Yesterday in Charleston,SC a fire ripped through a retail furniture store and warehouse. Nine brave firefighters tragically lost their lives after rescuing two store employees from the fast moving fire which threatened adjacent businesses and homes.
The Charleston,SC Fire Department has 237 firefighters in 19 companies located throughout the city of about 106,000 residents. Firefighters everywhere are always a very tight knit group and when a tragedy befalls a department it hits hard. To lose one of your fellow firefighters in one incident is a terrible loss, but to lose nine is very difficult to even imagine.
Charleston,SC is very fortunate to have a great Fire Chief who also happens to be a great baseball guy. His name is Russell "Rusty" Thomas and I have had the pleasure of meeting him and talking with him two summers in a row. His son, currently playing at The Citadel, was a member of the Diamond Devils baseball team.
The team hosts a topnotch baseball tournament each year and both of my sons have played in it. What a wonderful location for a tournament. The Diamond Devils present a well run, well organized, and highly competitive tournament.
Each of the two summers I saw Fire Chief Thomas... Rusty to everyone...he was busting his behind working the fields to get them just right for the next game. He always smiles, is always helpful with all of the out-of-towners, always easy to engage in lighthearted conversation. Truly an all around good guy...a guy's guy, yet always the southern gentleman if that makes sense.
I just learned of the tragic fire only an hour or so ago. My deep concern turned to anguish when I heard the location of the fire. I knew instantly that Fire Chief Thomas...Rusty the baseball guy with a great kid...now faces and must endure what every Fire Chief that serves, or ever served, or will ever serve never wants to confront...the loss of a firefighter. They all know it is inevitable, but that doesn't lessen or diminish the impact when it occurs.
I am deeply saddened to hear of the loss of these nine courageous firefighters. It is a heavy burden for everyone involved to bear, but a tragedy such as this is woven into the fabric of the firefighting community throughout the world. Firefighters never forget the tragedy and thankfully they never stop protecting the rest of us...regardless of their grief. That's the way they are...they're a special breed.
Fire Chief Thomas, who is one of us here in the baseball community, is doing his duty today with a heavy, heavy heart. It is going to be rough for him and his department for a stretch. Prayers and support from the HSBBW and elsewhere will help ease their pain.
Here is a link to the story.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-c...-newsnationworld-hed
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