Without the heart of a volunteer, nothing works

You could not ask for much better in a structure fire call. That doesn’t happen by accident.

Tribune columnist Andrew Donaldson praises the Fayetteville Fire Department and its mutual aid departments for their fast response to the fire caused by a lightning strike at Dodd-Payne-Hess Funeral Home recently. Over 90 percent of West Virginia’s firefighters are volunteers, he reports.

On June 8, as reported by The Fayette Tribune, the Fayetteville Fire Department responded to a fire at the Dodd-Payne-Hess Funeral Home. From the initial 911 call about the lightning strike and smoke to the first unit arriving was seven minutes. Twelve minutes after the first unit arrived the fire was out, and three other departments had responded and staged out to assist. Everything worked exactly as it should. From citizens calling in, to the first responders’ quick arrival, rapid extinguishing of fire, and the automatic mutual aid that brought plenty of backup, you could not ask for much better in a structure fire call.

That doesn’t happen by accident.

Firefighters and first responders have always been esteemed in the communities they serve, especially in the post-9/11 era, as they should be. It takes much training, instruction, preparation, and leadership to funnel personal courage and the specialized equipment needed to respond to emergencies. Unlike New York City with its 10K-plus strong firefighting department, 65 percent of firefighters in America are volunteers of some type.

In West Virginia, 90 percent of all firefighters are volunteers.

While the latest legislative session once again debated ways to help departments that are stretched for funding, always need more of this equipment or that training, and are always shorthanded when it comes to volunteers, most departments do what they’ve always done; get by as best they can. Folks take it for granted that when you call 911 whatever help you need will be there forthwith. The fact that help comes in a timely manner means folks prepared and ensured it would be so. The caller doesn’t know or care about budget issues, staffing problems, equipment limitations, or what the response time should be. The caller just knows they need help right now.

Consider the modern man-made miracle that occurs for an act of God like a lightning strike to be responded to and dealt with within minutes. There are folks in the community with living memories of times before reliable phones in every home, or water supplies to fight…