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FIRST RESPONDERS: As things seem to come ‘full circle’
It is a little more than five years since I went out to my first structure fire as a reporter. It was an attic fire that, while the damage was limited, nonetheless called for a box alarm.
An actionless shot of the scene. Apart from the Greencastle Fire Department being the local agency, no mention of then-Operation Life, police and volunteers who showed out. A less-than-half-baked telling of how the response took place. I had no notion then of what a box alarm meant.
It is decidedly different from the many fire stories I’ve written since. It shows a humorous (to me, at least) naiveté of what the emergency services are about. Much has changed in that way and others.
The day after the fire, I was invited to Greencastle Fire for breakfast they hosted for its retirees. I hadn’t interacted meaningfully with any of those who attended besides Asst. Chief Rob Frank. Still, I got a photo of all of them for the paper.
I remember, though, Rob letting me put on a turnout coat, to get a feel for how heavy one is. They all related war stories about past runs, something that I could take for granted in my own right. The seemingly mundane then isn’t so much so now.
From that photo, Bill Newgent and Bill O’Brien are dead. Kyle App has retired. Matt Rubenstein and Ben Wright now work at other fire departments. Metaphorically, the man behind the camera is gone, too, perhaps.
“Get to know your local firefighters, and thank them for what they do and the time they give to helping others,” I wrote in my Banner blog about the occasion. This was back when I put out my weekly posts.
Five years on, I’m now certified as a non-interior firefighter, though I have yet to respond as such. I’m looking to get my emergency medical responder (EMR) cert. I’m still working with myself to go after Firefighter 1 and 2.
I’ve wrought a fractured femur in this time. At many points, I’ve been disillusioned by doubt about what I’ve done as a reporter. However, I’ve also become intentional about my values, and what it means to be present for myself and others.
It is the monthly breakfasts at Reelsville Fire and Fillmore Fire, and also our volunteers’ different fundraising events. I’ve had serious discussions about the job, and about life, with a few of the Greencastle guys. John McPherson and his team saw me through ERS training.
Being at that table then, it would’ve never crossed my mind that I could be one like those in that photo. I never expected to have meaningful relationships with anyone in the emergency services here. I have, especially among the volunteers, because I show up, because the effort matters.
It’s funny how things can come full circle in ways. Me? I want to be remembered by our first responders as that guy who’s always been there.
If that means doing the job, it will be.
