Dear Chief,

On a roasting hot Friday morning in July, I called 911 from my home as I watched thick black smoke pouring out of the chimney having already breached the roofline and moving toward the back of the house. I had just met a fireplace technician at my home to have him conduct an operations and safety inspection of that propane fueled fireplace. My husband and I had moved out of the home just a few weeks earlier to our new home, but we were preparing to sell the home on fire. We had a sales agreement with a buyer and were scheduled for settlement the following week. This inspection was the last item to fulfill the buyer’s request to agree to the sale.

There is nothing like watching your home burn before your eyes and realizing, at least in this case, there was nothing that I could do to contain or extinguish the fire. It was only the odd crackling sound I heard in the home 20 minutes after the technician left that drew my attention, and took me a few minutes of confusion with that sound before I walked outside and looked up. There was no smell and nothing visible in the home to alert me to this.

What followed was something I had never witnessed in person before. I’m told your fire company was first on the scene. I stood by and watched and prayed for your crew of firefighters, donning heavy hot clothing and all kinds of gear as they entered the home to extinguish and contain the fire. I was mesmerized by their dedication and effort. As I looked each one in the eye as they passed me, I wondered if their Moms know what they were doing, I mean, what they are really doing, for complete and utter strangers. I prayed for their safety. My husband arrived from work and was equally struck- we are so humbled by what your crew accomplished on that terribly hot morning, for us, and for the neighborhood, to keep it safe and essentially untouched. I’m sure it was a challenge as it is a pretty tight configuration of homes.

The reason I am writing to you is because we want to extend our thanks to the crew in a meaningful way, and because this is new to us, I wanted to ask you if there is something you think your crew would especially appreciate and we would love to do it.

Thank you for your kind attention and of course for the brave work you do.

Sincerely,

Peggy Hayward