Scientists have gotten us to the moon. Man has even walked on the moon. For goodness sakes, we’ve even landed spacecraft on Mars 14 times. Why, then, can scientists not figure out how to put out fires using something better than water or Phos-Chek? Can’t there be a way to destroy the oxygen that feeds the fires? OK, so putting out fires is far from easy, and apparently not on their list of “most important items to tackle.” However, fires—both globally and locally—are increasing exponentially. It’s time for the scientific world to take this problem seriously!
In the meantime, I believe we need to think outside the box. As a suggestion, I believe the Boy Scouts’ motto to “always be prepared” can become our motto. The “always be prepared” solution can be: Place numerous huge water tanks (yes, a whole lot of them and yes, it’s expensive) strategically across all the areas most prone to fire. The release of water from the tanks can be activated by a solar-powered switch. Am I being too simplistic? Perhaps. But that’s the way creative solutions begin. So, let’s get creative rather than being sitting ducks waiting for the next destructive fire to rear its ugly head! Enough is enough! I believe the appropriate agencies have to know that the same old-same old fire fighting methods of today and tomorrow have to change! These methods are enormously expensive and obviously don’t work nearly well enough.
Let’s augment the current methods by creating a strong infrastructure of readiness that will, in the long run, end up being cheaper and so much more effective—enabling us to “always be prepared.”
Marlene Matlow