The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

This week is Fire Prevention Week. It is a week of celebration all around the United States.

And, although we don't celebrate it as such in the Big Sandy area, we do celebrate Chili Feed Night which is a large fund raiser for the Big Sandy Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance.

But it is more than that. It is a time that Big Sandy residents can honor those who volunteer and keep us safe in so many ways.

The other day I was at the Big Sandy Medical Center and the Mercy Flight was just leaving with a patient from Big Sandy on the way to Great Falls I am guessing.

I am guessing that some ambulance crew went to a home in the middle of the night and hauled that person to the Big Sandy Medical Center and Medical Center personal made the call to take the patient to Great Falls in a hurry.

In the middle of the bad snow storm we just had, I heard of a volunteer ambulance person from Big Sandy who went to an old person's home and rummaged through that person's bedroom until he found some warmer clothes for the person to wear while the power was out.

That is volunteerism.

It is simple, really, it is neighbor helping neighbor. I think that Franklin Roosevelt put it best during the time before World War II when we were lending our equipment to Great Britain as they fought the Nazi's almost alone. He said that if his neighbor's house was on fire, he would certainly lend that neighbor his hose to help put the fire out.

It is the same with volunteers. They do so much to help us all get through hot weather and cold, fire and drought and blizzards too. Just look at the amount of "Thank you" adds in "The Mountaineer" each week thanking the volunteer fire department for putting out this fire and that fire or helping someone in the community.

Big Sandy is not large enough for a paid fire department and they get no money from the Chouteau County tax base so they go it alone.

Not really, though, for just go to a Chili Feed and see that the entire community is behind their fire department and ambulance service.

In Big Sandy, there is some of the greatest state of the art equipment in fighting fires that you could imagine. Why, this year, plans are to fully equip a truck just to fight wild fires in the Bear Paw Mountains and adjacent prairies and in the Missouri Breaks as well.

That equipment is costly. The Fire Department has to update their "Jaws of Life" unit and that is costly too.

Some funds always come from the Lippard-Clawiter Foundation and that is a big help, but the lion's share of funding always flows from the very deep pockets of those who live right here in the Big Sandy area.

In a sense, they are volunteers as well. Because were it not for generous residents there would be no equipment and hence, no volunteers.

So, for the Big Sandy Community, a large hurrah for so many volunteers and people helping those volunteers along.

That spirit of volunteerism is what built the United States in the first place and it continues on building in small town American like the Big Sandy area community!