Letter to the Editor: Former RWC Mayors Stick Up for Fire Department

Dear Editor;

Redwood City firefighters and police are among the best of the best, and their chiefs provide outstanding leadership. They work extremely well with neighboring departments and provide extraordinary service to our community. Redwood City was on the forefront of the successful efforts, which we all not take for granted, for city borders to drop county wide so that all fire departments work together in a seamless way, no matter the location of a fire. Multiple departments now respond to any major incident in any city, providing tremendous resources.

Right after Redwood City firefighters and police were honored for selfless, heroic acts in protecting life during a recent tragic fire, a political mailer from a council candidate described the fire department as providing only "satisfactory service" and implied that was the cause of or exacerbated the fire. She is absolutely wrong.

As former Mayors of Redwood City with over 30 years of combined civic leadership, we know firsthand how the fire department works, the extraordinary level of service and dedication of the firefighters and leadership, and the resources provided county wide by dropping borders. There was tremendous fire and police response to the recent fires and the community was well served.

Jeff Ira
Jim Hartnett