09/13/2017
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a Volunteer Firefighter and First Responder in a small, rural community? When your pager goes off, you immediately start praying that the call is not for someone you know or even your own family. You drop everything you are doing, race to the fire hall, grab a truck and make your way to what ever tragedy has just occurred. You role up on scene and hope you can perform the duty you have been trained to do without breaking down in front of the family or even throwing up, which some of us has done before. We fight fire, cut people out of vehicles, comfort loved ones when they are distraught, tend to peoples fur babies until someone can pick them up, hold the hand of someone who is dying and scared, entertain children while they are afraid, stand out in the pouring rain for roads under water, put our lives in danger to make swift water rescues from flash flooding, and the list goes on and on. Once the call is over, we return to the fire hall, put the truck up and go home. So you think, it stops there. No it doesn't. We cry, we hurt , we worry, loose sleep and most importantly, we pray for peace and comfort for all of us that was involved. This goes on day or night, Monday thru Sunday, 365 days a year. You might ask, "Why do you keep doing it?"... well, it's a little more complex than just a simple answer. We do it because we love our family, we love our community and the people in it. We do it because we may have a 100 calls and only one call is a save and we know we made a difference for that one person. A simple "Thank You" is more than enough payment for us. We don't expect any rewards. We do it because we put ourselves in the other person's shoes and hope that if we were ever in that situation, someone like us would show up and do for us what we do for them. We realize that we may not always do what others think we should, but we do what we are trained to do and what is best for our community. It's not a lifestyle for the faint of heart. Trust me when I tell you, I take every single call home with me. The sleepless nights, nightmares, dread for the next call...then you get that one call and it's one of the sweetest ladies you would ever want to meet. She's just had hip surgery and is sitting in the floor board of her car because she cant walk and get into her house. So what do we do? Carefully pick her up and get her in her house. With a HUGE smile, she says "You are all so precious, beautiful and handsome" even though we know we look like we have been drug up and down the road a few times, haven't brushed our teeth yet or had a cup of grouch away (Coffee), but you know what. None of that matters. Her smile and simple "Thank You" means more than any money or praise we could ever receive. I am thankful for those calls. Those are the calls that keep me going. So to my community, my friends, my family, my fellow fire family throughout the county, I want to say Thank You for your support, your encouragement, and for the love you show us when we are beat down and feel like giving up. You keep us going. We try not to let you down, but just remember, we are just a call away if you need us. Any time of the day or night, any day of the week. In my opinion, that is what it's like to be a volunteer fire fighter.
