WILL YOU DARE TO BE AN UNSUNG HERO?
FIRE COMMENTARY
There are among us those who do their work quietly and in an unassuming manner. Many do so on their own time, even with out-of-pocket funds. There is no fanfare. They are unaware of the number of lives and the amount of property they have saved and will continue to save.
liven the “victims” will not know when they have been saved from injury, even death. Statistics are inconclusive, especially when it comes to proving that specific individuals continue to walk around unharmed and property remains in daily use because these people succeeded in making a point.
Vi ho are these “heroes” who are not recognized? The “heroes” are the men and women who knock on doors of homes: visit businesses: and speak and make presentations before schools, clubs, or any group that will give them a few minutes of attention. They are the men and women w ho tell and educate as an ongoing project for tire safety.
Why hasn’t the media singled them out for attention and praise? The reason is this: Their work is not as exciting as that of the firefighters among the smoke and flames.
Fire safety educators understand that the most effective outcome is the result of helping others recognize dangers previously overlooked or not comprehended. W henever the public learns to correct potential hazards, there is a reduction in fires and. consequently, a decrease in fire injuries, deaths, and property loss.
Early fire safety education first told people to plan for escape from a burning residence, to close bedroom doors, to crawl low. and to have an alternate secure route for escape. Then came smoke detectors, which gave earlier warning of danger. Today, residential sprinkler systems have become available. Good public fire safety educators cover all these bases and offer information about all available lifesaving procedures and devices and more.
The educators, the unsung heroes, continue to offer their message to all who will listen. Statistics tell us there have been relative reductions in the number of fire injuries and deaths wherever the unsung heroes have worked.
Despite the good work of these educators. fires still occur, making it necessary to continue telling others how to react in a reasonably calm and safe manner should a fire occur. Whenever fire safety educators inform individuals or groups about fire escape procedures, they set the stage for becoming unsung heroes. However, the safest fire is the one that never starts: this, too. is where educators play their heroic role.
Do you have the audacity to become an “unsung hero”? There will be no medals, no plaques, no dinners. You possibly will be looked on as being a little bit weird. Even those you win over w-ill not be aware of their good fortune. There will be no screaming with the pain of blackened, burned flesh; nor w-ill there be relatives and friends gathered at the gravesides of the ones who did not survive. In your quiet way you will read statistics showing drops in fire-related injuries and deaths and property losses. No one will be slapping you on the back for doing a great job. You will never have the satisfaction of knowing who or what was saved, simply because nothing happened. But you would be the one who set the stage for it not to have happened.
These unsung heroes don’t look any different than the hundreds of people you come in contact with every day. They don’t make a lot of noise or attract much attention. But someday, someone you know may owe a lot to one of them, even though the fact of a “save” never will become known.
As an unsung hero, you w-ill have the satisfaction of knowing yours was a job well done. Go ahead, dare to become an unsung hero.
