Unfettered Letters

Every home needs two exits

I read about the people who burned up in a duplex because they only had one door to the apartment, the front door (12/28, A-10, “Kerosene heater fire kills 7”). They had no escape.

Common sense would tell anyone that security starts at home. Any place should have a front door and a back door. I lived in one apartment with one door, and I couldn’t take it. I had to move out.

It’s sad. That should be a law — two doors.

Martha L. Farmer
Gardner

Thank you, firefighters

I would like to publicly thank the Kansas City and South Platte fire departments and remind everyone what superb service our firefighters provide while risking their lives in many situations.

Firefighters have come to my aid twice within the past few months. Once was for a medical emergency, and the other was for a feline rescue. These two situations were extreme opposites in emergency value, but in each case the firefighters were very helpful and unfailingly kind.

We hear so much about budget-tightening and cost-cutting. Let’s all hope that our cities and counties can find ways around having our firefighters make sacrifices when they deserve so much.

Sue Camarillo
Kansas City

Climate change, fires

In regard to the recent wildfires,  Gary Pederson wrote (10/29, Letters), “…now it appears that global warming, according to Harry Reid, caused the fires in Southern California. Since that now doesn’t seem to be the case … I guess he’ll resort to blaming … arson … on global warming.”

Mr. Pederson’s sarcastic tone belies the fact that nobody is claiming that global warming caused the fires. The real issue is how they burn. The chief firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service says that fires burn much larger areas and last longer than they did 15 years ago (“60 Minutes”).

Because of drought and hot Santa Ana winds, the fuel for the fires is as dry as it has ever been, and the winds coming off the warmer ocean also contribute to more serious fires.

These are some of the ways global warming plays a role in wildfires.

Anne Asakura
Lee’s Summit

Fires caused by warming?

In addition to global warming causing the massive number of post-Katrina hurricanes that never happened (against all breathless, dire predictions by Al Gore and other geniuses), now it appears that global warming, according to Harry Reid, has caused the fires in Southern California.

Since that now doesn’t seem to be the case either, I guess he’ll resort to blaming someone’s propensity to commit arson on global warming.

Now that’s some kind of inconvenient truth!

Gary Pederson
Kansas City