Herrmann: You kicked up quite a fuss, friend. I hope you’re pleased with yourself.
Lewis: I’m doing this for my children. You got kids?
Herrmann: Only five.
Lewis: So you know then. You’d do anything to keep them safe. I have four. If something happens to one of mine, an ambulance has to come an extra mile or two to get there. Would you accept that?
Herrmann: You’re standing up for something, taking action, I can respect that. I’ve done it myself a few times, but the people in this house, they run into burning buildings every day for this community. We don’t want to see a station closed either. You think that this is the best way to get what you want?
Lewis: First, we tried calling the CFD’s main line. We must have left 80 messages; not one of us got a call back. So we showed up in person, got turned away. Then we went to the papers. They said our story was too bureaucratic, not sexy enough. It’s easy to disagree with the method when the problem isn’t yours. So let me ask you, when you took action, how did you get them to hear you?
Herrmann: I lit a sofa on fire. Yeah.
Lewis: This isn’t perfect. Sometimes you gotta light things up. And if it means keeping my family and my neighborhood safe, then I’m gonna burn a few couches.