‘We’ve got this’

January is a tough month for weather and therefore for the danger of structure fires. As the thermostat plummets, the use of not only central heating systems, but also electrical space heaters, wood stoves, pellet stoves, fireplaces and even candles increases, creating potential fire hazards. Last week saw volunteer firefighters from the Tri-state companies called out multiple times to respond to calls, and serious ones at that.

A blaze at the lumberyard in Cornwall Bridge, Northeast Building Supply, as was reported last week by Karen Bartomioli for this newspaper, created an intense wall of flame that lit up the entire center of town. Twenty-one fire companies converged there  following the 11:30 p.m. call on Jan. 12 to try to save whatever was humanly possible. But even after spending most of the night working to do what they could, there was extensive damage to a business that is important to the economy of the town and the region. The town’s building official also had an office on the site, and only the fact that those documents were in tarp-covered file cabinets apparently saved them. 

After that, there was a structure fire in North Canaan that also became intense and unfortunately injured the resident. Then, a chimney fire in Lakeville. When one of this newspaper’s staff stopped at the Lakeville fire to inquire about it, the volunteer firefighter, from the Lakeville Hose Company who was directing traffic around the site on Route 41 was, as ever, professional in his demeanor. The Lakeville Journal’s staff person noted, after hearing the status of the current situation, that it had been a rough week in the area for those affected directly by the fires, and for the volunteers who dropped everything to respond. 

The volunteer’s response was simple and direct: “Don’t worry, we’ve got this.” Could more comforting words have been spoken? All who live in the Northwest Corner, and the Tri-state region, know that no matter how responsible and careful they are, something could happen that is unforeseen and demands the immediate attention of emergency workers. After hearing about multiple fires in the course of a single week, one could begin to feel that our volunteers may be overwrought and justified in thinking twice before jumping into their gear to race out into the cold and wet to help their neighbors. But that would never occur to those who train and work all year long to be able to respond when duty calls. They’ve got this.

They know those who are going through the emergency are the ones who need extraordinary support and help to get through it. They are there for them, and they expect little or nothing in return. But we can give them our gratitude.

Many thanks to our volunteers for their service. And please do thank them directly when you see them out and about. They can never be thanked enough.