Today was one of those amazing days for our Team. In addition to the beautiful weather, we hosted five clinicians who give of their time to see our firefighters, EMS personnel, 911 telecommunicators, and their families. These five friends join eleven others who dedicate their time to the success of our Team. We enjoy a great relationship with them as they provide their support of our peer team and those we refer to them.
The “Day with Our Clinicians” is provided twice a year to give those who are new to our Team an opportunity to see what our first responders experience in their daily lives. After an orientation at our Team offices, we took them to North Charleston Fire Station 2 to see a modern fire house complete with a trip down the spiral slide! Then, we traveled downtown to old Central Station in Charleston to experience the traditions and history of one of the oldest working firehouses in the country. There, they were able to see four generations of fire trucks, first, the old steamer, then, the Ahrens Fox followed by the 1948 Mack and topped off with an inspection of the state-of-the-art Pierce pumper known as Engine 102. These two station visits gave them a sharp contrast to tradition, history, and the future of firefighting. We completed our downtown visit by enjoying lunch at Jestine’s Kitchen across the street from Central Station and a favorite of many of us.
Our day continued with a visit to the Charleston 9 Memorial Park where we shared memories of Billy, Mike, Louis, Mark, Brad, Earl, Brandon, Frenchie and Melvin. These memories come from the many stories shared with us over the years by their families and friends and is our way of honoring the legacies of these nine good men.
We completed our day with a visit to the Charleston County Consolidated 911 Center and a guided tour by our dear friend Sasha Vargas Fimiani. We love visiting there and watching these folks at work managing emergency services all over our County.
This was a full day to give these clinicians and understanding and appreciation of a lives of those who serve our community. Thanks to all of them for giving their time to visit with us today and thank you to our firefighters and 911 folks who took their time to share their work and their love for what they do.
