For whatever reason, precipitation falling from the sky tends to make students lose their minds. With most of the coverage you will find when snow and ice hit the ground for the first time in a winter season, the focus is on accidents, power outages, and related, mostly unavoidable, incidents. They're beyond the control of anyone. But what happened this past weekend on Buffalo Street was about students getting out of control unnecessarily and it ticked me off.
My boyfriend Corey has a scanner, and we frequently listen to it during bad weather to keep up on things going on in town. We occasionally submit pieces to the Southside Messenger (a newspaper approximately 20 miles from town in Keysville, Va.), and if we hear of a fire or other issues arise, we will try and run over there to get a photo and some information. On Sunday night, at about 9 p.m., we heard about a house fire on Fifth Avenue in town. We trucked over there and experienced firsthand the dangerous conditions on the road. We pulled onto the road and parked a couple hundred feet around the bend.
We went and talked to the firefighters and learned that it was a structure fire within the house. We stayed on scene for about half an hour, and when we left at 9:30 p.m., the firefighters were still trying to figure out if the fire was smoldering. They were all hard at work with no signs of leaving. I had seen a number of social media posts about setting a couch on fire on Buffalo Street. Now I know this same festivity occurred back in 2010, and to my knowledge it was a success. A stupid success, but a success nonetheless. I know that was only two years ago, but part of me hoped that something would click in my fellow classmates heads that made them consider all aspects of the action.
I was wrong. The couch is strategically placed and set ablaze. According to a fellow Southside Messenger reporter, there were dozens of students in the road, singing and enjoying the fabulous time. I'm sure it was hilarious, and I'm sure that when everyone was caught up in the "it's snowing and school might be cancelled" hype any wild and energy releasing activity was welcome. What made me irritated about this action was not the actual couch on fire. In the isolated incident, I really do not care about an individual's decision to set certain pieces of furniture on fire. I don't really see the thrill in it, but who am I to judge if that is what gives you your kicks.
What really made me mad is how this affected other people who did not deserve to be drawn into childish escapades. Yes, I know the relationship between Buffalo Street residents and the Farmville police department is not a best friends forever status. I know of some people who could really care less about the affect their actions have on the police department. A select few actually invite the annoyance in an attempt to irritate the police department.
Did anyone think of the fire fighters? Did it ever cross anyone's mind that firefighters were going to have to come out and clean up the mess? For those of you who do not know, the local Farmville Fire Department is a volunteer department. Hampden- Sydney College Fire Department, who frequently offers backup assistance to the Farmville department, is volunteer as well. Seems like a no brainer but just to be sure let me clarify. Every firefighter who works at that department works there for free. They put themselves into life risking situations for the mere effort of keeping our community safe.
When these hardworking men and women get done with their professional jobs, their classes at one of the local colleges or their other adult responsibilities, they chose to go to the firehouse to wait until they are needed. They give up time with family and friends, take away time to spend on their hobbies and schedule periods every week to simply be ready for when we need them. Before I go on, I need to air my bias in this topic. My big brother is a volunteer firefighter and has been since I was 13 years old. I spent many nights hearing my brother slam down the stairs in his work boots in the middle of the night, responding to a call.
I've heard sirens wail at 5 a.m. and I knew he was on the truck to go help someone. I've always been a nervous wreck that one of these times he is going to get hurt, and I have the tendency to regard every firefighter I meet in the same amount of compassion.
While students were pulling a juvenile prank, men and women were risking their safety to make it onto the street to control the situation. Have you seen a fire truck? Yeah, it's not the easiest thing to maneuver, especially when the roads are in cruddy condition. Many of them had most likely had a hard night, seeing as inclement weather often causes an increase in accidents and emergencies.
Do you really think they deserved to venture out to clean up after the ridiculous mess? God forbid another emergency had occurred and someone in town had been in serious danger - a fire crew would have been wasting their time putting out a fire that was intentionally set.
I seriously considered even writing this editorial because I normally don't like to "attack" students, for lack of a better word. I have done my fair share of stupid stuff as well, and I am sure I have done something that caused someone else to work harder to fix my mess. This is not to target the individual people involved in the incident and blame them. It's more of a collective "what in the world was everyone thinking" rant of mine.
I hope that people learn to think about their actions – and all ramifications of their actions - before they act. What you do does not just impact you. A good portion of us are about to graduate and enter the real world. It's time to start acting more like an adult and less like a teenager. Oh, and of course, let this be a thank you for those who work hard to keep us safe. They run into burning buildings when the rest of us run out. That in itself deserves respect.
Farmville firefighters rush to put out the inflamed Buffalo Street couch after the students and residents scatter from the scene.
