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| WILDFIRE RIG |
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| WHAT LITTLE BOY DOESN'T WANT TO BE A FIREMAN? |
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| ONE OF TWO RESCUE VEHICLES |
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| THREE BIG PUMPERS |
Sunday, 8:30 AM 56 degrees F at the ferry dock, 54 on the back porch. Wind ENE, light to moderate with stronger gusts. The sky is partly cloudy, the humidity down to 61%. The barometer is at 30.22" and falling, predicting showers for tomorrow and an unsettled week ahead, but it is a nice morning following a very nice evening that featured the first top-down ride of the summer.
The fire hall had a public open house yesterday from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and we stopped in. A cookout lunch was served and all the equipment was on display. Bayfield is part of a fire protection consortium of twelve northern Wisconsin communities. Emergency medical services also cooperate.
The City of Bayfield relies on volunteer firefighters and EMTs. as do most small Wisconsin towns and cities. We have lived in big cities with professional full time fire and emergency personnel and in communities with volunteers. The volunteers have been every bit as good as the full time staff. Not only do they work with minimal compensation, in most small communities they raise their own money for equipment, through raffles and other fund raisers. The fire company with its hall is a significant part of the social life of a small town.
New York City could not, I am sure, function with volunteer firefighters and EMTs and I don't know where the balance point lies, but most of America relies on volunteers for fire and emergency services, and we salute them for the work they do and the risks they take.
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