Regarding the plan not to pay our volunteer fireman: We view this with outrage, not outreach. The generation of volunteer fireman is quickly aging out. The idea of not paying our firemen to risk their lives and wellbeing without compensation is insulting and dismissive of our first responders.
To expect first responders to work for free is not only ill-conceived, it is insulting to the very people who may some day save your lives. How do you expect someone to risk their life to save yours, when you don’t think they’re valuable enough to them pay a salary? Aspen has a long history of an exemplary volunteer fire department, but this is 2019. To expect them to do this for nothing in this day and age is insane. The day may come when we have no one in the fire department. Like everyone one else,these people need to earn a living. And we the Aspen public need to respect what they do. And to compensate them for it. We respect our Aspen firefighters and we support our Aspen Fire Department.
Jill St. John and Robert Wagner
Aspen