PERRY: Heat is on this candidate

In 2010, the Texas Association of Firefighters backed Rick Perry for governor. Today they're paying for it - literally. The Texas Forest Service says, "No one on the face of this Earth has fought fires under these extreme conditions." Chief Henry Perry, of the Bastrop City Fire Department, said of the wild fires, "That fire department has been on this fire every day. Before this fire, they were having to buy stuff out of their own pockets."

The equipment they were paying for wasn't just clipboards and uniforms. Chief Perry says that he knows of several departments that are paying for the fuel to get to the fires. Guy Turner, president of the TAFF, tells of equipment starting to fail and putting firefighters lives at risk. Turner points out that breathing systems and water hoses have broken in actual fires. He says that the worst case scenario, firefighters in a structure and their engine quitting, is becoming very real to the members.

Turner says, "It's a shame. They are basically putting a price on how much our lives are worth." Private fundraising isn't the answer, either. Chief Perry points out local fire departments have to scramble to meet state matching grants. Chris Barron, executive director of the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals Association, knows of one case of a department having to beg for proper firefighting clothing for the range fires. Wild fire gear is different from structure equipment, heavy and non-breathable fabrics just don't make it. Other departments have asked firefighters to pay for their own gear out of pocket.

While Rick Perry runs around making speeches that we should vote for him because of his success as governor of Texas, the state is burning down and the firefighters are paying for it out of their own pockets. Should you vote for Rick Perry? Take Guy Turner's word for it, "It's a shame."

JEFF BOURGET

Coeur d'Alene