Faces in action

For many of us, a long day at work can end with relaxing night at home with our families. Much of the same holds true for the volunteers of the East Meadow Fire Department as well, however, on a regular basis — day or night — these men and women will jump to their feet, and make a run for their cars. In an instant, the pager blares, with a report of a house fire, or, maybe a neighbor suffering a serious illness.

Within seconds, calm becomes adrenaline as members respond to their respective stations, gear up, and board the rigs. All this is happening as our fire chiefs are already en-route directly to the emergency.

The residents of the East Meadow Fire District are fortunate to have one of the most dedicated and caring organizations as any other in the nation.

In a world where many homeowners work two jobs, there is comfort to know that our organization has such intensity when someone needs them the most.

But who are these people? They are our neighbors. The family next door. So focused on helping others that it’s a part of their everyday life. 

They are career firefighters from the big city, police officers, emergency medical service professionals, accountants, construction workers, landscapers, college students and more.

But how can you tell who they are? They are the family members next door who make certain their car keys are easily accessible before sleep, or the person who lays out their clothing next to the bed. They are the people who scrape the ice off their windshield in the early morning, even though they have no-where to go. Blizzard? You won’t see them for days as all members report to their quarters for an emergency standby. They can often be seen driving to work and suddenly turning around because an emergency just came in.

There’s no time to waste.

When the pager sounds, you are either on the first rig out, or you are every other firefighter or EMT who wished they were.     

Whoever this person is, he or she goes to bed each night fully prepared for what they are trained for.

One minute they are asleep. But five to eight minutes later, they are working in the darkness on the icy roadway of the Meadowbrook Parkway, using the jaws of life to free a stranger from a car wreck, while our EMTs treat the injured.