S is for
Serve
Mark Boetcher was a lieutenant in the Oshkosh Fire Department when I was his pastor. Now he's a captain.
TM What was it like for firefighters on September 11th?
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My children didn't want me to go to work the next day. The job is the same here as in NY. If we have to go into one of the college high-rise dorms, it could collapse. Like they say, it's a brotherhood. We're the same everywhere.
TM You are all willing to risk yourselves for others' well-being. That's what makes you the same.
MB You can't think too much about the risk. It
paralyzes you. I think about it a little more now. But we still go into buildings. Firefighter safety is a much higher concern now. It is getting much better.
TM Since September 11?
MB No, back a few years. We'll still do just about anything, but we take all precautions. I would feel much worse if one of my men got hurt because of an order I gave than if I got hurt myself. We weigh the risk and the gain. We say, "We risk a lot to save a lot."
TM Many of us think of you as heroes, now.
MB We're not heroes. We go to serve. When someone needs help, who do they call?
TM Now that you also do emergency medical service and hazmat [hazardous materials] and trench rescue and confined space - anyone who has a danger to life or health that isn't criminal, they call you! You always get to be the good guys, coming to help. You're like Jesus.
MB That's a dramatic comparison!
TM But you know what I mean. He had to put His whole being into His work to get it done: body, mind, and will. So do you.
MB The will is the key thing. You have to want to do it, to take the risk. That's what makes me proud of my profession. When we do something, 99% of people wouldn't do it.
TM Are you more proud since September 11th?
MB It hasn't changed for me, personally. The public response was overwhelming. People stopped in the fire house. They'd yell "Thanks" at you in the truck. We had so many requests for appearances. Response was overwhelming. We gave lots of tours. We made it an opportunity to teach. This is what your taxes pay for; this is what we do for you. I remember the first call we had at the college after 9/11. Usually the students give you kind of a hard time; you really have to shoo them out of the building. This time, when we got there, it was eerie. No one said a word. Everyone was where they were supposed to be. It was a weird experience for me. I will remember. By now they're back to normal.
TM Anything else about 9/11?
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| Ready to Serve |
TM To talk to people - actually more listening?
MB Yeh. There were a lot of construction people involved for the heavy excavation. They aren't used to seeing bodies. Firefighters develop a buffer, so you can look at what can happen to people. I will be interested to hear what the long-term effects on those construction workers will be.
When I asked Mark more about the connections of his Christian faith to his work, he immediately began to speak of death.
MB Faith helps you with the bad things in life. Fire professionals see people at their best and worst. Sometimes you ask, why did God let this happen, especially a child's death.
Sometimes there is nothing we can do. But it goes against our nature to have to say that. You call us, we'll do just about anything. Even if it is something we aren't prepared for, we'll try something, or find someone who can. We go to serve. We do our best. Sometimes it's not enough.
God gave us jobs to take care of people. God put me here to intervene. I do my part, then it is someone else's turn. When we've treated someone seriously ill, I want to know what happened to them. I go the hospital if I can to see them.
Oh yeh, every night I thank God for a safe day, for me and my men. And ask for a safe day tomorrow.
tbcm
