There has been so much chatter & so many Monday morning quarterbacks that I think we have lost sight of an important point.

Firefighters Brooks & Acabou were not probationary firefighters. Each had a number of years responding under their belt. They had been to countless car fires. As all firefighters know, modern cars are rolling petroleum products. They burn easily & they burn hot. Bear & Augie knew this.

When they pulled up to this car carrier, they were confronted w/a 700 foot long, 12 story behemoth filled with cars. Cars that had been driven onto the ship. Cars w/gas & gas vapors in their tanks.

They could also see in their initial size-up that there were no windows to go to if they were trapped. There would be no quick raise of an aerial or ground ladder to get them out.

They knew they would have to cover a large distance just to get on board the ship. This was not a fire they could compare w/the one they had last week & say, “Hey, we got this.”

These were experienced firefighters. They were not ignorant or foolish individuals.

They knew the dangers they were facing. Anticipated the intense heat, the exploding gas tanks,

the restricted operating space,

& the darkness. And yet - - - yet, they still went in to do their job.

Why? Because uncontrolled fire is dangerous to any community

& bringing it under control was their profession.

They did not believe they would die that night, but in the back of their mind they knew it was possible. And still they had the courage to do their job.

A job they felt was the greatest job in the world. Don’t let all the noise make you forget that simple fact.