Voices

Firefighters keep insulin cool in the heat of the emergency

BRATTLEBORO — Kudos to the Brattleboro Fire Department.

During the power outage I attempted to take my refrigerated insulin to the BMH Emergency Room to ask if they could keep it in their backup fridge. The Whetstone flooding blocked the roads so I stopped at the BFD on the chance they might help me. Lt. Dave Emery Jr. and his fellow firemen were rightfully uncertain about the protocol of storing my insulin. The firemen in the station were on alert and facing an ongoing tense situation in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Nonetheless, Dave decided to help secure my insulin, which is quite costly and can be destroyed if not kept refrigerated until it's used. It turns out that the power was restored shortly after that and I returned to the station. As one of the firemen handed me the bag of insulin, Dave joked about accidentally spreading some of it on his sandwich and I quipped he should check his sugar.

Dave was apologetic about hesitating to help me at first but he and the other firemen acted with courtesy, professionalism and good humor. It shows that firemen don't just fight fires; they stick by the community in ways you may not always read about.

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