Giannini: Public Servants Deserve Our Thanks, Not Derision
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
No doubt this has been one of the worst winters we have seen in a long time. Not only because of a repeated snow pattern we still can't get used to, but we are also getting frigid temperatures bringing ice, frozen pipes and hazardous road conditions.
So many of us have spent much of this winter indoors on weekends, days off and at night time when we normally would have been out and about. Now, I'll be the first to say, being snowbound is okay for a few days but when it happens every two or three days it becomes an unwelcome visitor to many of us.
But on this past President's Day, Monday, February 16, 2015, being snowbound was a blessing for my husband and I.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIt was a holiday and we had seen snow for the last couple of days. The storm had started on Valentine's Day and continued all day Sunday. By Monday, many of us were digging out from yet another storm with nowhere to put the snow. The weather forecasters predicted extremely frigid below zero temperatures that day with a wind chill of -23 degrees. It was extremely cold and we were housebound again.
It was around 4:00 pm and I was sitting in my family room reading and I thought I smelled something similar to a wood burning stove smell. I thought it was coming from outside.
I continued to read and was dozing off when my husband came running in the room yelling something is on fire. I quickly looked around the family room, kitchen, and dining room and saw nothing. My husband ran in the front hallway and black smoke was emerging from the wall. The smell was intense. The fire was inside the wall and coming out from a vent in the floor. He tried to put out the fire himself with a fire extinguisher and by throwing pitchers of water on it. The fire seemed to be going out but the smoke and smell was suddenly intense. I quickly called the 911 operator who connected me to the fire dispatch. Suddenly, the sound of sirens filled the air as the fire trucks started to arrive.
In a matter of minutes the whole house was full of smoke and a burning smell and I knew I had to leave the house but was trying to convince my husband to leave the fire and come outside. It was impossible to see how bad the fire was because it was in the wall.
Thankfully, Engine 14 and Ladder 6 from the Atwells Avenue fire station, led by Lt. Bo Jackson, arrived in minutes and then several other fire trucks and a rescue were on the scene. This was no easy task, considering the roads were in poor shape and snow mounds and ice were everywhere. It was frigid cold as we stood outside and watched with amazement the Providence Fire Department do their job.
A burst of reality comes over you at times of crisis. While we were upset that our house could burn down, and all our worldly possessions in it, one thing was clear. Being safe is the most important thing.
I remember saying to my husband, as we stood outside, that all our possessions were inside and he said, "That's not important now, we need to let the firemen do their job." And they certainly did. They broke open the wall and found the fire traveling up the wall.
They put out the fire and saved our home. The fire was in the wall, it was traveling and it would have destroyed our home. They did their job and did it well. I am so very proud of the Providence Fire Department. But then again, I always been proud of public safety personnel. My husband is a retired police officer and I know what it's like for the families of police and fire personnel.
It's not easy to be one of the first responders to fires, accidents and tragedies.
After 9/11, this country had the highest respect for our public safety personnel. That candle seems to have dimmed over the years. It seems people have forgotten the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday for us. It seems the only stories you read about now are about pension abuse or stories about them trying to milk the system. Sure there are abuses, but the majority of the rank and file fire and police are our public safety protectors. They protect us daily from harm and continually put themselves in the line of fire.
There has been some talk recently that the Providence Fire Department is being targeted for cuts and some fire stations are on "thin ice". Over the years, there has been talk of closing Engine 14 on Atwells Avenue in my neighborhood. I hope this is not true. The people of Providence need these fire stations. The closing of fire stations and merging of services can have a dangerous outcome for the people of Providence. It can result in loss of life, property, and the quality of life in our neighborhoods.
What happened to us at our home happened in minutes. Minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
I want to thank the the Providence Fire Department personnel who fought the fire at our home that day. You will always have a special place in my heart and not just because you saved our home. Houses can be replaced, but because you reminded me that life is very previous and can end at any moment for any of us. And we should never take our public safety protectors for granted.
Let's always remember the good our public safety personnel do and look for ways to help them do their job instead of knocking them down or putting them on "thin ice.”
Let's boost their morale by telling them we appreciate what they do and will support them not by cutting services but by standing by them and letting them do their job.
That's what we did on that fateful President's Day. We let them do their job, and we are so very grateful they did.
Joanne Giannini served as a RI State Representative from Providence from 1994 to 2010. She has previously written commentaries for the Providence Journal and the Federal Hill Gazette. During her tenure in the General Assembly, she made appearances on CNN, Primetime News, and American Morning regarding legislation she filed in Rhode Island.
Related Articles
- Giannini: Rhode Island Continues To Be a Haven for Sex Trafficking
- Giannini: How Rhode Islanders Weathered the Storm, Then and Now
- Giannini: Protecting Our Children In School
- Giannini: Is Pay Equity the Impossible Dream?
