It is that frightful, devastating moment when fire starts or there is a medical emergency, that makes us grateful for our volunteer firefighters and their companies. Men and women arriving to the emergencies are Firefighters, First Responders and EMTs.
I am the spouse of a Fire Chief to our local volunteer fire company. I experience the middle of night siren and dispatch that sends my husband out in a moments notice. I wait patiently for him and pray for his return. I, like all other family members of these volunteers, understand and respect their dedication to being on-call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. These volunteers jump to the call, no matter what they are doing and put themselves in harms way to keep their communities safe.
As of late, I am hearing more and more firefighting and first responder volunteers and leaders, realizing that support from their communities is dwindling. Hearing that their efforts are underestimated and under appreciated. If we lose these very precious volunteers, there is no one else that assists in those dire emergencies. These volunteers are essential to our safety; they are literally saving lives.
Volunteer fire companies and their personnel are not paid for their dedication or heroism. These volunteers are community members and deserve to be respected and appreciated by everyone in their communities. It begs me to ask the question of everyone, “ what would we do if they were not here for us?”
When the fire company fund raising letters go out, I hope folks will consider that the donations made, support the very people that make them. YOUR donations help to keep YOU safe. Just maybe, there could be a small note of thanks to let these volunteers know that we appreciate all that they do for us.
Respectfully,
Gail Vander Plaat
Huletts Landing