Friday, November 16, 2007

Protecting the Border II (Fire Departments)

The Plattsburgh Press Republican has more on the recent problem of a Quebec Fire Department being detained at the Champlain, NY border crossing.
In the past, officers at the Rouses Point crossing have waved the Canadian fire trucks through.

This time, a customs official delayed them by between eight and 15 minutes, according to differing accounts.

And,
"I've been crossing this border for 30 years, and the only question we were ever asked was: "'Where's the fire?'" Lacolle Fire Chief Jean-Pierre Hebert told the Toronto Globe and Mail this week.

"This time, we got someone zealous. He told us we'd need our passports next time."

The chief says fires double in intensity with every minute. Thus rapid responses seem to be key in fighting fires. I don't think fire responders should be "just waved across the border" but there must be a safe compromise.

More details from a Canadian newspaper here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The actions from 9/11 went much deeper then people realize and effected the simple things in life that we all took for granted.

Anonymous said...

You say, "I don't think fire responders should be 'just waved across the border.'"

Why shouldn't they?

PCS said...

Because we are either going to be serious about border security or we are not. This is the 21st Century, there must be a way that first responders can move rapidly but securely across our border.