So this article has been floating around in my head since Hurricane Harvey specifically and the 2017 hurricane season generally. And might even go back to 2016 and Hurricane Matthew in some fashion.
Who are the First Responders? The obvious answer is law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical personnel and others who are paid (in most cases but lots of volunteers in these positions as well) to be there. No question. These are all people who subject themselves to piss poor pay for for piss poor working conditions, putting their lives on the line everyday. I was one of them.
My thoughts about first responders started changing a while back. It started with a thought that I started voicing a couple years ago.
“I am responsible for my safety as well as my family’s. Law Enforcement is my back up. Not the other way around.”
The more I thought about this, and watching the first responders on the television, I realized that that title is not limited to public safety.
My friend David McCoy of Loadup Ammunition in Grovetown, Georgia and his team are a perfect example. I don’t know the other team member’s names. But in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, they loaded up trucks with supplies, grabbed an airboat and trailer, and left Georgia, left their families, left the comfort of their homes and headed to Houston Texas.
They spent their own money. Used their own gear. Ate MREs. Drank bottled water. Just to go to Houston and help people they didn’t know who found themselves in a bad situation. They helped local public safety rescue people. Retrieve medicines from flooded homes. Retrieved people from flooded areas.
They went into areas local public safety had no way of getting in to. They responded when no one else could. They responded first.
This isn’t about Dave and his team. They are just one of many who responded. I just happen to be friends with him. Proudly. This is about widening the scope of the term First Responder.
It is not just for public safety.
It is the most American thing we can do. And these guys did it unselfishly and absolutely without expectation of any payment or reward. They helped other human beings and are true heroes.