Simple, John Dayton is a veteran member who has been with the Department for many years. In his younger years he was extremely active with the Department. Because of his firefighting training he understands "rural firefighting" much better than the "city firefighting" consultant who spent only two days in Middlebury.
The notion that everyone else in the world knows what is best for fire protection for the Town other than the Fire Department, is simply ridiculous. The MVFD has been successfully protecting this Town since 1941. Their understanding of the apparatus needs far overshadows the opinion of a consultant who only visited the Town for two days. If you review his report he shows little understanding of our town and our Fire Department. He did however get a few things correct. 1) The MVFD needs a new Pumper and Rescue, and 2) The MVFD is a well-run Department.
But, you don't have to be a trained firefighter to understand the basic principles of firefighting, which have not changed since Ben Franklin started the first department in Philadelphia. In order to put out a structure fire efficiently, you need water.
How many fire trucks does it take to extinguish a fire? If there are no hydrants, you may need all of them. Even with hydrants at the last structure fire, the Department used Engine 3, Engine 1, and Engine 4 at the scene. So, where was Engine 2? Back at the firehouse where it suppose to be. Engine 2 is a second alarm piece. If you have another fire in town and have your only three engines committed to a first call, how will you respond to the second call?
The answer, a mutual aid company maybe? Maybe, but what if a natural disaster such as a hurricane or tornado has occurred, and mutual aid companies are not available? What then?
With the increase in development in Town, and the population on the rise with hundreds of new homes being built, it makes little sense to reduce the fleet.
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