Volunteer firefighters important

Over the past several years, I’ve learned how important a volunteer fire department is to a small community and the many ways it improves our lives.
Fourth of July celebrations in Stratford are probably the ideal setting for a small-town movie scene.
A community picnic is shaded by the old trees, followed by kids’ games, such as tug of war, water balloon toss and sack races hosted by the volunteer fire department. Afterward, we all line up along the baseball field and watch the sun go down; we lay blankets on the grass, set up lawn chairs and visit with our friends and family while the firemen prepare the fireworks. In the best years, there is a light breeze to keep the mosquitoes away. Bright as day, the fireworks shoot skyward.
We can see among the crowd the next generation of volunteer firemen. They will be the kids who play the games and watch the fireworks. They understand the importance of the fire department because their dads and moms show them what it means to take the time and be a part of their community; parents show their kids that they can make a difference even in the hardest situations.
Volunteer firefighters are the kind of people who would show up to help even if there wasn’t a fire department, but they also see the value of building the organization. They are willing to drop their own work to help a neighbor or friend the second their pager goes off, and are willing to put in the hours of training so that they can provide the best help possible to their neighbors.

In small communities, when an accident happens, it affects everyone.
Neighbors are not casual acquaintances who are seen going to work and coming home, but people who have lived in the community their entire lives. They are the people we’ve grown up with and are our friends. It is nearly impossible to be emotionally removed from situations that occur.
It is not like a movie, where the fireman helps a troubled stranger. Instead, it is far too likely the call they receive will be an emergency affecting someone they know. It is easy to overlook how personal the struggle is for the rural firefighter.

If tragedies are hard on us as members of the community, it must be incredibly difficult for the first responders who show up to an incident only to find the victim is someone they have been friends with most of their lives.
I remember hearing about the death of a woman I knew. That was when I realized the people who volunteer are forced to face situations far worse than grassfires. I had a hard time with the situation even at a distance, but can’t imagine what it was like to wake up to the emergency call.
Somehow, volunteer firefighters are connected to each person’s life through friends or family. It is impossible to escape those connections when they are the ones going in.
In the simplest of terms, rural fire departments represent the best of small communities – being there for one another.