Saturday, February 19, 2011

The Visit We Hope We Never Receive

As I was perusing the boards at FireWives.com, I came  a posting from menagirl.
"I am so sad about the death of Los Angeles Fire Dept. Firefighter Glenn Allen today...does anybody on this board know of, or know how to get in touch with his wife...I know she must need support...even if we dont know her, can you imagine if that call was for you? I cant."
The next posting said there were seven firefighter/police deaths in the last two days.  My heart  just sank.  We all know that knock could be coming at any time.  None of us want to think about it, but we all do in the quiet dark of night.  The "what ifs" creep in when the distractions and chaos of the day have come to rest.  We all take a deep breath and push those thoughts from our minds.  And, in reality, these tragic deaths don't occur "all that often."

Los Angeles Firefigher Glenn L. AllenBut now there is a family that can't.  They can no longer dismiss those thoughts as silly.  They can no longer take a deep breath or check on their kids and know that everything is just fine.  Life will never be the same.  There is a baby about to join the family.  Even though it is a joyous occasion, no matter what, it will be veiled in the fact that a Grandfather is not there to welcome his first grandchild.  Life will go on, but it will never be the same.  Grandpa will be a collection of stories, a helmet on the mantle, a picture, a hero.

My Graffiti on my FF's helmet.
Please take a moment and say a prayer for  Firefighter Glenn L. Allen and his family - both at home and at LAFD Station 97.  If you know the family, please also let the know that there are other fire wives and fire families mourning their loss.  We are all here for support - both near and far.  Just an email or board post away.  If you are part of a fire family, be sure to kiss your firefighter as they leave for every shift.  It is a noble, heroic, thankless occupation that carries a very real and very frightening possibility of loss, no matter how infrequent.  Also know that you and your family are never alone.  We are all here for one another.

2 comments:

  1. Thoughts and prayers with all

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey there,

    I wasn't able to find a contact email but I was just stopping by to say thanks for the good reads on your blog and for all of your support towards firefighters. I was just wondering if you would be willing to link to a new firefighter site [www.firefighterhow.com] I set up that focuses on helping those interested in becoming firefighters. I think it would be a great resource for your site, and I would be happy to return the favor. Let me know if this is something you might be interested in doing. If not, thank you for your time and keep up the good work (looking forward to the next post)!

    Warm regards,

    -Rich @ (firefighterhow@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete

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