Detours in place near NIC Let's keep politics out of public safety

Last month, we were fortunate to receive the Idaho Medal of Honor, an award for emergency medical service technicians, law enforcement officers and firefighters.

About a year ago we were on duty and were sent to a Coeur d'Alene home where a woman was trapped in a truck that had crashed into the garage.

We arrived to a chaotic scene. Smoke filled the garage and visibility was zero. The wheels were still spinning on the woman's truck as her foot was still on the accelerator, and debris was flying. She was trapped unconscious inside the locked vehicle, so we put on our gear, forced entry into the car, and got her out.

Although we were honored by the subsequent awards, neither of us considers what we did to be special. Every other firefighter we know and work with would have done exactly what we did.

In fact, firefighters from around Idaho put their lives on the line each day, understanding and accepting the risks, to protect the public and keep our neighbors safe. We know that you expect your local fire departments to be professional, well-staffed and properly trained. We expect the same.

You also should not have to worry that politics is in any way seeping into the day-to-day work of the department.

Unfortunately, there is a vocal minority who insist that something is wrong with how Idaho approaches public safety. They stand opposed to the majority of Idahoans who believe that firefighters and police officers operate most effectively when we can operate as a team.

Neither of us would have allowed the other to go into that garage alone. We look out for each other. We push each other to be better. And we do the same with our colleagues, our brothers and sisters in the effort to keep our community safe.

We live together, we eat together, and we protect each other. That is who we are. And it means that to operate effectively and safely we have to come together collectively and agree on our pay and our benefits.

This isn't about money. There are examples from around Idaho of firefighters who have agreed to cuts in pay and benefits to help their local communities make up for budget shortfalls. We want budgets to be balanced and we want tax rates low - after all, we live in the communities which we serve and pay our taxes, just like all of you.

This is about safety, yours and ours. The right to collectively sit down with our employer to discuss health and safety issues is essential. Both firefighters and civilians have been injured and even killed through the years due to safety violations within their departments. Without a union, firefighters are unable to voice these safety concerns without the fear of retribution or termination.

While there are many negative stereotypes, the fact is that firefighter unions like ours exist to protect employee rights and provide safe working conditions. The members of our union negotiate for our safety and that of the public. People like to dramatize what we do, but in reality ours is a very unpredictable, and at times, dangerous profession.

That is why we ask you to oppose the push to prohibit public safety officers from working with government agencies on contracts. Doing so would create big gaps in pay, training, will compromise safety, and would leave public safety officers open to abuse and exploitation from some politicians.

We don't want that. You don't want that.

We believe that you have the right to expect a quality, well-trained, professional team of firefighters who take pride in their work and in keeping your community safe. We believe that the current system of collaboration, of give-and-take, is the best way to accomplish that.

We have always been there when you have needed us, and we always will be, no matter what. But now we need your help. Support your emergency services by supporting our right to collectively bargain. We ask you to please contact your local legislator and urge him or her to protect Idaho's way of life and way of protecting communities by keeping politics out of public safety.

Dylan Clark and Nathan Hyder are firefighters with the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department.