By Allen Hamrick
Fire has been and always will be a dangerous necessity for homes and communities. From campfire musing to lighting a cigar to ward off the gnats and providing means needed for cooking and warmth, fire is a handy controlled attendant. However, let it get out of hand and it is unforgiving and merciless. Fire has separated families and destroyed forested lands as well as the plains. Buildings have crumbled, steel has twisted, and the hardest materials on earth melt from its intense heat. Yes, it is a necessity but it also usurps a terrible price on a community, whether rural or urban, if allowed to grow unchecked.
There is one force only that can subjugate fire and that is the indomitable will of individuals who volunteer their time and, in some instances, their lives in service to the people of their communities. Ever since fire destroyed the first buildings in Jamestown, people knew something had to be done, and bucket brigades and a rattle watch were established. Rattle watches were people who patrolled streets looking for fires and would wake people up to fight them. Bucket brigades were the best weapon against fire but were ineffective in rural communities, although they did their best as farms were so far apart. The first established volunteer fire department began in 1735 by Ben Franklin and has developed into one of the most prolific services across these United States.
Every state and nearly every county in this country has a fire fighting service dedicated to the people they protect and serve. Many have died, giving their life battling fires that have ravaged buildings and forests; they are the first responders that run into an inferno that can turn them to ash. They are instrumental in helping with water rescue, wilderness rescue when needed, and any other situation that requires a certain breed of man or woman who looks at their own life with a different set of rules and boundaries. For the most part, the fire departments across this nation are comprised of volunteers, not paid individuals. The commitment of a younger or older person to be in the fire department was a great honor that was carried down through generations. A volunteer had to be trust worthy, strong, dependable and, above all, have a heart and a desire to do a great service for a simple pat on the back. It takes a special individual to do what it takes to be in the fire service, and Clay County has had some of the best over the years.
Young people flocked to the departments to put on the fire department tuxedo and prove they were worthy to wear the suit. Now, here in our area fire departments are getting thinner and thinner by the year and are in desperate need for volunteers – men and women who have a calling higher than themselves and need the adrenalin. It must be understood that the fire and rescue for this county is completely volunteer, and while they can’t be everywhere at the drop of a hat because of that status, they do the absolute best they can. So, the more volunteers the better the system works.
Clay VFD and Lizemore VFD are always in need of fire fighters, but the Big Otter VFD is in desperate need. It would be a terrible blow to any community to have to close a volunteer fire department due to lack of people. Volunteers have always been a staple of communities who give a certain amount of freedom from worry and a peace of mind that someone will eventually answer your cry for help. At the sound of the call, they come from hollers, towns, and their jobs to meet, organize and do what’s right in the best way that they can for the people they protect. If you want to be a part of the brigade of the brave fire warriors, get in touch with the Clay VFD, Lizemore VFD and Big Otter VFD; I am sure they would love to talk to you.
