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had arrived by 3:40 a.m. — with three trucks and more than a dozen men ready for the worst. So just how do you say thank you to a group of volunteers who hauled themselves out of their own beds, left their families and made it to their respective fire stations, put on their firefighting gear; then made it to my house, all in a half hour in the middle of a freezing Thanksgiving night? Words fail.
No question, without these volunteers the precious old chestnut logs would have been reduced to smoking ash by daylight. I said what they did not need to hear, "You saved my house. I thank you sincerely." No one responded; it was too late for small talk.
Sperryville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Richie Burke simply said, "That's what we are here for." Then he and his men departed.
You cannot know how important the volunteer fire and rescue squad is to our community and to our lives until you need to call upon them or have the privilege of seeing these men in action. Before this incident, probably like many people in our county, I read the County Emergency Log in the newspaper.or received their annual request for a donation. But Thanksgiving night I saw a demonstration of professionalism, training and equipment 1 had never imagined coming from volunteers.
Of course this is no accident. It is a result of serious training and serious investment. The Washington and Sperryville Volunteer Fire Departments receive a good deal of | their support from the newly enacted Fire Levy which gives them the funds they need for maintenance. But as I later learned, these funds cannot be used for capital expenses such as the purchase of the new fire truck, a used 1986 Pierce Fire Truck which carries
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