Dear Editor:
Re: Burnaby fire department wants Kinder Morgan to fight its own fires, Burnaby NOW, July 9.
I find the belligerent attitude being adopted by Burnaby and the Burnaby firefighters towards Kinder Morgan to be deplorable.
Clearly, from reading the very thoughtful and wonderfully balanced article by Jennifer Moreau on the Kinder Morgan tank farm, there are issues on both sides.
Whether I support Kinder Morgan’s presence in Burnaby is irrelevant – what is relevant is they have been here for 60 years, paying their taxes to the city.
If a fire broke out at their facilities, I would want it dealt with swiftly and in a way to minimize environmental damage.
If in 60 years, they have not had a fire, then it does not make sense for Kinder Morgan to have people trained up full time to fight a once-in-several-generations fire. But it does make sense to work with the local fire department to provide ongoing special training to firefighters and make sure that in the unlikely – but possible – event that a fire did break out in the tank farm, the City of Burnaby and Kinder Morgan would respond swiftly and knowledgeably.
Politics should not be a factor in these situations. Kinder Morgan seems to want to work with the city to find a solution to these issues, and the city is being extremely belligerent in its response.
Meanwhile, the reality is, for now at least, Kinder Morgan are operating in our city boundaries – let’s work with them while they are here to ensure there are no environmental disasters!
Sally Gillies, by email
