Everyday heroes

Mutual aid is a term used when firefighters from one locale are called on to help another department handle an emergency. Usually those firefighters race to assist fellow firefighters in a nearby town or a town in the same county. But some emergencies are bigger than others.

When an ice storm paralyzed most of Southwest Missouri last month, 120 firefighters from throughout the state responded to the mutual-aid call.

Firefighters from Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Sikeston, Bloomfield and Kennett arrived at the Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District at midnight Jan. 17. The next day they fought a fire at a Rogersville convenience store. They also provided water to residents whose wells were inoperable because of the wide-ranging power outage.

Capt. Steve Niswonger of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department said the firefighters were so busy they slept only about eight hours during the three days they were there. The wife of the Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District's fire chief and the district's secretary cooked their meals.

The firefighters did get one break, an invitation to a high school basketball game between Logan-Rogersville and Poplar Bluff. The crowd responded with a standing ovation when the public address announcer recognized the everyday heroes in their midst.

It's good to know that if Southeast Missouri had an emergency, mutual aid would be on the way.