InIndiana

Unless the fire is preplanned, how would the Canadians know that the next call would be their opportunity to sneak illegal goods into the US? I imagine that space on a fire truck is very limited and everything has a purpose--in other words, there isn't the space to smuggle a few tons of goods across the border. There probably isn't the space to smuggle anything across the border.

This kind of border "protection" is only going to come back and hurt America--next time Canadians will think twice about even trying and let the building burn.

etch5895

I seem to recall years back when Palestinian terror organizations would use ambulances as a ruse to blow up Israelis. You know, rush in, no one checks the ambulance or driver and then --- BOOOM!

Cross border firefighting is a concept I never really thought about before, and I'm glad that those communities have the ties to work together. However, it is not always CBP to blame for things like this.

Will a Canadian (or American) fire company responding to a cross-border fire be used as a ruse for a terror attack? Extremely doubtful. But it is not outside the realm of possibility.

wsommerv

The huge difference here is that they only cross the border at the request of the local American fire department. They don't just see a fire and go "hmm, looks like they need help. Let's speed across the border today."

vassilipan

To extend the rampant paranoia, "But what if the fire department on the American side was compromised?"

Another episode of 24 in the making.

You CANNOT protect against every conceivable threat.

Spiff

And what if there was a sleeper agent three generations deep waiting for such an opportunity? That's the kind of Idiocy Prevention we're up against.

Maybe we should check the fire fighters' IDs when they arrive on the scene and frisk them for "dangerous" items? Better safe than sorry. You can't be too careful.

Gargoyle

So... the terrorists will get hold of a Canadian firetruck and uniforms, hide it and the crew somewhere near the border, have their U.S. cell start a major fire near the boarder, monitor the phone lines for the U.S. fire dept. to request help, then get to the border before the real Canadian firetruck, just so they can smuggle something or someone into the U.S.

Wouldn't it be easier for them to just acquire everything they need inside the U.S., and smuggle their operatives across the border in any of the weak areas of the tens of thousands of miles of U.S. boarder? The success of terrorist operation is based on fact that they make simple plans; the more complex, the more chance it will be detected or go wrong. This plan is way to complicated. Great for a hollywood movie, but in reality this is WAAAAY outside the realm of possibility.

Wally Bird

When you're scared ....less nothing is outside your 'realm'.

Wally Bird

No, firefighters being who they are they will respond again.

Unless it's the actual border post on fire ^

SDF_Traveler

It may have been another article I read, but in an average year the fire department across the border in Quebec responds about 30 times a year. The same applies to the upstate New York fire department going into Quebec.

The mutual agreement has been around for many years as well.

With such an agreement in place, I believe the CBP should use common sense and allow for an expedited crossing.

Points Scrounger

Can you say mutually exclusive?

SDF_Traveler

Oops... did I just put common sense and CBP into the same sentence? Not sure what I was thinking; my bad. Mea Culpa!

YVR Cockroach

It gets better

Much more complete story here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../National/home

You have to remember in that part of the continent, national boundaries run right through private houses, libraries and the like.

CXYYZ

Wait. Don't firetrucks tend to have equipment like axes?

[lou dobbs voice on] You're telling me that CBP let undocumented foreigners carry sharp instruments that could have been used as weapons across the broken border!?! Incredible. French-speaking illegal aliens from Socialist Canada are allowed to steal jobs from ordinary American firefighters without even obtaining B-1 visas. All under the noses of the Border Patrol. [/lou dobbs voice off]

Is there any chance the whole of the DHS would go on a wildcat strike? We need an air traffic controller-style housecleaning. Good on the firefighters (or whomever) for bringing this story to the media.

etch5895

In my opinion, the US and Canada should have open borders anyway, similar to Schengen.

But we don't. Apparantly one or both nations wants to maintain border sovereignty. That includes the use of border control agents. Border Control agents who do (and should) have the authority to do their jobs.

So, regardless of what anyone thinks could or couldn't happen, it really doesn't matter. Until we do any with our US / Canadian borders (which I would be in favor of doing), our CBP officers are going to continue to enforce the laws of the US and their SOPs.

CXYYZ

The US proposed something of this ilk post 9/11. Canada rejected it on the grounds that our foreign and domestic policies are incompatible with what the US would have imposed as restrictions on the entry of foreign nationals into the 'perimeter' area. For example, had Canada agreed, we likely would have been forced to fingerprint and photograph foreigners. Also, it is my understanding that Canada does not require entry visas from as many countries as does the US. This would have created problems too.

Back to the topic at hand. I am certain that CBP must have some discretionary powers. If so, logic dictates that SOP do not apply in this situation and that common sense should prevail.