Page 49 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine Summer 2022 - Online Magazine

FIRST RESPONDERS

igniting the dry grass instantly. The pasture is located The Roosevelt Volunteer Department has 20 members.
on the north rim of Ransom Canyon. There is a large They range in age from young to old. Most have
ranch in the valley below with many cattle and some full-time jobs. They sign up for this challenging work
horses. The valley is wooded, and the terrain is rough. even though they are not paid. They simply want to
There were few roads for a fire truck. Bill thought, “If give back to their community. Bill said, “We have one
this fire gets below, it will be terribly difficult to fight. young woman volunteer who is fantastic. She can do
I must stop it. I have only 500 gal. of water.” Working anything, and she does it well.”
carefully between the fire and the canyon rim, Bill and
another firefighter from Buffalo Springs kept the fire We need to honor all the first responders. They really
from descending into the canyon. They put the grass care about their communities and work hard to take
fire out in 90 minutes. The rest of the RVFD helped care of them. Many take serious risks. Next time you
with the house fire. meet a police officer, firefighter, paramedic, or EMT,
give them a smile and a grateful “Thank you.”
Besides fighting fires, volunteer firefighters respond
to serious auto accidents. They and the paramedics
and EMTs make up a critical team. The firefighters
eliminate any fire danger and have the mechanical
tools to extricate injured people from badly crushed
vehicles. The tool called “jaws of life” enables them
to pull victims from their heavily damaged cars. The
paramedics and EMTs provide lifesaving medical
treatment.
Bill has one very poignant story. He got a call on
Christmas day that there had been a serious wreck
between a semi-truck and an auto near Acuff. It was a
nice December day, with a bright blue sky. A 17-year-
old girl, driving a compact car, had made a left turn in
front of a semi-truck. There was a terrible crash. The
car’s back left side was totally crushed. If the compact
car had been moving a bit slower, the driver would
have been crushed. A first responder peered in the
driver’s window. The girl said, “Oh, I know you.” She
was sent to the hospital but was out within an hour
with only minor injuries. The truck driver was unhurt.
Bill said, “That was our Christmas miracle.”

Lubbock Senior Link 49