News flash: Firefighters are not superheroes. They don’t wear tights, capes, or carry cosmic power. I bet you knew that. Comic fiction can be a wonderful escape, but the reality is, we’re all hurtling through life at a dangerous pace, surrounded by threats we often fail to realize.
That’s where the firefighter comes in.
Tonight, the Merrimack Valley (a place I grew up) exploded in flames. That may sound like hyperbole, but it happened. Gas lines that had been given too much pressure led to home fires, explosions, and even the death of a human being.
That’s how it really works. As humans, we are able to freely give life—with the silent agreement that life can take things back, with absolutely zero notice. When that call comes in from above, we respond the best we can.
Firefighters are not superheroes. Superheroes respond in milliseconds, sometimes completely undoing what is wrong—people return to their lives happily, grateful—we’ve almost come to expect that level of service in our world of comic book movies.
What we don’t expect, is 60-80 fires over 3 communities, all at once. And what we definitely should not expect, is for Superman to swoop down from a cerulean sky, carrying us in his alien arms, far away to safety.
And while we shouldn’t ever expect the Last Son of Krypton to protect us, we can expect that at least someone will come for us. There is hope in human, in the men and women who don the Kevlar and push themselves past the barrier of instinct itself. “Do not go in that building,” the voice says. I bet they hear that a lot. These people have chosen a career that goes against their very conscience. Think about that.
If you are trapped in flames, they will bring water to you. If you are drowning, they will swim to you. If you are caught in the weight of earth, they will dig you out. And if the wind has throttled you, demonstrating every inch of it’s might—they will shield your body with their own.
Because they believe in it. Listen, I’ve heard a handful of people say (over the course of a dozen assemblies through my school years), “They don’t do it for the money. Nobody is getting rich from being a firefighter.” How does that make you feel?
For me, it leaves me feeling pretty incredible. Look at what these men and women have done today. Think about you—yes you—on the end of a ladder, blowing out the attic of a home that resembles real Hell. What are you thinking about during that moment? What football player kneeled? What the President has said? Or are you only thinking about the lives you’re trying to protect, likely ahead of your own?
These people are our heroes. Firefighters, EMTs. They don’t face guns. They go against nature. And you can stack any dope dealer with a 45-cal up against flames or the flood. There’s no contest. Nature wants to kill us, and it’ll win every time, if we let it. Don’t be fooled. For every beautiful moment with nature—foliage, sunrise, an almost silently running brook— there is a fire somewhere opposite, eating with ferocity, and taking away someone’s world.
Firefighters are always going to be our saviors. With that being said, the next time you want to thank a real hero—remember days like today and 9/11. Look beyond the movies, and bring your eyes back down from the empty skies. There is no Superman.
But there are men and women, not so different from us. We all know somebody, but even if you don’t, there are ways to say thank you. Donate to their causes when you can, send a card and message to the firehouse, hell, buy ‘em a beer if you see them around. Let them know that you appreciate what they do.
Stick your hand out, the same way they’ll always do for you.