In a 3-2 vote, the Menlo Park Fire Protection District Board last night voted to donate a surplus 2009 fire engine to the Maui Fire Department, which lost a fire engine in the Aug. 8 wildfire that claimed 97 lives.
Voting in favor were President Virginia Chang Kiraly and Gary Bloom and Robert Jones. Against were Chuck Bernstein and Rob Silano.
The fire district earlier this year put into service six new fire engines and a tiller ladder truck. That is allowing the board to donate surplus equipment.
Menlo Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said he contacted the Maui Fire Department, which was interested in getting the 2009 engine.
“Our fire district has a tradition and history of donating surplus equipment that still has value to organizations with a need. For Maui, this would be a working fire engine immediately and will show Hawaiians, our neighbors, that they have not been forgotten,” Chang Kiraly said in a statement.
It’s a shame that this donation wasn’t unanimous by the board. The people of Maui are more in serious need of a used fire engine than the city of MP need the proceeds of trying to sell it. Some people (two) are just unconscious and not giving.
Flying the engine to Hawaii will cost more than it’s worth.
Rob Silano can barely read, let alone do the math to evaluate this motion — he’s an empty shirt. Chuck Bernstein, on the other hand, should know better.
This is virtue signaling using taxpayer-funded assets. Sell the surplus engines and all other excess assets the district has accumulated. Then give that money to residents of the district. Let the residents decide if they want to use their share of the proceeds to help Maui, Ukraine or some other charity.