There’s a saying that goes something like:  People deserve the government they elect.  Or something like that.  But unfortunately, in some cases the firefighters get that same government that they didn’t necessarily choose for themselves, yet they don’t deserve it.  Such is the case in Palo Alto, California, where the citizens have saddled themselves with a group of irresponsible loons in the city council.

The desperate politicians whose first priority is to cling on to their own political power hired a consulting firm that is largely run by former fire chiefs to come up with recommendations to pare fire department budget.  While the consultants were looking through the FD’s operations to find ways to become more efficient and economize, somebody on the council found out that this firm had never recommended that a department lay off firefighters as part of the overhaul.  This incensed some of the councilmen because they had already pre-determined to slash the roster and were hoping to use the consultants’ report as justification.  In other words, the weasels don’t have the courage to stand up themselves and admit that is what they want to do.  In fact, they were apparently trying to stay in the shadows on this controversial plan.

The Palo Alto Daily News quotes Vice Mayor Sid Espinosa who tried a bit of double-talk when he said, “We obviously are looking for an objective, independent review of our coverage standards and staffing standards.  It is striking to me that we would have selected a company that has never recommended a staffing reduction if we’re looking at staffing numbers.”  Now anybody who possesses the slightest bit of logical thinking capability can quickly point out that if they were looking for an objective review, then they wouldn’t have started with a foregone conclusion as a requirement for the consultants to achieve.

But it gets worse.  Earlier this year, the firefighters’ Local began gathering signatures for a November ballot measure that would prohibit firefighter layoffs without a public vote.  According to the Daily News, on April 20, the city council voted 7-2 to approve a memo urging voters not to sign the petition, calling the proposal “bad government.”  Apparently the seven councilmen who voted for this memo are either unaware or unconcerned that the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution specifically gives citizens the right “to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”  But the council calls that “bad government.”

Those people are not only desperate, but they are also dunces.  I believe the Local could take that silly memo and really run with it.  Perhaps they’ll get in touch with The Fire PIO and expose the city council for the bunch of nitwits that they are.

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While we’re here, I’ve got a couple of updates for you.  First of all, the cause of that large fire in Portland, Oregon, that destroyed a church building connected to a hotel on Monday (Firegeezer report HERE)  has been determined.  The Oregonian sums it up this morning:

Investigators found that the culprit, a simple clamp-on lamp with an incandescent bulb, set fire to props and costumes kept in an upstairs room known as the Drama Room.   The fire spread throughout the building, destroying meeting rooms, a maintenance area and a coffee shop, and causing the evacuation of a nearby hotel. Estimates for the damage to the buildings and its contents were raised from $500,000 to $850,000….

If you were wondering why the church building is connected to the hotel, it’s because the church owns the entire complex.

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We have been following the sad story from England where a vengeful neighbor who wasn’t permitted into a private party set fire to the apartment building and killed two teen-age jockeys who had promising careers ahead of them.  We first reported on the fire back in September HERE and then the arrest in November of Peter Brown for the heinous crime HERE.

Brown’s trial for murder and arson began this week and the first witness testimony was by the young lady who called in the fire to 9-9-9.  She testified after the playing of the dispatch tape and the entire courtroom became very emotional.  Sky News summarizes the day HERE.  We’ll continue to follow the procedings.

We’d better start our own procedings now and get this equipment checked out.  I need to get some more coffee started, too.  We’ll meet back in the day room in a little while.