COLUMN: An honor to be on the fire line

As reporters, we spend a lot of time telling other people's stories. Every once in a while, though, you find yourself in the middle of one.

On the Fourth of July, I spent nearly 14 hours alongside Grant County Fire District 7. I arrived at the station around noon expecting to learn more about the department, cover the holiday festivities and maybe respond to a call or two.

Instead, I witnessed firsthand how quickly a celebration can turn into an emergency.

Firefighters, volunteers, cadets and command staff gathered at the station for a holiday barbecue, prepared the fleet and got ready for the annual parade.

Despite being the reporter following them around with a notebook and camera, I was welcomed in. They took the time to explain their jobs, show me around the fleet and answer every question I asked.

Hours later, families lined Main Avenue for the Suds N' Sun annual parade while firefighters waved, passed out candy and sprayed water to help cool people off in the summer heat.

Before the parade was even finished, firefighters were called away to a brush fire.

From that point forward, calls seemed to stack one on top of another. Brush fires, reports of smoke and larger incidents began appearing across the area as the winds continued to increase. We'd leave one scene, head back to Smokiam Park to refill water tanks, then station for the commercial fireworks display and prepare for the next response.

The firefighters never seemed rattled by it. Tired? Absolutely. Busy? Without question. But they remained focused on the task in front of them.

As the night progressed, several fires grew into significant incidents. The Blue Lake Fire demanded resources and attention. Later, crews shifted their focus to the Maple Street Fire, where strong winds pushed flames toward homes and forced firefighters into a difficult battle to stop the fire's advance.

I stayed at the Maple Street Fire until about 2 a.m.

At one point, I ended up taking a brief nap in the passenger seat of Judy, the district's tender, because I simply could not keep going without some rest.

While I was trying to recover from several hours of running around behind them, they were still pulling hoses, monitoring hot spots and protecting structures.

Many of the people out there that night were volunteers who spent their holiday responding to emergency after emergency. Some grabbed a few minutes of sleep before going right back to work. Others stayed on the line for hours.

The experience left me with tremendous respect for the people who serve their communities through the fire service.

The reality is that many of the fires firefighters responded to that night were connected to fireworks. Everyone knew the conditions were dangerous. A Red Flag Warning had been issued. The winds were strong. The risk was obvious.

Yet firefighters still found themselves racing from one fire to another as fireworks ignited grass, brush and vegetation throughout the county.

The consequences were real. Resources were stretched thin. Mutual aid was requested. Entire neighborhoods worried about whether flames would reach their homes.

The people who ultimately paid the price for those decisions were the firefighters tasked with cleaning up the mess.

Thankfully, because of their efforts, no homes were lost in the Maple Street Fire and no one was injured.

That didn't happen by accident. It happened because firefighters refused to quit.

So, this column is ultimately a thank you.

Thank you to Chief Erick Brittain, Captain Jake Friesen and every member of Grant County Fire District 7 who welcomed me into their world for a day.

Thank you for your patience, your professionalism, and your willingness to answer endless questions from a curious reporter.

Most of all, thank you for the work you did when the celebration ended and the emergencies began.

When I finally headed home after 2 a.m., I was exhausted. But they still weren't finished.

That level of dedication is remarkable, and it was an honor to witness it firsthand.