Fire and the long red line

Last night I was headed home from my day job, which is really a night job, when I saw a thick column of black smoke rising over the Flat Road. So instead of dropping by the neighbors’ to watch the Stanley Cup final and share the nice cold bottles of Labatt’s I had nestling there on the passenger seat, I turned toward the fire.

This was not idle curiosity. We are rural enough that a fire can get going pretty fast without anyone knowing it, and I wanted to make sure it had been reported. In fact, when I got to the vicinity (and parked well away) there was only one emergency vehicle there. A whole lot of others came along right smartly. The fire was raging in the field behind a big pole barn, so I couldn’t tell what was on fire. It turned out to be a big semi that was parked there. According to sheriff’s deputies on the scene, no one was injured.

Operating at a good distance I took some snapshots that give you a sort of surreal view of firefighting, and emergency response in general, in a rural township. They’re blurry, but if they were any better Rob the Firefighter would be all over me for getting too close to the scene and getting in the way. Quite properly, too.

Finishing up

Emergency parade

Fire rescue vehicle

Torch Lake Township’s EMS and Fire Department were there of course, but support came from Banks Township and the Antrim County Sheriff’s Department too. The truth is that if something catches fire here, by the time firefighters are on the scene their job will be to keep the fire from spreading, not save whatever structure (or vehicle) is blazing away. That’s small comfort if it’s your stuff blazing, but it’s pretty important if your house is next door. I thought you’d like to see what a big network of support would come to help you on a dark night, what a long red line of neighbors.