Where there’s smoke

From the news, I get a pretty clear picture of the effort involved in fighting such a monstrous fire, and I’m amazed that people do it for a living. Amazed, and very, very grateful. While I certainly would make an extraordinary effort to save my own home — and that of my neighbors, for that matter — if it was necessary, I’m not sure that I have what it takes to help tackle a fire of the magnitudes we are seeing elsewhere in the state.

Like many of us, when I was young I gave serious thought to becoming a firefighter. As I grew older, though, I developed other interests and discarded the idea. I did so even while surrounded by reasons to seriously consider the profession. For one, I grew up in Southern California, in one of the many canyons that pierce the Santa Monica Mountains. My family lived through our share of major fires, both in our canyon and nearby, in areas such as Malibu and Topanga Canyon. I still remember standing in our front yard, watching ashes drifting down like snowflakes.

We lived through fires, and in a sense we lived with them, too: my father collected antique firefighting equipment, including nozzles, helmets, ladders, a call box, a hydrant, a usable fireman’s pole (that I kept polished), and, ultimately, a 1929 Model A Fire Truck. Except for the truck, this collection was displayed throughout our family room. Thus, whenever I spent time in that room — which, growing up, was a lot — I was constantly reminded of the firefighting life.

I may not have fire equipment displayed in my own home, but as a homeowner I do think about fires. Fortunately, the houses in our neighborhood are reasonably well spaced and the landscaping is generally well watered, so I’m not too concerned about a large-scale fire sweeping through the area. And although individual homes still can and do catch fire, the Redwood City Fire Department has always appeared to do a good job limiting the damage.

While some appearances can be deceiving, here they evidently hold true: recently the Redwood City Fire Department was awarded the highest rating (Class 1) from the Insurance Services Office in recognition of the department’s exemplary level of service. Redwood City’s is the only fire department in San Mateo County with a Class 1 rating (and out of the 46,000 fire departments in the nation, only 306 have a Class 1 rating). Because insurance companies take this rating into account when determining property insurance rates, property owners in Redwood City, San Carlos and those unincorporated parts of San Mateo County served by the Redwood City Fire Department may now be eligible for a reduced rate. If you own a home or building in one of these areas, check with your fire insurance provider to see if this new rating has had an effect on the cost of your insurance.

The Redwood City Fire Department is just one more reason why we are lucky to live where we do. They do the valuable work that many of us wish we could do. Whenever you have a chance, give them your encouragement and support: without our firefighters, life in Northern California would be very difficult indeed.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.