At the FDIC International 2021 Opening Ceremony in Indianapolis this morning, FDIC Education Director Bobby Halton spoke on “God and Country” to a standing-room-only crowd:

“The American novelist and author Elizabeth Elliot once wrote, ‘There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for.’

Pro Deo et Patria

“That is a very powerful thought. It forces us to query our very purpose. It makes us question,

What do we live for?

“Without par, it demands we consider, What exactly are we willing to die for? Where do we find meaning? What is the purpose of our lives?

“It is the question we ask this morning, and not one lacking significance for this gathering. For our work, our purpose, is much more complex and nuanced than many have suggested.

“Having such clarity of purpose was perhaps said best by Captain Ernest Evans, who was the commanding officer of the USS Johnson. Evans earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his courage and bravery during the battle of Sumar.

“In his fight talk, Captain Evans addressed his crew with the following words prior to their fatal deployment: ‘This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm’s way. And anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off right now.’

“Likewise, this is the fire service. We intend go in harm’s way, and anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off now. Like the crew of the USS Johnson, it is fitting and proper that we also gather today not just as a profession but as a community of brothers and sisters who have freely chosen to stay on board and fight, fight against nature, fight against the randomness of misfortune, fight against disease, and fight against fire.

“We are ever more aware that, just like the sailors aboard the USS Johnson, it is not just what we fight against but, more importantly, what we fight for: Human dignity, honor, life itself, and the preservation of the handiwork of our fellow citizens. We fight for the principles and fundamentals that make America the greatest example of free persons exercising their God-given natural rights.

“And so, this morning, let us reflect, albeit far too briefly, on the irrefutable fact that our lives, our work, our purpose are connected, intertwined in many direct and indirect ways.

“We understand that what motivates us to serve is critical for our success. 

“As school children, most of us read Victor Frankel’s ‘Man’s Search for Meaning.’ The message is simple: People, healthy people, require purpose and, according to Frankel, helping others is the most rewarding. Our work, our profession often supplies much of that need.

“It has been said that the work we have chosen is a lowly one. We agree with Chief O’Hagan. It is sufficient, however, to motivate persons like us to heights of valor and even to the supreme sacrifice, should the need arise.  

So, whom do we admire, whom do we respect?

“We lavish praise on people who parrot others’ words and reenact others’ lives on television, movies, or stage. We heap adulation on those who are skillful in sports. Many are wonderful people and excellent at what they do, and although famous, few are heroic, and fewer still are inspiring.

“Yet society elevates them over the troops who protect us, over the crews we do duty with, over the real heroes around us every day.

“It is not unusual for firefighters like us to hear things like, ‘I don’t know how you could do that’—‘that’ being our job. We usually just shrug it off, say something noncommittal like, ‘I just like helping people,’ or something funny like, ‘Firefighting

At the FDIC International 2021 Opening Ceremony Day 1 on Wednesday, August 4, in Indianapolis, FDIC Education Director Bobby Halton remembered the 2020-2021 Ray Downey Courage and Valor Award recipient, Lieutenant Jason Menard from the Worcester (MA) Fire Department, who died in the line of duty.

Halton began: “The recent government lockdowns, albeit generally with the very best of intentions, had wide-ranging impacts, some of which will be felt for generations yet to come. Some will never be undone. The presentation of honors at funerals, an earned recognition of the utmost significance, was among those time-honored traditions that were banned, halted, prohibited.  

“Irrespective of what reasons caused the intrusion of tradition, we know that honor delayed is honor nonetheless, and maybe greater honor is gained by refusing to not deny honor correctly earned although delayed. As such, we now turn our attention to the presentation of the Ray Downey Courage and Valor Award, a presentation of honors to a recipient who earned our recognition and regard.

“The award is named for FDNY Deputy Chief Ray Downey, and normally his sons would be here along with our recipient or a representative of the organization or family. But this is not an ordinary year.

“Chief Downey, we hope, would agree that despite the fact that the award was presented to the family a year ago so as to help alleviate some of the financial burden of their loss, the debt of honor was not fulfilled until this assembly had an opportunity to hear Lieutenant Menard’s story, to examine his courage and valor, and to reflect on his sacrifice and service.

“Chief Downey would want words about him to be brief, but his example is still the gold standard for all firefighters, his sons Chuck and Joe are the living embodiment of his character, integrity, and discipline.

“Today, we honor Lieutenant Jason Menard, a gentleman whose dedication to duty in the most trying of circumstances rose to the ultimate level.”

Menard succumbed to thermal injuries he sustained in a residential fire on November 13, 2019, after he had pushed fellow firefighter Christopher Pace to safety. The fire was on the second floor of a three-story balloon-frame wood structure in Worcester. The initial report to dispatch was that a mother and her baby were trapped on the third floor. As a result of some miscommunication, it was then reported that the mother was out but the baby was still on the floor unconscious.

Menard, working his regular shift as the company officer on Ladder 5, was dispatched on the first alarm. Ladder 5 was the first ladder truck on scene and was assigned to search the second and third floors.

The primary search was negative. Ladder 5 members exited the building and changed out their air bottles. Menard spoke to the incident commander about their next assignment, which was to clear out the exits on the second- and third-floor rear. The rescue team had reported that they could not gain access to the rear porches because a large amount of debris was stored in the back hallway.

Menard and his crew ascended the stairs at the C-D corner of the building. At this time, reports from inside the building were that the visible fire on the second floor had been knocked down.

The following information was obtained through interviews: As Ladder 5’s crew reached the third floor landing, they were met with increasing amounts of heat. Fire had advanced

Two Newton (GA) firefighters were hurt when the fire truck they were in “t-boned” a passenger vehicle Tuesday night, pushing it several hundred yards before both vehicles went off the road and the fire truck rolled over, according to report published by The Covington News. One of the firefighters suffered a head injury when an SCBA inside the vehicle broke loose and hit him in the head the newspaper reported.

The crash happened on Georgia Highway 36 when the Newton fire truck was headed to a fire call when a car pulled into its path, the paper reported. Both firefighters, where tossed about inside the truck were hospitalized after the crash, the paper reported.

Although there were no reported fatalities, the extent of the firefighters’ injury was not known last night, the paper reported.

The engine involved in the crash is from Fire Station 1 on Covington Bypass Road, the paper reported, adding the crash is under investigation by Newton County Sheriff’s Office, the newspaper reported.

Just a little more than two weeks after the Weyers Cave (VA) Volunteer Fire Company received a brand new $600,000 plus pumper, a 2008 pumper got hit while it was parked in front of the fire station causing significant damage, according to a report published by WHSV 3.

According to the television station, the fire department was on a track to replace a fire truck every 10 to 12 years when the crash occurred, putting the pumper out of service and sending the replacement plan off course.

The fire truck was hit by a Dodge Charger which pushed the truck a few feet as it was sitting in front of the station. There were no serious injuries, the station reported.

Weyers Cave firefighters are awaiting news from the insurance company about whether or not the wrecked engine could be repaired or would need to be replaced, the television station reported.