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Miami Fla--Miami Dade Disputes City's Story of how Cruise Ship Explosion was handled!
This is a letter to the editor
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City takes too much credit for port rescue
Re Karl Ross' June 2 article, Can the county handle port fires?: In the wake of the Miami seaport fire, it is obvious that Miami's motives are purely to recapture the $300,000 to $400,000 that it lost when the Miami-Dade Fire Department took over fire protection at the port years ago.
If the city indeed had 52 firefighters at the port that terrible morning, then they severely depleted their on-duty capabilities to protect the city. Had a large fire or other disaster struck the city simultaneously, their response units would have been supplemented by county fire units as well as units from surrounding cities. This is the basis behind mutual-aid agreements in effect for decades.
Miami Assistant Fire Chief Joe Fernández stated that all the victims of the explosion were taken to hospitals in Miami units. Many victims were transported in Miami-Dade rescue trucks. The two air-rescue helicopters that flew the most severely injured patients to the Ryder Trauma Center were Miami-Dade units. The Miami Beach Fire Department also had firefighters on the scene.
During construction of the American Airlines Arena, there was a large fire atop the structure. Miami firefighters could not access and control the fire. The blaze was ultimately extinguished by a Miami-Dade air-rescue helicopter using a ''Bambi Bucket'' -- a primary tool against woodland fires -- that dipped water from Biscayne Bay. This saved millions of dollars in loss.
The city of Miami needs to find ways to better fund its services or be more effective with the budget it has. It should not discredit a fine and proud Miami-Dade Fire Rescue service in an attempt to regain the contract to serve the port.
LT. BILL VAN METER
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
North Miami
____________________
City takes too much credit for port rescue
Re Karl Ross' June 2 article, Can the county handle port fires?: In the wake of the Miami seaport fire, it is obvious that Miami's motives are purely to recapture the $300,000 to $400,000 that it lost when the Miami-Dade Fire Department took over fire protection at the port years ago.
If the city indeed had 52 firefighters at the port that terrible morning, then they severely depleted their on-duty capabilities to protect the city. Had a large fire or other disaster struck the city simultaneously, their response units would have been supplemented by county fire units as well as units from surrounding cities. This is the basis behind mutual-aid agreements in effect for decades.
Miami Assistant Fire Chief Joe Fernández stated that all the victims of the explosion were taken to hospitals in Miami units. Many victims were transported in Miami-Dade rescue trucks. The two air-rescue helicopters that flew the most severely injured patients to the Ryder Trauma Center were Miami-Dade units. The Miami Beach Fire Department also had firefighters on the scene.
During construction of the American Airlines Arena, there was a large fire atop the structure. Miami firefighters could not access and control the fire. The blaze was ultimately extinguished by a Miami-Dade air-rescue helicopter using a ''Bambi Bucket'' -- a primary tool against woodland fires -- that dipped water from Biscayne Bay. This saved millions of dollars in loss.
The city of Miami needs to find ways to better fund its services or be more effective with the budget it has. It should not discredit a fine and proud Miami-Dade Fire Rescue service in an attempt to regain the contract to serve the port.
LT. BILL VAN METER
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
North Miami
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