You’ve read the news: On Saturday, Denison (Texas) Fire Department firefighter Phillip Townsend was killed in the line of duty. Apparently, an awning in the front of the building collapsed on him and the fire chief. Although Denison is my hometown, I didn’t know Townsend.
A year or so after I got in the fire service, another Denison firefighter, T.O. Fulce, was killed in the line of duty while operating on the roof of the Beall’s department store in the town’s historic downtown. I didn’t know Fulce, but I knew his son; we went to school together. Additionally, I’ve been in both occupancies where these two firefighters died on many occasions and never thought twice about the buildings. This was back in my pre-fire service days.
So why am I telling you all this? A couple reasons. First, like I said, I know both buildings, albeit not well as it’s been at least 18 years since I darkened the doorway of either one, but I do know them. Second, in 1989, when Fulce was killed, I thought LODDs were just part of the job and there’s nothing we can do about it. I was green—less than a year and half in. I felt bad for his family and it was terrible how he died, but my thoughts at the time were, “It’s all part of the job.”
Today, I feel just as bad for Townsend’s family as I did for Fulce’s family, but as I’ve “matured” in the service, I’ve grown to feel bad for us, too. As with every LODD, we — the fire service — lose a family member, a brother.
With the second reason in mind, I want you to think about your fire service family. You’ve probably heard about the idea of “six degrees of separation,” which postulates that we are all connected through relationships with at most six other people. You know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody ... you get the idea.
If you’re reading this, the fire service is your family, and we’re all connected to each other. However, I’ll bet these connections are formed with fewer than six people. When you get right down to it, we’re a small group. You know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who knew both Fulce and Townsend and all of the other firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty since you joined the family. Don’t forget how we’re all connected; it will help put every loss in perspective.
