| Notes
from City Hall
The Cottonwood Fire Department is a department of the City of Cottonwood and is, therefore, under the control and authority of the City Council. We at City Hall are very proud of our Fire Department and the hard work these people put in to keep the equipment in top condition and the time they spend training to take care of your emergency as quickly and as safely as possible. Last Tuesday, the department received a page from the County dispatch of a fire at Pacific Cabinets in Ferdinand. As per our procedure, all available firemen respond to the Station regardless of the call. We all knew it was out of our jurisdiction and, therefore, we could not respond. We could and did send our 6x6 tanker with 1100 gallons of water which is permissible under an agreement between Dept of Lands and the Rural Fire District. When it was determined that there were plenty of fireman in town to cover any calls that may come in, several firefighters volunteered their personal time and went to Ferdinand in their private vehicles to assist in the firefighting efforts there. This action was not at the direction of any City Dept. officials but rather personal initiative on the part of those that went. It is not the policy to send City resources to another jurisdiction except in the case of a negotiated and documented Mutual Aid agreement like the one we have with Grangeville. On the day before that, the Fire Department was hosting an Open House for the Elementary School students at the Fire Station, demonstrating the various equipment, procedures and safety procedures to the children. In the course of the demonstrations, the deluge gun, which throws an impressive amount of water a long distance, was deployed to throw a stream of water across the street targeting an unoccupied area. Apparently, some of the overspray landed on some cars in the area causing problems for the owners of the vehicles in question. The Fire Department and the City deeply regrets and apologizes for any problems this may have caused. As a matter of policy, the deluge guns will no longer be operated in a practice or test situation in town. Respectfully, Denis B. Duman, Mayor
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