This goes out to the volunteers in Mount Vernon and Lisbon who are there in extremely dangerous situations.
In frigid cold, when they’re worried about their safety as well as the safety of their gear. In blistering heat, when they’re worried about exhaustion.
Through it all, in wind and rain, they are there in case we ever need their services. Our local fire departments.
Many of us think the calls only come for fire departments in the case of a building fire, but they respond to so much more. When calls of car crashes come across the scanner, many times they are also racing to the scene to assist ambulance and law enforcement to get to the injured parties safely. They sometimes get paged during medical calls just to assist other departments with lifting people into nearby ambulances.
Throughout all this, like other local emergency services departments, these volunteers have to maintain their training on proper lifesaving techniques, on how to enter or fight fires in different establishments. That can mean hours after their jobs they’re spending in training sessions or practice safety drills to best learn what to do.
In the case of the derecho, they and city workers were equally out on city streets working to clean up debris left from the storms.
These volunteers step up for the community in myriad ways, for example delivering food in the beginning of COVID, leading off parades, offering safety education.
It’s a job many of us might be afraid to do, but these volunteers have answered the calls to try and save a building from being a complete loss and make sure there are no individuals who need aid or rescue from the flames.
This week is Fire Prevention Week. It’s a week we honor our firefighters, but also remind citizens to have a plan in case of a fire in their home or workplace and practice that plan. It’s one way we can support our fire departments.
What is your family’s plan in the case of a fire? What are the primary exits you are going to use in the case of a fire? What are the secondary exits you’re going to head to if the first one proves to be too unsafe? Where are you going to meet as a family so you know everyone is safe and accounted for?
What about at your workplace? What is the plan for your office or building in the case of a fire? Where should employees meet?
We don’t just do emergency drills for the heck of it. They’re run through and practiced frequently so we all know where we’re supposed to go in the case of an emergency and to help give our emergency responders one less thing to worry about.
The other thing to be mindful of during fire prevention week – This week is a perfect time to check on the condition of your smoke detectors, that they are adequately connected and have fresh batteries. Those detectors can be your first warning in the case of an emergency and help save you and your family from the dangers of a fire. Check to make sure your smoke detectors are working appropriately because changing the batteries on time can help save lives.