Thankful?

       Thankful.... This week is meant to remind us that we should all be thankful. The holiday/word or term "Thanksgiving" would seem to imply that we are to thank others for what they give us, but could it imply we should give thanks to others for allowing us to give to them. Either way being thankful should be thought provoking. Of course we are all thankful for our families, the time we spend, the food on the table, the roof over our heads, but do we really look deep into ourselves to know what we should truly be thankful for? 

       This week, myself and the pipe major of my band were the only ones available for practice, so we met up at a local pub to play there instead of a stuffy class room. We had an enjoyable evening piping, eating, drinking, and watching the Bruins on the big screen. There were many people at this pub enjoying the evening, not as many that were enjoying the Holiday parade yesterday but just the same they were having a good time. At both events people were clapping and cheering for all different reasons. The main reason I believe was because they were able to take a break from the craziness of life. I thought a lot that night about the holiday season.

       In recent years the month of December has been busy for the pipe & drum bands of Massachusetts. Holiday parades, the annual Firefighter of the year awards, even drill school graduations can fill the schedule. Inevitably we find dates, letters and numbers like W6, Dec. 8, and Dec 23, 2011 that shake our ability to be thankful for anything. These are just three events that will be forever engrained in our minds, testing our ability to be thankful this time of year. W6? That stands for the men of the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire of December 3, 1999, in Worcester, Massachusetts. It started when two homeless and mentally disabled people, who were living inside the warehouse, knocked over a candle after an argument earlier in the afternoon. Both fled without reporting the fire to emergency services. The result would be the death of the W6. Moving forward to December 8 in 2011 the City of Worcester would lose another one of its firefighters to fire and subsequent collapse while operating at a three story apartment building. This gentleman had been searching for victims, made it out, then returned for his final search, and once again our ability to be thankful was tested. Just a couple weeks following on December 28th of the same year we would head to Peabody to help the Peabody Fire Department carry one of their members on to the afterlife. Peabody had all hands working a three alarm blaze and this man was on the stairs between the first and second floors when he went down. He was rescued by his fellow firefighters but would later die in the hospital. So I ask how is it possible to be thankful when we are continuously reminded of the loss of others during this time of year, knowing any moment it can happen right here at home?

       I see that just yesterday, after seventy one years the City of Boston renamed Piedmont Street to Coconut Grove Ave. 17 Piedmont was were the Coconut Grove night club stood. On November 28, 1942 this club was the scene of the deadliest nightclub fire in history, killing 492 people, injuring hundreds more. The enormity of the tragedy shocked the nation and briefly replaced the events of World War II in newspaper headlines. It was the second-deadliest single-building fire in American history; only the 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago had a higher death toll, of 602. The Coconut Grove led to a reform of safety standards and codes across the country, and major changes in the treatment and rehabilitation of burn victims. Although this sounds horrific can you imagine the people over the last seventy years that benefited from what was learned in the Coconut Grove? Clearly far more than 492 or even 602. This is sort of what happened in Worcester. Firefighter safety regulations once again changed after 1999. With the advent of PASS (personal alert safety system) devices, the implementation of the incident command system, and the realization of familiarity of your districts as well as numerous others. These lessons learned by these events will help to save lives, fact! So should we be thankful for that?

       Is it possible to believe that these men died, and although incredibly sad, we can learn from them?  I would like to think so. Is it an odd thought that I would be thankful to have been there for these men and their families? Thankful for being allowed to pay respect, to give? Were these men thankful to have the opportunity to give? Should I be thankful for this talent I have found? How about being thankful of my family for providing me the time to be there for these men, or thankful to my department for introducing me to this life and assisting me when it can to provide this service. Am I thankful these men passed doing what they believe in? What about the hundreds of Firefighters throughout the state (and country for that matter) who may risk themselves for others, am I thankful for them? Are they thankful to give? The guys I work with each day? Thankful for the freedom to express these thoughts?

Thankful they are dead? No, but Yes, I am thankful for:

Paul Brotherton 41 Rescue 1, Jeremiah Lucey 38 Rescue 1,

Thomas Spencer 42 Ladder Co. 2, Timothy Jackson 51 Ladder Co. 2,

James Lyons 34 Engine Co. 3, Joseph McGuirk 38 Engine Co. 3, Worcester  December 3, 1999.

Jon Davies 43  Rescue Squad 1 Worcester December 8, 2011.

James Rice 42 Engine Co. 5 Peabody December 28, 2011.

 How about you?

Peter