January (oops) February 1 – “Fire Report – The Old School Way”

Well, there it is.  I made it through a whole month without putting 2017 on anything, and here I mess up on the first day of February.  For sure a short month, it sure has been a jam-packed one for us.  Two of our kids were born in February.  That right there is enough stress.  Then you pile on there Valentine’s Day, which this year doubles as Ash Wednesday.  We might just need a day or two … away.  More to come …

Last night I went to a fire call with the Galveston Fire Department.  I didn’t get there until about 45 minutes after the call came through, so the flames had already been knocked down.  The sad, and even unbelievable, part of this one was the fact that less than an hour after the call went out, the media was already reporting a death and an injury involved.  I get them wanting to scoop the competition.  After all, I grew up reading about Lois Lane and Clark Kent doing the whole scooping thing.  But the address was already out there, so how can you report a death in particular before making sure all next of kin have been notified?  My little blog reports are certainly not picked up by major news outlets, but I still do my best to be respectful.  Guess I’m just old school in that regard. 

Our Galveston fire department meanwhile did another masterful job.  They arrived on scene quickly, made their way inside to do the search, and worked together to rapidly and efficiently get the survivor out of the structure and into the hands of EMS personnel.  Sadly, there was a fatality.  And a lone fire fighter was assigned the duty of respectfully watching over the body of the deceased victim.  Fire crews stepped in and battled the blaze and, as I said earlier, had the entire thing extinguished in less than an hour. 

Fire Marshall Harrison was on scene, already beginning his preliminary investigation into cause.  Another Marshall from his office was also on the scene to lend his expertise as well.  I saw Herman as I was leaving the scene.  In his warm way, he took my hand, pulled me into an embrace, and said not the expected, “Good bye.”  Instead what I heard was a quiet, “Love ya.”  That meant a lot.  Back at ya, my friend.

Fire Chief Mike Wisko was on scene to support operations and to expertly field queries from the press.  He touched base with me as he left the scene on his way to the hospital to check on the victim.  Thanks for going the extra mile in showing compassion, Chief. 

I can’t say enough about the privilege of being connected to such a body of public servants.  Galveston, know this.  We are incredibly blessed.  Appreciate it.

Psalms 29:10-11 says, “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.  The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.”

Father, be with the family of the victims of the fire last night.  Give the fire fighters rest today as they go off shift.  Amen.