I will never forget Vina sharing this
idea with me…the idea being to make us think about how
simple it is to install fire sprinklers and the tongue in
cheek reference to allowing firefighters be “like
firefighters in your home that work 24/7, 365 days a year.”
Vina is a different kind of advocate—she has worked
tirelessly to raise awareness about firefighter safety and
LODD issues since her husbands’ death in 1994. She is always
willing to go out on a limb and be innovative with concepts
of how to raise awareness regarding our nation’s fire
problem.
There is a twinkle in her eye when she
envisions the “beautiful lady” who is proud to sleep with a
firefighter, the college student who points to the
firefighter who her parents told her to sleep with, and the
elderly gentleman who joins in to remind listeners that he
too knows who is like a firefighter in his assisted living
facility.
The main point to remember is that
Vina’s goal is to make you think, and to get you
talking….about fire sprinklers. Her somber reminder about
losing her husband brings us all to realize the important
role that firefighter safety has on our nation’s fire
service. Make the connection between fire sprinklers and the
Everyone Goes Home Initiatives…pay special attention to Life
Safety Initiative #15. Lives can be saved if we work to
connect the dots and educate firefighters and citizens
alike.
