Editor:
Re: “Sechelt Inlet home destroyed by fire,” Aug. 7.
It is all taken for granted until the billowing, black smoke rolls out across the street from a house three doors up from your own, shattering a complacent “nothing can go wrong here.” But it does, and it did. It’s because life is unpredictable. Things happen that are out of everyone’s control. Unforeseen, unplanned, and unintended. It can happen to any one of us – even immortal, untouchable me.
It is very sobering to see the inky, orange flames burst through someone’s roof line. To think for just an instant, I could grab the garden hose and spray some water while propane tanks explode, hidden somewhere behind the intense wall of flames and boiling smoke. A noble but stupid impulse.
Then it happens. Out of the ether it seems, people and equipment arrive. Trucks with flashing lights, able bodies, hoses, and gear spill out onto the streets. On the surface it seems utter chaos, but the scene is perfectly coordinated and choreographed by experienced and well-trained people.
What these folks do is incredible. Exceptional really. They set aside their own lives – their time, jobs, and families – to be here. To help, to assist, to give everything they have risking their health and lives, to hold the line between disaster and catastrophe.
From me to all of you, thank you.
Pete Smith, Sechelt
