This Fire Chief Is Just A Big Government Liberal

Here in the Kingman, AZ, area one of the most conservative counties in the country, there is a crisis in fire protection and the fire chief in charge is just another big government liberal moron.
From the Kingman Daily Miner: The human cost of rapidly declining revenue for fire districts in Arizona can be found on the way to Las Vegas in Dolan Springs and Meadview, where waiting on help to arrive has turned into a frustrating and sometimes heartbreaking exercise in futility.
Not too long ago, the vast Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire District boasted seven ambulances, a number of fire vehicles and the staff to operate them. People bought homes in Dolan Springs and elsewhere in the district based in part on the confidence the robust department inspired.
What they didn't know was that the district was burning through its budget until it went bankrupt.
Today, the troubled district is down to three firefighter-paramedics and a fraction of its former fleet - and that trio must cover a district that encompasses a staggering 7,000 square miles.
To put that into perspective, the Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire District represents an area larger than four states and is nearly the size of New Jersey.
Troubled history
People in Dolan Springs say the dramatic downsizing has rendered the department incapable of responding to fire or EMS calls in a timely manner - or with the equipment and items they need to help residents.
When the district became insolvent, it was put on Patrick Moore to get it back on firm financial footing.
The only way for the chief of the Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District to do that was to cut spending down to a level the district could afford, which happens to be three firefighter-paramedics, two stationed in Dolan Springs and one in Meadview.
Moore said he understands the frustration in Dolan Springs. Unfortunately, there are a number of issues in play that indicate things will not get better anytime soon.
Here are a few.
• The district is far too large for its limited assets.
• The district can only afford three firefighters and they do not earn as much as do their counterparts at other regional departments, including at Northern Arizona Consolidated, so turnover is a problem. Moore said it took about two months to fill a vacancy in the district, meaning it wasn't uncommon for a single firefighter to respond to fires and EMS incidents....
Moore agrees on the safety issue. He said state lawmakers passed a trio of new tax rules regarding fire districts that severely limit how much revenue they can generate. As a result, Moore rarely has enough firefighters on duty to safely fight a standard house fire, which is about a dozen, according to best practices guidelines for the Fire Service.
In a recent interview regarding tax laws that have cut funding to fire districts across the state, Moore said firefighters have been given pagers and are essentially on call to respond to incidents throughout the Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District.
But Moore said the days of volunteers are all but gone because state and federal rules require volunteers to undergo the same training and to obtain identical certifications as paid firefighters.   http://kdminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=66751
So, according to this moron fire chief, it is better to go with 3 firefighters on duty in 7000 square miles, including a very long stretch of Hwy 93, which links Las Vegas and Phoenix.
There are far more volunteer firefighters and fire departments in the United States than full time paid fire departments and firefighters.
And all these volunteer fire departments have to train and hold the certifications- Firefighter 1 and 2.  And then some people would just opt to work on the ambulance and they can become EMT's or even paramedics.  Further, some people can help out by being drivers, doing paperwork, help out behind the scenes, direct traffic at emergencies and much more.
But this big government liberal hate the very idea that volunteer firefighters can do the same thing as paid firefighters.  He feels threatened by volunteers and is probably afraid that a volunteer fire chief could do just as good of job as he can do.  actually, that's probably not much of a stretch, considering how he runs the Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire department.
So, to me this shocking thinking- a big government liberal moron, in a very conservative, almost all Republican voting county.