I don’t care how tastefully done they are, I recoil at the sight of an advertisement plastered across the side of a fire truck.
First, I find it visually unappealing, causing me to make the same face I did when forced to take medicine as a child. I like a fire truck to be a fire truck.
But more important, it is a reminder that local, state and federal lawmakers are not doing their job to properly fund fire departments.
Call me a socialist and burn me in effigy if you will, but I can think of no better way to provide emergency services than for everyone to share in the cost. And love them or hate them, government entities are in the best position to collect and distribute that cost sharing.
But philosophy doesn’t put out fire or save lives. Well-trained and well-equipped firefighters do that. Well-trained and well-equipped firefighters are also less likely to be hurt or killed.
So I applaud the pragmatic, get-it-done approach the Middle River (Md.) Volunteer Fire Company took when it found a local business to buy monthly ad space on its aerial. The department will use the money for a needed generator.
Middle River isn’t the only department that turned to the “dark side” for revenue. Apache Junction (Ariz.) Fire District expects to raise $95,000 from ads it carries on its rigs.
Both departments require the ads be tasteful. And that restraint may make the pill easier to swallow — both for the public and fire departments.
You can compare those tasteful ads to how public television and public radio acknowledge their corporate sponsors — they are not really advertisements, but still contain the company’s name and brief message.
The danger is that the more accepted this practice becomes, the more expected it becomes. Rest assured, lawmakers will move the funding burden from the public sector to the private sector given the chance — and don’t think for a minute that means lower taxes.
If elected and appointed officials are let off the emergency-response funding hook, how far will fire departments have to go to make ends meet? At what point will fire departments be faced with plastering their rigs with ads for Bubba’s Beer Barn and Brothel in order to buy new turnout gear? Will fire departments have to choose between hiring line firefighters and ad sales reps?
Again, I applaud the creativity and determination of those departments that are finding alternative funding sources during these difficult times. But, I’m concerned how it may change the funding paradigm for fire departments.
What’s your take on this situation?
