To The Editor,
Longwood Fire Company has been seeking dedicated funding from governmental entities for many years. I was encouraged to see four companies in our region form a funding coalition to reach that goal and have offered them my support.
The Berwyn, Paoli, Radnor and Malvern fire companies formed the T-E Fire Companies Funding Coalition. They are combining efforts to reach out to residents and governmental leaders to find money for budget shortfalls. Operating a top-notch fire companies is expensive. The equipment is expensive and the training of fire fighters is expensive.
The T-E group indicated they receive less than 25 percent of its funding from the government. The cost of a fire truck can run into the millions of dollars and there is individual equipment for volunteers and training. One of the chiefs warned, “If a sustainable funding solution isn’t found, we fear that eventually we may not be able to promptly and effectively respond to fire and EMS emergencies.”
Our Longwood volunteers are dedicated to protecting our community and our residents depend upon us in emergencies. If fire companies are not properly funded local taxpayers run the risk of paying additional taxes for the service we provide.
For the good of the community we all should work together to protect our community.
A. J. McCarthy
Chief , Longwood Fire Company
East Marlborough
