At Tuesday’s meeting of the City Council Budget and Finance Committee, fire chief Mack Bailey shared some statistics that reminded me why it makes sense to live in Oak Ridge. Per capita fire losses per capita in our city are only about 1/3 of the average in the southeastern U.S. (just $15 to $25 per year, versus about $65 in the region) and well below the national average of $50 per year. Also, he said that our Fire Department makes 3 times as many runs as is typical for a town our size — when people call for help, the ORFD shows up to come to their aid.
So this is what we get from the taxes we pay for our professional fire department: efficient fire prevention and response services that help minimize fire losses, plus a helpful bunch of people who will be there when we need them, whether it’s a fire, a medical emergency, or the proverbial cat stuck up a tree.
