Ben was awakened

in the middle of the night by the sound of the alarm and people screaming

for help. He looked out the window to see the building at the end of town

on fire.

He knew he

had to respond because the building had been recently converted to a boarding

house, and they needed his help. Ben was a volunteer firefighter and the

town once again needed his leadership. He was a member of the newly formed

Union Fire Company, with a membership of only twenty.

As he got dressed,

his heart beat faster; he could not seem to catch his breath - the adrenaline

pumped through his body - he had to calm down. Where were his fire boots?

"I've got to wake up," he must have thought as he stumbled to

the door.

At age 31,

he was not ready for this. They had just had their first meeting May 30

and had voted him to be their first fire chief. He ran out into the street

and he rode to the end of town where he saw that a second building had

caught fire next to the first. Was anybody hurt? Did everyone get out

alive?

Ben helped

with the evacuation of the boarding house as the flames grew into an inferno

illuminating the night sky. As the fire threatened a third building, a

second alarm was sounded, where were the rest of the volunteers with the

fire fighting equipment?

I was at the

fire station when the snow began. It snowed all that day and into the

night. I listened to the 911 center, knowing that soon it would be my

time to go.

As the snow

fell and got deeper and deeper I heard call after call being dispatched:

motor vehicle accidents, medical calls, trees down and gas leaks. Long

into the night, I listened. I listened to every call go out, knowing that

the next one could be for me and we would have to drive in the six inches

of fresh snow and ice that had fallen on the streets of our county.

Suddenly the

call came - a house fire with flames showing. I jumped out of bed, pulled

up my turnout pants and threw on my coat. I thought, "where are my

boots - I've got to wake up." My partner grabbed an extra battery

for the hand held radio as we climbed into the truck.

Driving down

the deserted street in the blinding snow, I knew that when we reached

the fire we would not be alone. Just like with Ben's Union Fire Company,

volunteers would soon be en route to lend a helping hand.

"Let me

get this straight, you go into burning buildings and you don't even get

paid for it? Are you crazy or just plain nuts? Even a roach has sense

enough to crawl out of a building that's on fire."

Years ago,

I was a volunteer firefighter, and every time my pager went off, I would

hear those types of questions. After returning from a call, I would explain

what a volunteer firefighter was and what they do when their pager calls

them to duty.

Today, volunteer

firefighters are called reserve members, but even though the name has

changed, the job is the same. They are doctors, lawyers, pilots, and teachers.

Reserve Members could be the shop owner around the corner or the 18-year-old

down the street. They stand ready to respond to the sound of a pager going

off.

Day or night,

at work or at home they drop everything, jump in their car or truck, and

drive to the emergency scene. They do it all for the sake of the community

in which they live. And they were there the night six inches of snow covered

our town.

They weren't

at home in bed, or around a warm fire watching the kids play in the snow.

No, reserve members were fighting fire - making sure that everyone was

out safely, and trying to save one family's house and its cherished contents.

Reserve members

can be found doing more than just putting out fires and rolling up hoses.

They respond to medical emergencies, gas leaks, extricate people trapped

in cars, extinguish brush fires and respond to hazardous material incidents.

Reserve members are community helpers who hand out safety brochures, show

trucks, and answer children's questions at the county fair.

They help teach

fire safety in the elementary schools and go into neighborhoods to test

and install smoke detectors. Call them reserve members or volunteers,

they are your community helpers who you can count on to be there day or

night.

One of the

first firefighters was also a volunteer and his name was Ben. Ben did

not respond to the alarm when his pager went off. Ben did not jump into

his car or truck and drive to the emergency scene.

On June 15,

1737 Ben responded to the alarm when they rang the fire bell in the middle

of town. He jumped onto his horse and rode to the blazing inferno that

was the boarding house. When the other nineteen volunteers from Union

Fire Company arrived, he grabbed one of the six fire buckets to help extinguish

the blaze. That night the town lost two buildings but gained the first

fire department in Pennsylvania.

Ben was the

first of a long list of honorable men who have held the position of fire

chief. I'm proud to say that I work for one of the best. Ben was known

as a postmaster, printer, scientist, statesman, ambassador to France;

to his friends he was known as the gentlemen from Pennsylvania.

After the fire,

Ben was also known for coining the axiom "An ounce of prevention

is worth a pound of cure." You, on the other hand, may know him by

his full name, Benjamin Franklin - the first fire chief.

[Rick Ryckeley

is employed by Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

He can be reached at [email protected].]