04/27/2006: "Honored to be a part of "Every Fifteen Minutes""

Letter to the Editor:

How impressive!

Every Fifteen Minutes was a great success! I was honored to be a part of it. All the participants took this lesson very seriously and treated it as any other REAL emergency. I would like to thank all the people involved in planning, staging, and funding this operation. Unfortunately, I do not know all the people and agencies responsible for the many different aspects of this program. I would like to say thank you, and help make public the generosity of the Friday Harbor Firefighter's Association. A month or so ago it was determined that the funding for "Every Fifteen Minutes" was maxed out and the Airlift helicopter was not going to be part of the event. Friday Harbor Fire chief Bob Lowe came to an association meeting and asked the firefighters if they would spend the $600 needed to pay to have the medivac flight as part of the program. Unanimously, it was voted to pay for the airlift. I was impressed! This was not Town money. This was from the association. The Airlift helicopter was an impressive addition to this very dramatic and emotional afternoon.

For those of you out there who were not fortunate enough to witness the quality of the island's EMTs, Sheriffs, and Fire-Rescue crews let me just say that San Juan Island residents are lucky to have such dedicated organizers, volunteers, and emergency response personnel.

Andy Urbach
Friday Harbor Firefighter