Merger of Riverdale and Clayton County Fire Services
In 2015, I had a fire at my home that resulted in a major loss. It wasn’t a kitchen fire or a one room fire. The entire house was destroyed. I had a decision to stay or leave and chose to rebuild. My house was completely gutted from the ground to the roof.
There is a fire station at the top of my street. I pass it every day leaving and returning home. It’s about 1/5th of a mile from my house, walking distance. For my fire, this station did not come to my house. It’s a Clayton County fire station. I had to wait for Riverdale to send a fire truck to me.
Here’s a map of the City of Riverdale BEFORE the merger and AFTER. The red stars indicate the Clayton County fire stations and black circles indicate the Riverdale fire stations.
Now, with this merger, the closest station/truck/EMS will be able to come to the rescue. For me, it was about saving lives first and saving homes second. I believe with every breath in my body that this is the reason God called me to the office of the Riverdale City Council.
BREAKING NEWS
What ended up being the most controversial decision since I’ve been in office resulted in a full week of news coverage. We were on every major news network, every hour and ½ hour that the news was on, from morning thru late nights for an entire week. The controversy was over our plan to merge our City’s Fire Department with the County’s Fire department.
After a full week of council and townhall meetings to a standing room only audience filled with citizens and media; I’m proud of making the motion to move forward with the merge in a vote that passed 3-1. Mary Granison initiates Historic Vote to Merge Riverdale and Clayton County Fire Services
You see, I’m not here to win votes in a future election. I don’t make decisions based on whether anyone will be angry with me and may not vote for me again. I’m here to make decisions for the good of our community, right now. This is what we are voted into office to do on behalf of our citizens. It’s doing the right thing whether people are watching or not. We needed proper fire service and protection.
