Thanks, Emergency Personnel

As regular readers of The Monticello News know, I don’t use this space very often. I’ve been told I should write a weekly column, but alas, I have never disciplined myself to do so.

But after weathering Irma, going to a house fire last week, and listening to the fire calls for the last week, I felt moved to again say thank you to all our emergency responders.

These dedicated individuals deserve high praise and many thanks from everyone in the county, as well as some outside the county. They lay their lives on the line (it was storming bad when they were out cutting up trees) for us, and for very little pay.

Last Monday, volunteer firefiighters, deputies, fire/rescue paid personnel, and others went out in the high winds and unpredictable rain to clear roads, although other than emergency needs, there should have been in need to clear the roads as the governor had declared a state of emergency, and everyone was encouraged to stay home. Hundreds of trees fell into roads, and were cut out by these dedicated people.

Then, they returned to their jobs or whatever Tuesday. Late Tuesday night/actually Wednesday early morning, many of these same people were called to a fire at the landfill. They responded.

Then, coordinated by Fire/Rescue Chief Chris Finch, and county manager Mike Benton, the fire was fought by fire/rescue personnel and public works employees until it was finally fully extinguished Monday afternoon. That’s six days of steady firefighting. In the meantime, they answered emergency calls, and had to respond to a house fire at Jaskcon Lake on Thursday afternoon. They did not have a chance to rest.

Because I try to cover the news of the county, I have more knowledge than the average Joe of what these people do. I hear the calls. I, often, see the response. These people are unbelievable.

Whether paid or volunteer, you can count on these friends and neighbors to respond when they are called.

And, they know how to respond, because even the volunteers receive national certification for firefighting. After their initial training, they attend monthly training. It’s no picnic.

These hardworking, dedicated people deserve a huge thank you, and I wanted to offer just that. Thanks, emergency personnel. You are appreciated. We thank you. Keep up the good work, and know that you are worth your weight in gold, even if we don’t say it very often. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Good job!