Nancy Bommelman

Minot

A few weeks ago I had a tour of the Minot Fire Department over on 20th Avenue. I’ve got to tell you it was an awakening.

Glenn Hardy gave me a tour, the reason for the tour was I had heard when the firemen go out on a call and there are children involved they like to give stuffed animals to the children to calm them down if they are involved. So I brought some over to him and he was nice enough to give me a tour. Most people think , including myself, I thought they just sit there and wait for a call to come up. No they don’t. What they do is educate themselves. They have classes on things like sprinkler systems, what caused a fire, how can fires be prevented.

Then they have to watch videos on fires, they have to exercise one hour a day, that’s mandatory. They give life lessons to school children. I was with Glenn for about an hour and I learned more in that hour about fire and safety than I have in my whole life. Wow! It was absolutely one of the most educated things I have learned.

That being said, let me tell the people that are reading this how important our firemen are and policemen. We need to set money aside and when a raise is needed we have that money. Nobody and I mean nobody can tell me we don’t have the money in this town to give to these heroes. We have 8 million dollars sitting in the MAGIC Fund, why not take some of that money and put aside for them? Instead of giving tax breaks and letting businesses take advantage of Minot’s generosity why not give the money to the men and women that earn and deserve it.

It breaks my heart to think these men and women risk their lives every single day to bring us out of a fire, or domestic violence neighbor that is calling for help. Did you know the number one call a policeman goes out on and can be killed at is domestic violence? When a fireman goes in a burning building how do we know they are coming out alive? We don’t. The city has to step up and do the right thing, they have to give these people what they deserve. Give them what’s right. Other city police officers in the state make so much more than they do here. If I ran this town let me tell you there would be change and for the good. We need to make Minot Magic. Again.