 minutes from a staffed fire hall.
Yet, you pay more for your fire insurance to live or have a business in Chilliwack.
It’s time for the city to step up and put on their big boy (or girl) pants and start acting like a real city when it comes to fire protection.
You get what you pay for. Low tax=low service. I’m told that even now there are still days with seven firefighters on duty!
It’s time to increase staffing levels and rely less on the volunteer firefighter in a city of 100,000.
The city continues to pull the wool over the eyes of the citizens by touting cherry picked stats while the frontline staff wear the effects of understaffing (burnout, fatigue, helplessness, depression etc.)
The taxpayer doesn’t go unaffected. Less services, slower responses, more sick time, higher insurance rates, higher construction costs, etc.
I will gladly pay more tax to have better service. The chance to save on fire insurance is just a bonus. Saving a life if the need ever arises is worth every penny to me.
D. vanSmeedeldorf
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