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Show PGESlab Marcella Walker money in their pockets when they fight fires, and 2. Has anyone ever thought to bring them something to replenish themselves with during the course of a long-lasting fire fighting operation. At least it is food for thought. (No pun intended.) the fire department before, but after this past weekend we felt they deserved additional accolades for a job well done. Hours were spent on these fires. Many came to the latter fire without any breakfast and worked hard, building up a tremendous appetite, we're sure. In fact, Bud Durrant suggested some sandwiches and something to drink might be in order. No one volunteered to get any and between them all they came up with about 50 cents with which to get a can of pop out of the cold drink machine. From this experience I learned two things: 1. Most firemen do not have This past week the Pleasant Grove Fire Department was called out twice to fires at a Lindon industry. As reporters we get the opportunity to go to things like this and stand around, stay out of the way and observe what is going on. Our fire department is a volunteer fire department with some 20 men serving as firefighters. They train each Monday evening and also attend special training seminars during the year. They are paid per fire and not very much at that. Yet the danger to life and limb is the same as it would be on a fulltime fire department. ' They often receive recognition from residents who had to call on them for the quickness of response which they are able to provide. If any of you like to watch the show "Emergency" then you will know what I'm talking about when I say that these two fires last weekend were more like "Emergency" than I have ever seen in Pleasant Grove before. For one thing the smoke was extremely ex-tremely dense. One could not breath in it nor could one see in it. Yet these men donned their air tanks and ventured within to try to do all they could to stop the smoke which billowed from the building from every opening and from under the eaves. They had to attach life lines to their belts in order to find their way out of the building or for a rescuer to find them if necessary. Burning insulation could possibly have given off a toxic gas which could have been hazardous to them all. The fire was difficult to fight because it was located in a kiln in the back of the building. The kilns are so well constructed in order to maintain heat for drying that they are virtually impossible to enter by any other means than the door to the kiln itself. Ventilation of the smoke was necessary so that the firemen could begin to find the kiln and spray the burning product with water. Being a Sunday morning, some of the men had been on their way to church meetings. . Here is a firefighter, dress pants, dress shoes, fire helmet, waterproof coat, reddened red-dened eyes from the smoke and soot streaks on his face. Wives of these firemen must love it when they come home from fighting a fire in their good clothes. Mark Johnson, fire chief, is seen at most fires in his good pants and shirt, often blackened and soaked from the fire. Working side by side with the firefighters at these two recent fires was Noel Tanner, president of the E Z Fire Company. Staying optimistic through what must have been a very trying situation for him, he helped ventilate the building, helped hold fire nozzles, made suggestions, and offered assistance to all he could. In this column we have talked about |