To the editor:

I attended the community input meetings with the Bainbridge Island Fire Department for two evenings last week. The public was invited to hear about how our local fire department is run, meet the leaders, and offer any suggestions on how to make it work in the best way for our community. All questions were welcome.

I came away with such an amazing respect for this team and a reminder of how fortunate our community is to have a team of professionals and volunteers with this level of training and commitment to their neighbors.

I have had to call 911 on several occasions to care for my mother as she lived with our family in her last years. Many of these calls were in the middle of the night and none of us were at our best. The EMT crew were always so caring, kind and nonjudgemental. I am sure many Islanders have experienced the same care in their moments of need.

What I learned from these meetings was how much more the firefighters do for our community. They check every business once a year for fire safety, they go to every school to work with the administration to discuss active shooter safety, started the Map Your Neighborhood plan and offer free CPR classes just to name a few things.

My family has lived on Bainbridge Island for almost 30 years and I hope to live here for 40 more. I just want to say thank you to this amazing team.

SUSAN GROSTEN

Bainbridge Island