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| Photo by: K. Sloan |
| Captain Tommy Dixon, left, is repairing the
ice machine behind him, while Ray Moody is repaying a debt of gratitude.
(Photo by Karen Sloan/The Brunswick News) |
| |
Firefighters are looking for some
help to cool off ...
It's no secret that Southeast Georgia
summers can be brutally hot, and no one knows that better than firefighters.
"If you can imagine wearing several
coats and several pairs of pants in the middle of summer and standing on
asphalt, that gives you an idea of just how hot it can be," said Glynn County
Fire Chief Al Thomas.
Hydration and keeping cool are
constant concerns for firefighters when responding to a blaze, and several
county firefighters are partnering with community members to ensure that their
department has as many resources available as possible before the Group of 8 Sea
Island Summit rolls into town, June 8 through 10.
Ray Moody, owner of Georgia
Refrigeration in Brunswick, is working to help the department secure ice
machines for use not only during the summit, but for everyday occasions during
normal operations.
Thomas said ice machines are a useful
but non-essential item that budget constraints have prevented the department
from purchasing.
With additional fire personnel
pouring into the area during the G-8, and the hot weather June typically brings,
Thomas said that having ice machines would be beneficial.
Currently, firefighters freeze
two-liter bottles of water and take them to fire scenes, where they slowly melt.
Moody hopes to change that by helping
the department purchase and refurbish at least two ice machines.
For Moody, the project is the
fulfillment of a promise he made to the Glynn County Fire Department to help
however he can after paramedics saved his life 10 years ago.
In 1994, Moody passed out after
working more than 26 hours straight and fell 8 feet from a ladder while
servicing a refrigeration unit at a restaurant.
"There was blood coming out of my
ears, just everywhere," said Moody. "When I woke up, the EMTs were working on
me. They told me that I had actually started to turn black."
Moody passed out again while being
rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, where he was treated for a broken pelvis
and other ailments.
He remembers his doctors telling him
that he would have died had the emergency medical personnel not responded as
quickly and skillfully as they did.
After a three month recovery period
after his spill, Moody vowed to help out the department in whatever way he
could.
Moody was more than happy to
participate in the ice machine project, and has already agreed to donate an ice
bin worth $750. He has also offered to sell an ice machine to the department at
cost for $1,900.
Capt. Jon Hardwick of the Glynn
County Fire Department, who is working with Moody on the project, said he would
like to see one ice machine, capable of producing 500 pounds of ice a day, on
St. Simons Island, and a second one on the mainland.
County Capt. Tommy Dixon is
currently fixing an older machine that was donated by the Super 8 motel on U.S.
Highway 17, while Hardwick and Moody are working to secure a second machine.
"Ray has been so generous to us, and
he has given us so much attention," said Hardwick, who noted that not only will
the ice help prevent heat-related problems among firefighters, but will also be
used to treat sprains and other ailments that paramedics often see.
As far as Moody is concerned, helping
the department secure ice machines is just a small repayment for the gift the
department gave him: his life. |
