Big Fire

Our small town has had a couple of big events lately. Fortunately, no one was injured but three major businesses in our downtown area are destroyed.

People came out of the wood work to stand around and watch the fire fighters work. I would say there were probably a couple thousand people who came out to view the disaster. I gotta say, our mostly volunteer fire fighting force did an excellent job. My neighbor lady is one of the only (maybe THE only) women on the force and she told me they have a chief who is always prepared, calm, and ready to go.

The building that burned used to be the first first hotel, and then the first hospital in these parts. It's days were probably numbered. But it's sad. It really was a cool looking old building. Maybe they will be able to salvage the outer brick walls and just rebuild on the inside.

I'm so glad it wasn't homes that went up. Businesses are bad enough. We also had a grain silo explode out in the country, and I do think there were injuries there. But again, the fire fighters were there, ready and willing to put their lives on the line. I didn't realize that fire fighting isn't so much about putting out a fire than it is trying to keep the fire under control until it burns itself out. It really was something else to watch.