Mr. Jones and me.....disagree.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has issued 6 safety orders to the Windsor Fire Department because of some problems at fire station number 7 on Lauzon Road. The issues include the doors that separate the living quarters from the truck bay don't meet building code requirements, a leaky roof above electrical fixtures, ceiling tiles in the boiler room requiring repair, no effective exhaust system to capture diesel fumes from trucks leaving the fire hall and there isn't a washroom for females.

Now, I'm no building/air quality/contracting specialist, but these sound pretty serious to me. (I can certainly relate to the lack of washroom facilites).

City Councillor Ron Jones (a retired District Fire Chief) is up in arms that someone within the ranks made a complaint to the Labour Ministry. He says they used bad judgement and did a disservice to fire administration (yet he acknowledged the problems). Jones claims because they're in the process of going to the table to have the fire station replaced, the person should have kept their mouth shut. WHAT?!!

Talk about closing in the ranks. No wonder there's so much secrecy at city hall. 'Let them ask, but don't tell' seems to be the motto. I say Bravo! to the person who had the guts to make the complaint. I'm sure they knew of the possible consequences should they be identified. I find it hard to believe nobody in administration within the fire department knew of these problems and if they did, why weren't they dealt with?

Shame on you, Ron Jones, for putting a "possible" new fire station ahead of the current safety, welfare and well-being of our firefighters.