Thank God for Firefighters

Recently the city of Coatesville PA has gotten nationwide press coverage. For those of you not familiar with the area, let me give you a little background. Coatesville was the home of Lukens steel plant for many years. It was the major employer in the area. Lukens has changed hands several times and is now operating at a fraction of its normal production. The residents of the city have survived, some better than others. Some areas of the town have fallen on bad times and the residents do what they can to prevent and/or stay out of the way of drug deals, gun fights, and other crimes. During 2008 Coatesville had 13 fires for the entire year. Since January 1st, we have had 14 fires. The last fire took out 15 houses. Coatesville has 3 full time firefighters, the rest of the department is made up of volunteers. Needless to say, the department is doing the best it can to keep the residents safe. The local authorities are working with state and federal agencies, including the FBI, National Guard,and the ATF to catch the person or persons responsible for setting the fires. My thoughts and prayers go out to the residents who have been displaced by these horrible fires. The fires have all been caused by someone setting fire to trash, furniture or other flamable materials left on porches of homes. Recently, the town has offered to help residents clean up trash or other items that have been left outside in order to remove the fuel for the fires. The town council is recmending a "city wide cleanup." They are also asking for volunteers for town watches to keep an eye out for vandals. It is always a tragedy when people lose their homes or lives to fire. However, if the string of arson's in Coatesville can get the residents to clean up the town, and raise alertness to other crimes as well, perhaps some good will come of this.
The next time you get a chance, thank a firefighter. The next house they save, could be yours. Thank you.