“We need to keep ourselves out of places and away from things that can burn us.”
On one particularly warm July Sunday, I was sitting at home after church, when my pager went off, alerting me to a brush fire located on Rattlesnake Ridge, an area just north of where I lived. I responded to the station, adrenaline coursing my veins. I was a fairly newly minted lieutenant and as I arrived I realized I would be the officer in charge of our company. When we arrived on scene, we were initially charged with working on the western most flank of the fire, or what we called Division Zulu. This particular fire was hot, I remember because it melted the rubber on the bottom of my boots. Along with the nearly 100 degree weather that day and planes dropping water on top of us, I knew our job was not going to be easy and our safety was paramount. Our task was to dig part of a containment line around the fire.
After finishing our assigned task, we were asked to assist another firefighter from another engine company in placing a progressive hose lay around the fire. This is at least 600 feet of hose or more, which we deploy in an effort to lay a wet line around the fire. As we moved along I thought we were moving rather quickly and not getting enough water coverage to lay down an effective wet line. I stifled those concerns however and deferred to the other brush company officer who was on the nozzle. In all honesty, I became complacent and was just going through the motions. We moved quickly around the steep and rocky cliff, trying to get around to the head of the fire, but as we made it about 500 feet out, we realized that we had lost all pressure. Our water flow had ceased.
Imagine our surprise, looking down at the hose, expecting water, only to find nothing. It was a bit of a gut check.
As we radioed back to the division supervisor, we realized something potentially dangerous. The fire had passed through not only our hand dug line, but our wet line as well, burning through our hose. We were alone on the edge of the cliff with no water.
This came with the stark realization that I was not living up to the standards or expectations of a company officer. My inability to maintain my situational awareness and speak up when something was wrong could have caused injury to myself and my crew, or worse it could have been fatal. Luckily the intensity of the fire had died down at that point and we were safe from danger. But the lesson was seared into my memory, just as surely as the fire had seared the trees and landscape right before my eyes. From that point on, I determined I would raise my standards, I would not become complacent.
When we become complacent in our journey in the Gospel or in life, or do not understand the responsibility and gifts that have come from Heavenly Father, we are not only risking the spiritual lives of ourselves, but potentially those whom we may have contact with, or stewardship over. We live in dangerous and perilous times that require us to maintain our situational awareness and raise our standards. We cannot afford to become spiritually apathetic or complacent. We can’t afford to not speak up when something is wrong. And lastly, we need to keep ourselves out of places and away from things that can burn us.
President Gordon B. Hinckley once said, “We cannot indulge in unclean thoughts. We must not partake of pornography. We must never be guilty of abuse of any kind. We must rise up above such things. Rise up… and put these things behind you, and the Lord will be your guide and stay.”
President Hinckley’s counsel applies to all disciples of Jesus Christ. The Lord asked His disciples what manner of men they should be and then answered, “Verily I say unto you, even as I am”
We are called to live a higher law. We cannot afford to become complacent or apathetic. It doesn’t matter the speed at which we travel down the Gospel path, just that we are attempting to move forward.
It is important to remember that the Savior stands next to us and will help us if we truly aspire to raise our standards to become like him. His strength will buoy us in times of struggle and strife. His love will lift us if we reach out and take his hand. If we follow his example and are led by the Spirit, we will stay out of places and situations where we could get burned, and bring us instead to a place of safety and refuge.
jeffbordersbooks.com 
Leave a comment