With heartfelt thanks for their service in the call of duty, I want to draw your attention to Abbotsford’s first responders. Wednesday evening an altercation in a home on Mt. Waddington Avenue led to a stabbing. I had a view of the first responders: two fire trucks, two ambulances and three marked police cars which arrived to deal with the aftermath and prepare the victim for air transport to hospital. Oh yes. And the press which arrived to get the story.
I watched as highly-trained and competent personnel worked to save a man in the cold pelting rain in a front yard littered with dog excrement.
Once in a while we read of individual men and women whose service in a particular situation saves a life. We call them heroes. However, we seldom read of the teams of first responders “just doing their jobs.” Daily. In all kinds of unpleasant conditions.
Dealing with the numerous ways that human lives go wrong. Whether it’s a stabbing, a drug overdose, a traffic accident or a grandmother’s stroke they step in, serve and protect. Again, I offer them – all our day-to-day heroes serving others – my deepest gratitude.
Best regards,
Lynda Grace Philippsen
