Newsletter18

FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL: The Unsung Heroes.

They leave their homes and families at all hours of the
day and night, in all kinds of weather to risk their
lives helping others. Both paid and volunteer departments
not only fight fires, they were the ones who went to school
and started the medical services.

Before that if you called an ambulance you would get
transportation to a medical facility only. Ambulance
crews rarely even had an Advanced First Aid Certificate.
At an accident scene an officer might have a Standard or
Advanced First Aid Certificate. He might have an oxygen
tank in his car along with a blanket.

Now the fire personnel are fully trained and equipped.
They have saved countless lives because of their time
and dedication to their fellow man. Whenever there is a
need, they pack up and go to help neighboring communities.
They also travel hundreds of miles to help. Examples:
Hurricane Andrew, Oklahoma City, Mississippi flooding
and below:
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State firefighters pitching in out West
By Associated Press, 8/16/2001 08:26

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Firefighters from around the state
have headed out West to help fight the stubborn blazes
that have burned thousands of acres and threaten communities.
The group of 19 firefighters joined about 80 others from
the Northeast on Thursday and are expected to spend about
16 days in eastern Oregon. The wildfires have burned more
than 376,000 acres in 10 western states.
"The love of hard work, of adventure it's part of us. It's
part of what makes us firefighters," said Coventry
firefighter Chris Renshaw.
The National Interagency Fire Center has declared level
five alert, meaning firefighters in the area are in danger
of running out of manpower and equipment. The weather isn't
expected to cooperate either. Forecasts are calling for thunderstorms. Lightning was believed to have sparked most
of the fires. The air is so dry across most of the region
that rain never reaches the ground.
Mark Blazejak, of Thompson, crew leader of the Connecticut
group, said they would not receive a specific assignment
until they arrive in Oregon.
"I'd like to think we'd be out there (at the fire) by
Thursday night, or, at the very least, that we'd have an
assignment by Friday morning," Blazejak said.
If fires continue to spread, Connecticut may be asked to
send additional firefighters out West, said Ralph Scarpino,
fire supervisor for the state Department of Environmental
Protection. The call for help came at an optimal time for Connecticut firefighters.
"Last week we wouldn't have sent anybody, because we had a
high fire danger; it was very hot and very dry for a long
time," Scarpino said. "But then the rain over the weekend
lowered the fire risk, so it was safe to go ahead and lend
them some of our resources."
The Connecticut crew includes firefighters from various town departments and employees of the DEP. All 19 members, four
women and 15 men, have been trained in federal DEP programs
to fight major forest fires. "This particular crew has a lot of experience," Scarpino said. "We've got people who've been doing this since the early 1980s."
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These HEROES are in more places than the Red Cross.
I SALUTE Fire Department personnel everywhere.

JBS