From time to time, I’ve used this “Inside Out” as an excuse to dig back in my memory bank and share stories with you from my ten years as a Volunteer Fireman in a small town in the Texas Panhandle.

Like all of the other 26 volunteers, I had a Plectron box in my home. These electronic communicators were set off simultaneously by the dispatcher at the police department. I’d been issued my bunker clothes and huge boots. All that remained was to show up at my first fire. My personal fire vehicle was my ’69 blue Chevy. I had long whippy antennas all over the back bumper. There were red lights on the front bumper and a rather noisy siren mounted in the grill. I was all set to be a fireman!

The first fire to which I was summoned was at the Silver City Bar & Grill. It was out on the edge of town on the road to the New Mexico border. By the time we arrived, there wasn’t much left to save. We managed to save the ground, the shell of the building, but that was just about it. The second fire I helped fight was at another bar on the other end of town. In fact, the first FOUR fires I helped put out were in bars. (We had a lot of bars and churches in our little town!)

Our beloved fire Chief kidded me about possibly setting these fires because I was not a drinker. We all laughed. I protested my innocence. I think all of us were quite sure that we’d soon get some other kind of a fire that didn’t bring us to the front door of a bar! Well, my friend, we weren’t prepared for the next call. It came in the middle of the afternoon. Club Mary was on fire! Yep, you got it. Club Mary was a cheap dive in a poor part of town. However, it was a really important landmark to all the folks who lived in that neighborhood and used Club Mary as a community gathering place.

When I showed up, the merciless, yet friendly verbal abuse began. “Hey, preacher, come over here.” Those were the words of the Chief. For the first time, I was given the honor of manning the big nozzle. He told me to put the nozzle through a particular window and start pouring water on the fire. I squirted tons of water over several hours. I drained several water wagons (there weren’t many hydrants in that part of town). Many thousands of gallons of water went through that window.

Finally, after several hours, we got the fire under control. As the smoke cleared and we entered the building, I, along with all the other fire fighters, was treated to a sight I’ll never forget. Unbeknownst to any of us, there was a wall between the window through which I was pouring water and the actual fire in the kitchen area. I had squirted thousands of gallons of water into a CLOSET! Not a drop got to the actual fire. Do you have any idea how hard that was to live down over the next ten years? A local pastor’s first five fires were at bars AND the fifth fire, which he’d fought so valiantly, turned out to be a totally futile effort.

• It’s a good thing for Christians to be involved with their community in various ways.
• Serving as a volunteer fireman can be very helpful to the community AND allow a little boy in a man’s body to fulfill a lifetime dream!
• However, it’s possible to go through all the motions (as I did at Club Mary) and yet not accomplish anything except waste water!
• If we’re going to do good things, whether at home with our spouse and children, within our congregation, in our community, let’s make sure that what we’re doing is needed, done well, and accomplishes the purpose for which it is intended.
• Try not to feel dumb when you end up doing useless things for the best reasons!
• God does have a sense of humor! He gave me just a glimpse of it that day at Club Mary!

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