This time of year, daily reports of fire and increased reports of vehicles crashes and other incidents from around the state begin hitting our inbox, a testament to the dangers of both nature and man during the busy summer months.
We’re also getting a number of emails with the subject line “explosive diarrhea” thanks to the nationwide cyclospora outbreak and political emails using the outbreak for fundraising, but that’s (hopefully not) a topic for another time. Wash your hands and practice safe food handling and preparation, please and thank you.
The emails (the ones about fires and crashes) are a consistent reminder of what our community has faced before and could face at any time.
They’re also a reminder of how thankful we are for those who put themselves on the front lines — both literally and figuratively — to help make our community safer.
Dispatchers answer every call, not knowing if the next call will be a stolen vehicle, a missing person, violent crime, a fire, a wildlife call (like recent reports of bears and of a groundhog climbing into someone’s engine at a gas station) or something less serious like someone wondering what time zone they are in. Dispatchers answer every call and work to find those calling — who may be in the midst of their worst day ever — the help needed.
Then there are all of our first responders — law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services and more — who respond no matter what the call is and no matter where in their service territory it is.
There are also utility workers who respond in all conditions and all locations year-round when a leak or outage takes place.
The responders go to work day after day, ready to put themselves in harm’s way without thought to ensure their neighbors and fellow community members have a safe place to live.
There are also numerous folks who work to support every facet of the area’s first responders behind the scenes who should be acknowledged.
It’s a big network of people who care a lot about this community, and we’re lucky they call this place home.
And we’re lucky that all of our responders and agencies work so well together and put in the time to understand the capabilities each agency has.
Every time we have to cover some form of disaster, we’re impressed by the ease with which everyone steps into the room together to alleviate and solve problems.
While we have some of the best fire crews and responders around, we are also nothing short of lucky that we haven’t had a fire hit closer to home, and we’re incredibly lucky that we don’t see more bad crashes given the number of folks who visit our area.
Next time you see one of these folks, be sure to offer a thanks.
Randi Pierce
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