By Rick Ryckeley
Fayette County Fire & Emergency Services

Ben was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of the alarm and people screaming for help. He looked out the window to see the building at the end of town on fire.

He knew he had to respond because the building had been recently converted to a boarding house, and they needed his help. Ben was a volunteer firefighter and the town once again needed his leadership. He was a member of the newly formed Union Fire Company, with a membership of only twenty.

As he got dressed, his heart beat faster; he could not seem to catch his breath - the adrenaline pumped through his body - he had to calm down. Where were his fire boots? "I've got to wake up," he must have thought as he stumbled to the door.

At age 31, he was not ready for this. They had just had their first meeting May 30 and had voted him to be their first fire chief. He ran out into the street and he rode to the end of town where he saw that a second building had caught fire next to the first. Was anybody hurt? Did everyone get out alive?

Ben helped with the evacuation of the boarding house as the flames grew into an inferno illuminating the night sky. As the fire threatened a third building, a second alarm was sounded, where were the rest of the volunteers with the fire fighting equipment?

I was at the fire station when the snow began. It snowed all that day and into the night. I listened to the 911 center, knowing that soon it would be my time to go.

As the snow fell and got deeper and deeper I heard call after call being dispatched: motor vehicle accidents, medical calls, trees down and gas leaks. Long into the night, I listened. I listened to every call go out, knowing that the next one could be for me and we would have to drive in the six inches of fresh snow and ice that had fallen on the streets of our county.

Suddenly the call came - a house fire with flames showing. I jumped out of bed, pulled up my turnout pants and threw on my coat. I thought, "where are my boots - I've got to wake up." My partner grabbed an extra battery for the hand held radio as we climbed into the truck.

Driving down the deserted street in the blinding snow, I knew that when we reached the fire we would not be alone. Just like with Ben's Union Fire Company, volunteers would soon be en route to lend a helping hand.

"Let me get this straight, you go into burning buildings and you don't even get paid for it? Are you crazy or just plain nuts? Even a roach has sense enough to crawl out of a building that's on fire."

Years ago, I was a volunteer firefighter, and every time my pager went off, I would hear those types of questions. After returning from a call, I would explain what a volunteer firefighter was and what they do when their pager calls them to duty.

Today, volunteer firefighters are called reserve members, but even though the name has changed, the job is the same. They are doctors, lawyers, pilots, and teachers. Reserve Members could be the shop owner around the corner or the 18-year-old down the street. They stand ready to respond to the sound of a pager going off.

Day or night, at work or at home they drop everything, jump in their car or truck, and drive to the emergency scene. They do it all for the sake of the community in which they live. And they were there the night six inches of snow covered our town.

They weren't at home in bed, or around a warm fire watching the kids play in the snow. No, reserve members were fighting fire - making sure that everyone was out safely, and trying to save one family's house and its cherished contents.

Reserve members can be found doing more than just putting out fires and rolling up hoses. They respond to medical emergencies, gas leaks, extricate people trapped in cars, extinguish brush fires and respond to hazardous material incidents. Reserve members are community helpers who hand out safety brochures, show trucks, and answer children's questions at the county fair.

They help teach fire safety in the elementary schools and go into neighborhoods to test and install smoke detectors. Call them reserve members or volunteers, they are your community helpers who you can count on to be there day or night.

One of the first firefighters was also a volunteer and his name was Ben. Ben did not respond to the alarm when his pager went off. Ben did not jump into his car or truck and drive to the emergency scene.

On June 15, 1737 Ben responded to the alarm when they rang the fire bell in the middle of town. He jumped onto his horse and rode to the blazing inferno that was the boarding house. When the other nineteen volunteers from Union Fire Company arrived, he grabbed one of the six fire buckets to help extinguish the blaze. That night the town lost two buildings but gained the first fire department in Pennsylvania.

Ben was the first of a long list of honorable men who have held the position of fire chief. I'm proud to say that I work for one of the best. Ben was known as a postmaster, printer, scientist, statesman, ambassador to France; to his friends he was known as the gentlemen from Pennsylvania.

After the fire, Ben was also known for coining the axiom "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." You, on the other hand, may know him by his full name, Benjamin Franklin - the first fire chief.

[Rick Ryckeley is employed by Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. He can be reached at saferick@bellsouth.net.]

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