Last week, my department held a “family feed.” We invited our firefighters’ families to dinner at a local restaurant. We did this to recognize (albeit in a small way) the enormous sacrifice these families make (i.e.,  putting up with all the missed meals, birthdays and firefighters leaving in the middle of Christmas dinner to go on a call). As some of you know, the firefighters themselves often fail to recognize this sacrifice until it’s too late — in many cases way too late.

The feed began with the requisite speech from the chief. During that 60 second speech, I thanked the families for their commitment to the department and told them in no uncertain terms that, as a citizen of Hood County, I appreciated their commitment, and as the person who has the privilege of serving their spouses, I appreciate their commitment. Then, I shut up and sat down so they could enjoy their meal and the fellowship.

Traditionally, these feeds were held at the station. They’re sometimes catered, but most of the time, the firefighters and their families did the set up, cooking and clean up. If fact, some of our members were quite upset that we didn’t hold this feed at the station so we (meaning just a few of us and our wives) could set up, cook and clean up, just like always.

So, how’d it go? We had 30 more people (10 firefighters plus their 20 family members) than we expected show up. Members who had never attended a feed, be it firefighter-only feed or a family feed, showed up. No one had to spend any time setting up, cooking or cleaning up. And several spouses and family members thanked us for recognizing their commitment to the department as well.

So, the moral of the story is this: Don’t forget your firefighters’ families. You need to support both these folks and your firefighters in the good times and the bad. Don’t wait until a firefighter is injured or killed before you let these people know that you recognize the sacrifice they make.