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Letter: Support Cdale fire levy

Tamar Mattorano
Carbondale

I was a volunteer firefighter and EMT for Carbondale Fire for 15 years, vested for 12. It was an incredible experience and an honor to serve the community.

Hard work, dedication and a lot of training with the proper gear and equipment was the key to quality care and response. Carbondale Fire holds a high standard in quality care and response. Equipment and gear must constantly be inspected and replaced when needed, personnel need to be trained. That is crucial to quality care and quick response.

This all takes money. Based on property taxes, can create a bit of a roller-coaster ride due to economic fluctuations. I think Carbondale Fire has done an exceptional job meeting the requirements of the community. We have hundreds of years of experience and knowledge in the personnel performing these daily tasks. They deal with extremely difficult situations in all fields.



Carbondale Fire operates out of five stations from Marble to past Cattle Creek to the CMC turnoff. The 320 square miles is a huge fire district to cover seven days a week 24 hours a day, rain, snow whatever the weather is, they go out and serve us. When we talk about the size of the fire district, one has to visualize just how enormous it truly is. They respond up into the Lead King basin area at times and over McClure Pass, down the entire valley, up in Thompson, Missouri Heights, and on the west end down Highway 82 and 109 Road to Aspen Glen and up to Spring Valley behind CMC.

Five fire stations, the personnel, equipment and training to maintain the high standard they have set for themselves and the community is commendable. I realize there are some areas that need to be addressed. I, too, want a sunset clause for voters’ input.



People, these five fire stations and equipment are yours. Having well-trained and competent personnel is imperative to maintaining our investment toward our safety and well-being. This creates peace of mind. I like the peace of mind that when I have to dial 911 that my investment will return tenfold on possibly the worst day of my life.

We must maintain a high standard of quality care and response for our sake and our future. When agencies start to slide downward, it takes even more money to bring them back up to the level of service we have become accustomed to. It took many years of very hard work to get to this level. Please vote yes on 4B to support our community and our Carbondale fire department. It’s a wise investment with a good return.


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