When we take a moment to thank our emergency responders for their excellent work, we should also remember how many ways they go above and beyond the call of duty.
We had the perfect example on Sunday night in Quinte West, where Firefighters responded to a major house fire on Frankford Road.
The homeowner managed to escape safely, but she was very concerned over her two cats, which were missing.
Despite the raging inferno and the fact that the front window of the home exploded as they arrived on the scene, two Firefighters went inside and successfully brought the cats out of the home safely.
In addition to our thanks (as always) for their efforts to protect and preserve property and save lives, I think we should take an extra moment to appreciate what they did here.
Going into a burning building to save a pet is NOT in their job description. It’s a choice they made to save two animals and ease the mental suffering of the woman who lives there.
When emergency responders arrive at the scene of a fire, or a crash, or a medical emergency, they often have only seconds to assess the situation and decide how best to help everyone affected by the incident.
It would be the easy and safe call to stop when you know the only person being affected is physically safe. It’s worthy of recognition and applause when they put their own safety on the line to rescue two furry family members and put an anxious and very distressed person’s mind at ease even as they watch their home go up in flames.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.


