Memoir Cummings 1

Rebecca Cummings

English 2010, Section 4

Jackie Burr, Instructor

February 6, 2019

Protection from the Flames; Firefighters are Always There

I remember the first time I ever saw a wildfire; I was seven, and I did not understand

what was going on. The fire was up in the mountains near Mt. Timpanogos just east of my

house, about 20 miles away. Even from that far away I could see the bright glow of flames

slowly consuming trees and other plant life in the canyon. I sat outside of my house on the porch

stairs as I watched the flickering glow coming from the fire, as well as the flashing lights of

dozens of fire trucks. I bet that there were at least fifty firefighters working to put out that fire. I

remember that it happened on the 24 of July. My extended family came over to my house, and

we were outside playing games in the yard and preparing to light some fireworks. Instead of a

firework show, we got to watch a wildfire show.

I remember the next time I saw a wildfire; it was on the mountain right next to my

neighborhood. Not two miles away a huge wildfire came up over the far side of the mountain

close to Camp Williams and crawled over onto the Herriman side of the mountain. It was said

that the fire was caused by a bullet-- shot by one of the soldiers at Camp Williams-- ricocheted

off of a rock, which caused a small spark. Now Utah, in general, is a dry state, and the plant life

on the mountains near Herriman is also quite dry; mostly weeds, trees, sage brush, and dry grass.

Normally a small spark would not cause any damage or harm, but it was a very windy day out,
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and the spark managed to light a small patch of dry grass on fire. That patch quickly grew into a

small field, then half of the hill side, and very soon the entire hill was covered in flames.

It is amazing how fast a fire can spread; one minute it is just a small flame, barely able to

stay alight, and the next moment it has spread across a small field. Fire, by itself, is very

dangerous. Fire with wind as an ally is ten times more dangerous. The wind spread the fire

across the mountain like water spilling over a table. In just a few minutes the fire had grown out

of control. It climbed over the mountain, one extremely tall, and extremely big wall of flames. In

some areas the flames were about 30 feet tall!

I have never seen such a terrifying, yet indescribably beautiful site in my life. There is

something about fire that is fascinating to watch. Fire is a beautiful thing; I love to watch the

flames while sitting at a campfire. The flames dance and crackle. The fire coming over the

mountain was a sight to behold. I could not believe what my eyes were seeing, as I looked at one

of nature’s colossal creations. I was petrified by fear of the gigantic flames, while at the same

time entranced by the beauty of the flames.

As I was watching the flames, dozens of fire trucks and ambulances were heading up the

mountain towards the fire. There was even a plane flying overhead dumping a red fire retardant

over the unburned land, and a helicopter dumping water onto the flames. I like to watch the

firefighters; to see them working hard, trying to put out the flames before the flames destroy

many houses. But I also worry about them. I do not believe that any of the firefighters who

worked on this fire died or got seriously injured, but it is always a risk.

This experience was one of the scariest moments of my life. I was about ten years old at

the time, and I was truly afraid that my house would be burned down. I remember my mom
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holding me in her arms, trying to calm me down as she explained that we would be safe. Looking

back on this experience I have come to realize that my family was truly safe because of the fire

fighters. If not for the fire fighters the flames would have spread a lot farther and destroyed a lot

more property.

The fire fighters gave my family a chance to survive untouched by the fire. I wish to give

something back to them. Over the years they have protected Herriman from many fires, big and

small. I believe that they should be recognized for their service. And it is not just the firefighters

in Herriman that deserve to be recognized for their service. All of the firefighters from Utah, and

other places like California and Arizona deserve to be recognized, too. They have saved

countless lives, while selflessly putting themselves in harm’s way to do so. I am truly grateful for

firefighters.

The next time a fire destroyed the recovering mountain, it was caused by an overheated

car that had been parked near a patch of dry grass by its owner that lived in a house up the

canyon. The heat of the engine caused the dry grass to ignite, and fire once again spread across

the mountain. That fire was right next to my friend’s house, but by some miracle, her house was

not damaged at all. It burned the trees around her house, and even a few of the houses and sheds

near her house, but the firemen managed to save her house. There were about ten different

buildings destroyed in the second Herriman fire, and half of the mountain side was burned up

again. The firemen did their job and protected us from the fire. Even though it took them the

entire evening, and part of the night, they stayed diligent in putting out the flames.

I believe that we, as a society, owe all of the firefighters a huge debt. They have saved

our houses, our land, our lives, our friends and family. They are always there for us, and they
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risk their own lives. At each of those fires there were at least twenty firemen. And most of them

probably had families of their own that they had a risk of never seeing again if they had died

trying to put a fire out. I wish to thank the firemen for their service. For they have given me

protection from the flames; at all of these fires, the firefighters were always there to protect and

serve the people.