Hey Says...Firemen, Policemen do a Great Job
This letter appeared in the Bluffton Today on May 30th

On Tuesday, I laid down on the couch for an hour’s nap before reporting to work for the night shift. In the dryer, a load of laundry was tumbling dry. Just as I was dozing off, the dryer stopped as I expected it soon would, and made a very curious sound. I thought nothing of it, since the machine was only about 10 years old. Then there was amore dramatic, screeching sound. That caught my attention.

As I entered the laundry room I saw smoke trickling out of the top  seam of the frontloading dryer door. Definitely not good. I tried to pull open the dryer door just to have the handle come off in my hand. Even worse.

The door opened to reveal the fire that was raging inside this little marvel of technology. Somehow, my clothes had caught fire. I tried to shut the door as best as I could and ran to close the circuit breaker for the laundry room, thinking that the next thing I would do would be to get water in there somehow.

After pouring a bucket-full of water inside the dryer tumbler I had to leave the house for a few breaths. The smoke had become unbearable.

I was not convinced that the fire was out, as was evidenced by the now black smoke filling the lower level of my two-story house. That was it. I couldn’t breathe; the fire was still going; I was outta there.

On my way out the back door I grabbed the cordless phone and called 911. After describing to the dispatcher my predicament I was assured that help was on its way. Though I knew better, I went in to get my two dogs that were standing at the top of the stairwell, wagging their tails, blissfully unaware of the impending doom. Fortunately, the dogs and I emerged out of the smoky house unharmed.

Within six minutes of my call to 911 the Bluffton Police Department was there to assess the situation, and within two minutes of that the Bluffton Township Fire Department.

The reason I’m writing this letter is to sing their praises. They did a fantastic job of minimizing collateral damage. Only two walls were opened (to inspect for a wall fire) and there was no water damage.

Although there was quite a bit of water on the kitchen floor, one of the firefighters cleaned that up before he left –even though he didn’t really have to. They even cared to move a glass candle display so that it wouldn’t be broken by the hose. They were very courteous and professional on the scene and even made me laugh a little.

I just want to extend a huge thank you to the Bluffton fire and police departments. Because of their quick and efficient response, a potentially catastrophic loss turned into me having to replace a couple of pieces of sheetrock. I’ll also be cleaning soot off everything I own over the next couple of weeks.

Great job, guys and gals. You hear it all the time, but it’s true: We really appreciate you.