I moved to Yakima about 5 years ago and as a homeowner and business owner, I have a vested interest in how the fire dept. will protect my family and property. Over the years I've seen many news articles about their ideas to improve their service to the community and am always surprised at the number of hateful letters in these comment sections. In all of the other cities I've lived, there has always been a general support and pride in their fire departments. Some of these comments address facts but most seem to be the rantngs of people with personal vendettas.
The cost of the tiller truck drew alot of negativity and now that they've ordered 2 "off the shelf" pumpers at a bargain price, that they obviously need, you still complain. I've never seen a city so unwilling to invest in itself.
I guess until I'm willing to go through the testing process, put in the years of service and climb through the ranks until I'm in a position to make these kind of difficult, educated decisions, I'll just continue to trust those that do and thank our firefighters for the good work they do.