Events

Who Can Our Kids Look Up To ???

Our heroes of yesterday have lost their luster.

Almost daily the headlines remind us how unwise it is to put faith in sports legends. Or movie stars. Or politicians. Or captains of industry. So where are the role models of today for our sons and daughters?

We have suggestions. There is a special group of people many tend to take for granted. There is no special day set aside in their honor, that we know of. No TV series dedicated to their heroism. No organized national recognition of importance to ever community in the US - big or small

Without fanfare, they do their job. Often times putting their lives on the line in the process. There is much to admire about these men and women. From part-time rural volunteer to full-time big-city professional. From the trainee to the Chief. From the firefighter to the fire marshal.

To even qualify for this difficult and demanding work, they have to be physically strong. Dedicated. Intelligent. Resourceful. Highly motivated. And,yes unselfish. They're certainly not in it for the money.

At time when many bemoan the lack of heroes, we suggest all of us look down the street to the men and women who protect you and your neighborhood from the ever-present dangers of life.

Those role models for our kids?

They've been there all along.

WHAT IS A FIREMAN?

He's the guy next door - a man's man with the memory of a little boy.

He has never gotten over the excitement of engines and sirens and danger.

He's a guy like you and me with warts and worries and unfulfilled dreams.

Yet he stands taller than most of us.

He's a fireman.

He puts it all on the line when the bell rings.

A fireman is at once the most fortunate and the least fortunate of men.

He's a man who saves lives because he has seen too much death.

He's a gentle man because he has seen the awesome

power of violence out of control.

He's responsive to a child's laughter because his arms have held

too many small bodies that will never laugh again.

He's a man who appreciates the simple pleasures of life -

hot coffee held in numb, unbending fingers - a warm bed for bone

and muscle compelled beyond feeling - the camaraderie of brave men -

the divine peace and selfless service of a job well done in the name of all men.

He doesn't wear buttons or wave flags or shout obscenities.

When he marches, it is to honor a fallen comrade.

He doesn't preach the brotherhood of man.

He lives it.

I Wish You Could

I wish you could see the sadness of a business man as his livelihood goes up in flames or that family returning home, only to find their house and belongings damaged or destroyed.

I wish you could know what it is to search a burning bedroom for trapped children, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen beneath you burns.

I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 3 A.M. as I check her husband of forty years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping against hope to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done.

I wish you could know the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, and the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke-- "sensations that I have become too familiar with."

I wish you could understand how it feels to go to school in the morning after having spent most of the night, hot and soaking wet at a multiple alarm fire.

I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire, `Is this a false alarm or a working, breathing fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped? ' or to an EMS call, `What is wrong with the patient? Is it minor or life-threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?'

I wish you could be in the emergency room as the doctor pronounces dead the beautiful little five-year old girl that I have been trying to save during the past twenty-five minutes, who will never go on her first date or say the words, "I love you Mommy!", again.

I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic. When you need us, however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took you forever to get here!"

I wish you could read my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the mangled remains of her automobile, `What if this were my sister, my girlfriend, or a friend? What were her parents' reactions going to be as they open the door to find a police officer, HAT IN HAND?'

I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that you nearly did not come home from this last call.

I wish you could feel my hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes of, "It will never happen to me."

I wish you could realize the physical, emotional, and mental drain of missed meals, lost sleep and foregone social activities, in addition to all the tragedy my eyes have viewed.

I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone's property, of being there in times of crisis, or creating order from total CHAOS.

I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging on your arm and asking, "Is my mommy o.k.?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears falling from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to have hold back a long-time friend who watches his buddy having rescue breathing done on him as they take him away in the ambulance. You knowing all along he did not have his seat belt on--sensations that I have become too familiar.

Unless you have lived this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, what we are, or what our job really means to us.

My Brother has fallen;

no, I don't know his name.

Have not the same parents still family all the same.

He lives in this town, I live in another,

It doesn't really matter 'cause this man is my Brother.

My Brother I call him, yet I've never seen his face.

I have brothers and sisters all over the place!

You see I am a Firefighter and our families are one.

Around the world, a brotherhood of unity,

A closeness, a bond, most people don't see.

I'll watch his back; She'll watch mine,

"You go, I go," time after time.

His family's my family, Her family theirs,

We're part of one family where everyone cares,

I'll look after your kids, please look in on my wife,

Should that day finally come when I laid down my life.

We dedicate our lives helping our fellow man,

Living day after day doing all that we can,

Where ever we're needed whether nighttime or day,

To save the life of another we'll step in harms way.

My Brother has fallen doing what he loved best,

And among the Honored, he now stands with the rest

For a mile in dress uniform here everyone stands,

For my Brother has fallen, God into your hands.

MBrother when you weep for me

Remember that it was meant to be

Lay me down and when you leave

Remember I'll be at your sleeve

In every dark and choking hall

I'll be there as you slowly crawl

On every roof in driving snow

I'll hold your coat and you will know

In cellars hot with searing heat

At windows where a gate you meet

In closets where young children hide

You know I'll be there at your side

The house from which I now respond

Is overstaffed with heroes gone

Men who answered one last bell

Did the job and did it well

As firemen we understand

That death's a card dealt in our hand

A card we hope we never play

But one we hold there anyway

That card is something we ignore

As we crawl across a weakened floor

For we know that we're the only prayer

For anyone that might be there

So remember as you wipe your tears

The joy I knew throughout the years

As I did the job I loved to do

I pray that thought will see you through