National First Responder Appreciation Day

Floor Speech

NATIONAL FIRST RESPONDER APPRECIATION DAY -- (Senate - September 26, 2008)

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and honor Idaho's first responders.

I have been joined by a bipartisan group of my Senate colleagues in passing a resolution that designates today, September 25, 2008, as National First Responder Appreciation Day. I would like to celebrate this day by showing my appreciation for the brave men and women who have risked life and limb and sacrificed family time and personal comfort to perform a task that is critical to citizens of the State of Idaho.

I would like to recognize the heroic efforts of all of Idaho's first responders, our firefighters, EMTs, medical personnel, and law enforcement officers. Thousands of first responders have made the ultimate sacrifice and have proven critical in leading the Nation through national tragedies like September 11 and natural disasters such as Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, through flooding in the Midwest, Hurricane Katrina and wildfires across the Western United States.

In Idaho, fire is a way of life. During the 2007 fire season, over 2 million acres burned, more than at any other time in Idaho's recorded history. Generally, Idaho's fire season begins in mid-July and extends into September, but in 2007, the Cascade Complex fire burned until the snow fell. The Cascade Complex fire was only one of several very large fires last year. The East Zone Complex fire in central Idaho burned over 300,000 acres, and the Murphy Complex fire in south-central Idaho burned over 600,000 acres. During this trying time, our first responders and firefighters went above and beyond the call of duty. Incident management teams and area command teams worked for weeks on end, battling flames and working to protect homes and lives. I have had the opportunity to visit fire camps and speak to these heroes who, like our veterans, often endanger their own lives to save the lives of others. Staff at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, ID, is to be commended for their tireless response coordination efforts.

While the severity of this fire season has not risen to the level of last year's fire season in Idaho, firefighters and other first responders have remained vigilant. The Oregon Trail fire in Boise, ID, began on August 25, 2008, when a brush fire, fed by 50 mph. winds, dry sage brush, high heat, and aided by sloped terrain, spread to the nearby Oregon Trail and Columbia Village subdivisions. The fire caused the destruction of ten homes, damage to nine others, and claimed the life of Mary Ellen Ryder, a professor at Boise State University. During this trying time, my thoughts and prayers go out to the Ryder family and others who have homes that have been lost or damaged. Thankfully, preplanning and preparation enabled Boise firefighters to avert the possibility of greater damage and loss. Firefighters arrived at Sweetwater Drive within 2 minutes of the first call, and they proceeded to risk their lives to draw a fire line between the burning houses and the other nearby subdivisions, protecting more than 1,000 homes and countless families.

The example of professionalism, strength, and bravery displayed by the Boise Police and Fire Departments during the events of the Oregon Trail fire is just one of many examples I could cite to illustrate the invaluable service wildland, municipal, and volunteer firefighters provide to our communities. Likewise, our EMTs, medical personnel, law enforcement, and others put their lives on the line daily to help others. Today, these efforts will receive recognition before the United States Senate and the American people.

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