Editorial: Firefighters are important to Farmington

Talk about it

Last week the Farmington Fire Department held its annual year-end banquet. Among other things, the department recognized its firefighter and Explorer of the Year. You’ll find more information about both of those individuals on the front page of this issue of the Independent.

Judging by the numbers this wasn’t an extraordinarily busy year for the fire department. But even in slow years it’s important to think about the importance of a good fire department.

If you’re lucky you’ll never have occasion to meet a Farmington firefighter who is on the job. If you do, things have probably gone wrong for you in one way or another.

That’s when you’re glad to have them around. Just ask anyone who has been helped by a rescue squad worker following an accident. Or a homeowner whose possessions have been saved by a quick-acting fire crew.

Farmington firefighters respond to a wide variety of calls, from ordinary fires to the kind of large-scale rescue effort that took place a few years ago when a man got trapped inside a downtown grain elevator. They cover a lot of ground, sometimes rushing out in the middle of the night in bitterly cold weather to help someone they’ve never met and may never see again. And they don’t get much in return: a payment for each call they respond to and a promise of a pension down the line.

They do it for the camaraderie. And sure, in some cases they do it for the thrill of being able to rush into a burning building.

Whatever their reason, we’re lucky there are people in Farmington willing to dedicate large portions of their lives to keeping the rest of us safe. They deserve our thanks for that.

Tags: opinion, farmington, editorials