There are manyÂ phobias.Â Flying in airplanes is a common one.Â Height is another.Â The disease,Â cancer, strikes fear in many.Â Â A universial phobiaÂ is death in fire.
When I was the local Mayor, I learned aboutÂ the fire phobia.Â I had read about cities where the police officers and fire fighters were cross trained into one public safety department.Â
When a fire call came in, the patrol car nearest the fire call would respond, take light fire fighting equipment to the door and address what he/she saw. Larger equipment and more peopleÂ would be called if needed.
This system isÂ safer becauseÂ officersÂ get to the scene faster. The sooner the arrival, the easier it is to stop a fire and save lives.Â Â There are fewer fires every year asÂ codes require safer buildings.Â And, it saves money because both firefighters and police officers spend some time waiting for calls.
But, when the fire fighters’ political crew went into action, my idea wasÂ toast.Â All they had to do was suggestÂ YOU mightÂ burn to death because the officer was busy writing a parking ticket.Â They played fear-of-fireÂ perfectly.
And, so did the authors of the Bible.Â When they wanted to control people, they did not threatenÂ themÂ with an afterlifeÂ in misery from the diseases common in that time. They knew there was something better,Â fire.Â
TheirÂ manipulation of human minds was masterful.Â The concept of a hellÂ with fireÂ frightens people to this day.