Baldwin County, Ala., fire chiefs fired a letter to BP saying their departments are being rebuffed in their efforts to help protect beaches and waterways and clean up oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill. In fact, the association voted to censure the oil company for keeping local departments out of the protection and cleanup processes.

In the letter, chiefs wrote that the county's 36 volunteer fire departments could have helped more, because their personnel are trained to deal with hazmat spills and they have knowledge of the area, as well as equipment and stations in those affected areas, said Gib Hixon, president of the Baldwin County Fire Chiefs Association and chief of Fish River/Marlow Fire and Rescue.

Hixon joined FIRE CHIEF Associate Editor Mary Rose Roberts to discuss the letter and how the oil spill is affecting his region, including the environmental impacts and the pace of the cleanup efforts.