Huntsville Forester

The first thing I want to make perfectly clear is that I am speaking only for Station 7 Windermere/Raymond. I do not believe that any one person has the right to make statements or claims that include all firefighters or officers in the township.

I was not made aware of the meeting to discuss the fact sheet that was broadly distributed to as many households in the township as possible on Thanksgiving weekend. I can only assume I was not invited because the select few who drafted this [mis]information knew that Station 7 would not approve of these tactics.

They also know that I do not tell the firefighters in Station 7 what to think, say or do. I believe each of us has a right to our own opinions and I’m proud to say that not one of our team wants to be involved in any political conflict or upheaval.

We do not have any firefighters or officers who have chosen to desert the job or protest by not attending the call of duty. We will not now or ever leave our communities unprotected or unattended.

The only thing that we at Windermere/Raymond are discouraged by is the media’s failure to dig deeper and fairly reveal both sides of this political “firestorm.” The firefighter “spokesperson” for the Township of Muskoka Lakes is not speaking for all the fire staff. These are the opinions of the self-appointed spokesperson and a select few. Their agenda is not our agenda.

Bill Woods

District Chief

Station 7 Windermere/Raymond