Fire companies show leadership, training

It’s a rare circumstance that calls on people to apply all their years of knowledge and training just to get through it. It’s even more uncommon when that knowledge and training will go only so far and must be supplemented by educated guesses, quick improvisations and instinct.

Yet, that’s what the members and leadership of the Berlin Fire Company and other local responders had to do when they responded to the Bayside Jet Drive fire last Thursday.

Not only did they arrive at the business on Worcester Highway to find the fire already raging, but this inferno soon became one of the biggest the company has had to face in many years. Moreover, the extremely volatile materials that were feeding the fire also made it one of the hottest and most intense that local firefighters have encountered, according to Berlin Fire Chief Andy Grunden.

Such was the scope of this blaze that Grunden issued what amounted to an “all-hands-on-deck” call for help that was answered by 23 — 23! — departments from this county, Wicomico County and Sussex County, Delaware.

Between them, they deployed 64 pieces of firefighting apparatus in a fight that had to be organized and coordinated by the on-scene commanders. And the need for water to douse the flames was so critical that units had to scramble to make sure the supply was sufficient.

Although the business owned by County Commissioner Eric Fiori was destroyed, the combined efforts of the departments managed to keep the conflagration from spreading.

As Fiori said in this week’s story, “If it wasn’t for our first responders from all those jurisdictions, this catastrophic fire would have been way, way worse.”

That is undoubtedly true, and it’s because of their years of training and experience … and their and willingness to jump in harm’s way when called upon.