By Staff
You have probably read most of the information that has been included in this edition of The Brewton Standard concerning the challenges of volunteer fire departments across Escambia County.
If you haven't, you need to read it. You'll be amazed at some of the things volunteers go through in order to serve the community in which they live.
I have been to enough fires and other emergencies to last me a lifetime. And at almost every one of those events, I have seen members of one volunteer fire department or another on hand to do what they can to help.
Volunteer firefighters do what they do because they believe they make a difference. One person that I spoke to even said they do it for nothing, because the feeling they get from what they do is payment enough. How noble and heroic a statement to make.
These men and women face the same dangers that firefighters from paid departments face every day. They work in extreme heat in heavy suits and heavy oxygen tanks to make sure they do everything in their power to save your furniture, your pets, your personal items, not to mention your life.
They know what they are up against. They know how important what they do is to every homeowner in their community. But what amazes me most is that they do it asking nothing in return.
I appreciate that. Living outside of the city limits, I take comfort in knowing there are volunteers that I live among that care about me. They care that I have a family. They care that I work a job to earn money to pay for the things I hold dear in my home. They know, because they do the same thing. When I have seen volunteers respond to a fire, I know they are working as if they are saving their own furniture, their own pets, their own television and their own family's lives.
My heart is heavy for them because of the burden they have chosen to carry. I have a fondness for them that just can't be expressed by the written word.
When you see a volunteer firefighter, or any firefighter, be mindful of how you treat them. They are the heroes who work hard - just because.
Lisa Tindell is a news reporter for The Brewton Standard. She can be reached at 867-4876 or by email at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com.