On Friday, The Accokeek Volunteer Fire Department received a letter from the county stating that they will no longer be funding mini-pumpers in the county. The county letter stated that mini-pumpers "have no operational necessity". However, since Accokeek does have a BX in addition to the Mini-Pumper, we could choose to give up the BX but only if the Mini-Pumper was re-classified as a brush truck. Obviously the county fire department does not understand its own county. Mini-Pumper 24 not only has an operational necessity, but a requirement. Approximately one third of Accokeek's first due is comprised of the Moyaone Reserve. This is federal land that is a scenic easement of Mount Vernon. By federal law, when the area is viewed from Mount Vernon it must look the way it did when George Washington lived there. As a result of this, trees are not permitted to be cleared, and roadways are made of dirt and are extremely narrow with low overhanging limbs. The reserve contains approximately 180 homes spread over six square miles. The majority of these houses are not accessible with engines or even ambulances. This is the primary purpose of the Mini-Pumper. This unit is first due on all structure alarms and any incident during inclement weather. Without the Mini-Pumper, these houses will not be accessible. The county also does not understand that the Mini-Pumper is not a brush truck. It has been used on occasion on brush fires, but only doing what it is designed to do (go where larger pumpers can not go). It does not go "off roading" or breaking brush. It must stay on a road surface (paved, dirt, gravel, or hard packed ground). It is entirely too heavy to be used as a brush truck. And with the loss of the BX, a large number of brush fires that Accokeek responds on will be well advanced by the time an appropriate unit arrives on the scene. One way or another, the PG County Fire Department is willing sacrifice operationally needed equipment without understanding their own county. We invite Chief Sedgewick to come to Accokeek for a tour of our first due. We will even provide directions since you must not know where we are located.