It's selfless not selfish

By now, you may have heard about the fires raging the good state of Colorado.  Many eyewitness accounts, some as far as thirty miles away, have described the scene as “eerie,” “scary,” and “unreal.”  They describe the sky as dark, filled with smoke, and show pictures of a sun, normally yellow, basked behind smoke clouds which turn it into a frightening red. 

While the attention is on the fire and just when it may or may not get under control, many are working behind the scenes in order to get it there and keep other homes from perishing. 

There is one major player in this game though, that works through the night, inside some 120 degree areas – battling heat and embers of ash – and who do so without so much of an expectation for even a thank you.

Firefighters.

Other names include:  Firemen, firewomen, smoky, rescuers….heroes.

These men and women don’t just fight fires, they have also aided families in evacuating dangerous areas, provided medical aid, dug trenches to drain water, worked some 14 – 16 hour days, and the list goes on and on. 

Some are volunteers, some dedicated to only this role.  Men as young as eighteen years old, some decades older.  Women, fathers, daughters, cousins, grandparents, accountants, police officers, the local grocery store attendant.  Each firefighter dedicated to their job are these individuals. 

They risk their lives day in and out with threats from heat stress on up to death – all to help make the world we live in that much safer. 

Just as those Colorado firefighters are doing now. 

So how do we repay these individuals?  Well, you can’t just volunteer to go up and help them can you?  No, the inexperience we carry – as the firefighter training academies are extensive – just won’t cut it. 

But what you can do is this.  Specifically for the fighters in Colorado, your thanks can mean so much to one who never expects it. 

1)      Send an email to springerfireinfo@gmail.com – the fire fighters will have a chance to read your messages.

2)      Make a donation to the Wildland Fire Fighter Foundation at http://www.wffoundation.org.

3)      Give a donation of water or Gatorade to the local Red Cross, an Incident Command Center, your local firefighters.  One note to remember though is they can’t accept food.  Only water and Gatorade. 

All it takes is a few minutes to do any of the above things, when the actions of a firefighter can affect you for a life time.

Many prayers and a ton of thanks go out to each and every one of our firefighters across the world doing what they do best.  Thank you!