Sunday, Nov. 01, 2009

Kindness is the biggest job

Bobbi Delp has been helping people in distress for more than a decade as a professional firefighter and as a volunteer for several years earlier.

But she and her colleagues do more than put out fires and save lives. They try to make the lives of those they encounter better. They've knocked on the doors of neighbors to remind them to look after a patient's pets. They've cleaned up the infirm, walked people's dogs and fixed them sandwiches.

They've had to watch people cry after most of their belongings were taken away by fire. Not too long ago, a mobile home on Sea Mountain Highway burned.

"The parents were just trying to find a pair of pajamas to put on for the night," Delp said.

She noticed the kids didn't have shoes on their feet and spent time at 9 o'clock at night sifting through the mess to find them some.

Once they responded to a 911 call from a Little River woman terrified of a green tree frog that had made its way into her house.

"To her, it was the end of the world," Delp said. "We went into the laundry room and picked it up and took it out."

But it was a July call that prompted Horry County to provide Delp and her colleagues - volunteer firefighter Mike Baker; firefighter Chris Berry; and medics Quincy Hardee and Ricky Gibbins - special recognition, something they shy away from more than they seek.

They responded to a call from a diabetic. When they arrived, her blood sugar levels were fine.

"She called us because she was scared because she didn't have any food and knew her sugar would drop," Delp said.

Diabetics manage their conditions in part by eating regularly. They could have taken her to the hospital but there was no medical reason for an expensive emergency room visit.

Instead, they pooled money among themselves. Some of them stayed with the woman while others went to a nearby grocery store. They bought her bread, peanut butter and jelly, hot dogs and buns, among other things, that would last about a week. And they gave her a referral to an assistance program for longer-term help.

"I felt it was an issue that we could help her in a different way," Delp said. "You see people in their worst situations. When they see you, you can make their day better."

"They took it upon themselves to do that," said Horry County Fire Chief Garry Alderman. "It wasn't something they were bragging about."

They just did it because it was the right thing to do.