A Look Back at 2007: NFFF Whistlestop Tour

Photo Craig Allyn Rose The tour bus makes a stop at San Jose Fire Department.

By Katherine Hibbs
Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program Director

The Gettman’s wore jeans and NFFF shirts in San Francisco, Christine Groff wore a black suit and white blouse in Sacramento, and Helen Worthen wore a red blazer and black slacks in Los Angeles. I could go on and on, through the list of survivors to Boston. It’s been eight months since the tour ended and I remember each one of them, their name, the name of their loved one, and what they wore that day. I could pick them out of a crowd.

“An experience to remember” doesn’t do justice to the people that changed my life and created passion in me for reducing the number of line-of-duty-deaths. At each event a survivor from the area would join us and speak to the crowd about their experience. Most of them were polished speakers, used to telling their story; some were not and would get emotional. They may have spoken and dressed differently, but they all said the same thing: “Thank you for what you are doing.”

Sobbing widows, sons and daughters would tell me how their life will never be the same, how each day they think of their loved one and grieve their loss. Each time I would tear up and hide behind my sunglasses, but when we got back on the bus I would say a prayer for what they will continue to go through for the rest of their lives.

Heartache of that magnitude was something I couldn’t imagine. Each survivor was left with questions and a list of “what if’s” that grows each day. “What if he would have buckled up, would my kids know their dad?” “What if he would have went to the doctor for a check up, would I have a best friend?” “What if he would have dressed in full turnout gear, would I see my son get married?” In their eyes you can see sorrow, loneliness, regret and questions. These are questions and what if’s that no one should ever have to deal with.

Each of these survivors taught me something: don’t take life for granted, enjoy the time you have with them, buckle up … always, be careful, say ‘I love you,’ and take care of yourself. These are all lessons I had learned as child, but now they have more meaning. I think we can get caught up in “life” and not do the simple things we know we should.

Buckling up is the easiest task in the world, but kills so many firefighters each year. Going to the doctor for a check up sounds like an easy thing to do, but how many of us do it each year? If we all stopped and took a more preventative and proactive approach to life, there wouldn’t be hundreds of survivors.

In those 40 days away from my home, I gained a whole new perspective on life. Eight months later I buckle up each day, I exercise regularly, I got a check up and I even quit smoking. I didn’t do this as much for myself, but for those that I would leave behind. We can’t prevent everything and sometimes bad things happen. We can, however, take responsibility for our lives and the choices we make every day. After the America’s Fire Heroes Whistlestop Tour, I know I am a changed person and it truly was “an experience to remember.”