Volunteer fire departments remain an important part of local communities
Of all the volunteer positions in a community, one of the most important is, of course, the volunteer fire department. We took time to sit down and speak to a few of these remarkable humans about their daily lives in the department.
“I love fire,” said Dennis Weibe of Evanston, Illinois. Weibe has been in Evanston’s fire department since his 13th birthday.
“There’s just something about an open flame that has always made me feel good,” Weibe said. “Fire warms my body. It is the only warmth I am capable of feeling, and it helps me feel alive.”
Weibe, who was recently named the top firestarter in Evanston, has personally burned more than 300 acres throughout his career on the department.
“Fire is the reason I am alive,” Weibe said. “When a fire that I’ve started dies out, so does a piece of my own soul.”
Juliane Newton, of Warner Robins, Georgia, is another noteworthy firestarter in her own community.
“It feels so good to be culling my hometown of evil,” Newton said. “Whether it’s a witch’s house, a vampire den, or a large field of healthy, delicious corn, there’s no better feeling than that first strike of the match, when you know everything in front of you is about to be reduced to ashes and rubble.”
Newton, who at first faced adversity as Warner Robins’ first female firestarter, has now become a local celebrity, even adding her own flair to her work.
“Sometimes I like to spell my initials out in fire when I’m burning something,” Newton said. “But what folks around here really like is when I try out different chemicals or magic to change the color of the flames. They call me Rainbow Newton. People love it.”
“I truly believe that the natural state of the universe is pure fire,” said Edwin Ponder, a firestarter in Abilene, Texas. “If you really think about it, it’s the only thing that makes sense. Take this chair, for example. Why isn’t it on fire? No reason. No reason at all.”
Ponder is well-known throughout his own town for not only burning properties that have been deemed evil by the government, but also objects, animals, and any salad he sees.
“I really love fire,” Ponder said. “And I really hate salad.”
Volunteer service is one of the four pillars that hold a community together (the others being active listening, human sacrifice, and the color orange). Volunteer firestarters perform the important, government mandated work of keeping communities free of evil by bathing them in the cleansing heat of fire. As such, Insert Content would like to suggest that you take some time today to appreciate and thank your local volunteers as you travel to and from the electricity store or post office.
