Photos by Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Olympia firefighter Kurt Rogers joins his co-workers for a dinner and some light conversation at the fire station last week.

Rogers stands at attention Sept. 14 during the singing of patriotic music at the national moment of silence gathering at the Capitol.

Firefighters see new appreciation

Acts of kindness helped during rough times

JIM CARLILE, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Sunday, March 10, 2002

OLYMPIA -- The loss of firefighters in the Sept. 11 attacks put all firefighters and law enforcement officers in the national spotlight.

While the emotions are no longer raw, local firefighters still feel as though they are being celebrated as heroes for the work they do every day.

"Before Sept. 11, I think firefighters were, for the most part, appreciated," said Olympia firefighter Kurt Rogers.

But after the attacks, an understanding of what firefighters do all the time really seeped in, he said.

"The attacks raised everybody's awareness of what the ultimate cost of this job could be," Rogers said. "They knew the dangers before, but obviously not how catastrophic it could be."

Rogers became a volunteer firefighter in 1982 and was hired into a fire department in 1987. He has been with the Olympia Fire Department for six years.

"It's not every job where there's the possibility that you might not come home at the end of every day," said firefighter Jim Brown, who has worked for the Olympia Fire Department for eight years. "This brought home to everyone how dangerous this job is."

Cards, cookies, flowers

Much attention was showered on firefighters in the weeks and months following Sept. 11.

"People brought in cards for us, cookies, you name it," said Rogers, who works at the downtown station on Eastside Street.

"We had people coming by the station dropping off cards and thanking us for what we do. People made cake. We had a memorial at the downtown station with pictures of all the firefighters who died in New York. People dropped off flowers at that," said Brown, who works at the west side station.

The extra attention helped them through a rough time, Brown said. They were having trouble digesting what happened.

"Any time you read about a firefighter getting killed, it's sobering and kind of brings back the reality of how dangerous this job can be. But to see such a large number of brothers get killed at the same time -- it's hard," he said.

The cards and cookies have tapered off, but respect for the firefighters has not, Rogers said.

"Everybody is getting back to normal, which they should. This kind of thing shouldn't go on indefinitely. Everybody should try to get back to normal. Everybody has had their mourning period, and it's time to get back on with business," he said.

Jim Carlile writes for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-357-0204 or jcarlile@ olympia.gannett.com.

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