Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Protecting the Border

Rouses Point, NY is a tiny hamlet that is located on the USA-Canadian border. Last night there was a fire at the Anchorage Inn in Rouses Point. Fire trucks sent from nearby Canadian fire departments were held at the border by US Border Patrolmen for at least 8 minutes while they verified the identity of one of the firefighters.
Trombley said he is not sure whether the landmark restaurant would have been saved had the departments been able to enter the United States faster, but he said the delay did strain firefighters battling flames in Rouses Point.

"The people there really needed to be relieved. It was a pretty risky situation."

Lacolle and St. Paul Isle Noix fire departments are part of the Clinton County Mutual Aid System.

UPDATE: First responders need better access. This is a tough one. How do you allow rapid access of first responders to the USA and protect against possible "evil-doers" at the same time?

Plattsburgh Press Republican editorial here.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Take a look at your Merriam Webster, and check out the word hamlet. I envision 25 people at a crossroads in the White mountains. Rouses Point is an incorporated village. (In another venue, someone referred to it as a fishing village. I had never seen the Perch Fleet set sail, yet ...)

PCS said...

I guess if you are a big fan of the Adirondack Park Agency you make a valid point. The APA defines a hamlet as an unincorporated entity. Webster's II and the Old Oxford English Dictionary define a Hamlet as a small rural village or town or a village without a church in the case of the OED. In any case no insult was meant and it's a pretty word. In APA-speak, village and town have quite precise meanings also. I'll try to be more of a pedant in the future.

Cheech said...

Im a Firefighter/Paramedic in Ohio and what makes me mad is that we ARENT capable of stopping illegal immigrants from entering this country but we will stop a firetruck responding hot to a fire call TO DO THEIR JOB. Maybe the Border Patrol along with the Government should learn how to PROPERLY do their job before they go stopping people when attempting to do their job.

Anonymous said...

cheech, I think you should be aware of all the facts involved before being that critical. Do you know for sure that the fire fighter with "admissibility issues" wasn't an illegal immigrant in Canada. Do we then allow the illegal to enter the US just because he was on a firetruck?
Or maybe that person was a known criminal, or had known ties to criminal operations in the Lacolle, PQ area? Maybe they had an active warrant? Are you suggesting we should let criminals in just because they're responding to a fire that began over an hour before they were called for help?