Firefighter Alert
This week, the spirit of those who fight fires in Delaware is being celebrated. From the red line painted down the middle of King Street in front of the Daniel Herrmann Courthouse, all the way to the floor of the Senate in Washington, D.C., Delaware fire fighters are highly visible. And they should be. These are people who run into buildings that others are fleeing for their lives from. People trained in saving lives, and preserving property and livelihoods.

You can show your support for the firefighters of Wilmington this weekend by showing up for the "the largest parade in Wilmington in 50 years," and for open houses at all city firestations, as Wilmington's Fire Department Celebrates its 80th Anniversary. The parade starts Saturday morning at 10:00 am, and goes down King Street from 16th Street to 4th Street.

While Mayor James Baker's press release does mention that volunteer firefighters from across the State will be present, he doesn't say whether Milton will send representatives. But chances are very likely that they will. (Maybe they will bring their newest ladder truck.)Milton's Volunteer Firefighters' recently celebrated their 100th year as a firefighting company, and they were cited for their spirit, their determination, and their unity by the United States' Senate yesterday. Senator Joseph Biden made a point of conveying the Senate's congratulations to the Milton Volunteer Fire Department on their 100th anniversary.

From the transcript of the Senate proceeding:

"Lynn Rogers made another comment at the 100th anniversary celebration that I would like to cite. He said, ' The fire service of Delaware is a family. We no longer grow as one department; the fire service grows together; we depend on each other more every day, with the specialized emergencies that we all face.' ''

Maybe that holds true for all of us, and is a spirit that we all should share.
- William Slawski