Kudos for Efforts to Curb Firecrackers
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Citizens owe Ventura County Fire Chief James Sewell and Oxnard Fire Chief Randy Coggan a hearty “thank you” for their efforts to promote fire safety by curbing the sale of fireworks in Fillmore, after these devices resulted in a 400-acre fire and $200,000 in property damage.
Fillmore is the only city in the county which permits the sale or use of fireworks. Devices purchased there are taken throughout the county and beyond, endangering the lives and property of hundreds of thousands of people. Officials in Fillmore claim that organizations there net between $70,000 and $100,000 in just a few days. But Randy Coggan, Oxnard fire chief and head of the Ventura County Fire Chiefs Assn., correctly noted that one group of clubs in one city has all the benefit while all the other cities pay the price.
What is needed is recognition that we are all one community, and the sale of dangerous devices in one city affects us all. Most people in Fillmore will recognize the need for common responsibility and will eventually elect officials who will correct this danger.
In the meantime, the rest of us need to get the attention of these city officials. Send the bill to Fillmore.
DELTON LEE JOHNSON
Santa Paula
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