Those who follow the universe's natural history know that the probable cause of its formation was the "Big Bang", where matter exploded from a central core at an astonishing rate of speed & force, and has been expanding ever since.
Astronomers have noted, however; that there may be a finite limit to the distances of the universe, and that cosmic matter could eventually run out of expansion; thus, begin to retract into the small cosmic core it started out as before. This is the "Big Squeeze" theory.
The latter theory may become a way of life locally, thanks to the never-ending, pessimistic sounds of the Michigan economy. This article details preliminary plans to combine five communities' fire departments into one "central core".
All five communities in the story have reputable departments known for great response time. They have saved many lives and kept small fires from become un-battleable. But should the operations be constrained to one location, or even with one body overseeing five communities, what may happen to the response time?
The last thing the Metro Detroit area needs is more bad publicity; they've been battling it since before I was born. It took the southern Downriver area over thirty years to battle out of its image of "smokestack capital". Fringe cities close to Detroit continue to suffer local economic setbacks, cronyism, and extortion. And we know how bad Detroit can be; its fire department can't handle cases decently -- many times, the hydrants won't even work right.
It's pure guesswork and conjecture as to who actually runs the department there, but the main point is: the department has to control too big an area, and finds itself lacking in quality services. When people complain about poor municipal services, police & fire are the top two departments they beg for overhauls from.
Perhaps combining services, as is the case here, is the only answer they can think of, and perhaps a prelude to cities annexing each other and becoming more like the 160-square mile townships that were surveyed in the mid-1800s.
But potentially at what cost? The loss of effectiveness, or worse yet, the cost of a human life which cannot be replaced?
Let's hope for more research on the issue, and no snap-judgements when it comes to vital community services.
