West Webster Fire Department Saying Thank You
By: Vanessa Herring
Updated: January 16, 2013
Members of the West Webster Fire Department were putting pens to paper Tuesday night at the fire hall. They're saying, "Thank You," for the outpouring of support from the community, across the country, and around the globe in the wake of the Christmas Eve tragedy, "I've signed a few from all over the U.S., Washington state, California, Florida," said Captain Brian Kelly of the West Webster Fire Department, "I've heard a couple coming in from Australia and some other areas around the world."
The department printed 1,800 thank you letters, but they needed something extra before they were dropped in the mail, "we have the letters typed up but we didn't want to just mass mail them without a personal thank you," explained Captain Glen Moorhouse of the West Webster Fire Department. The personalized messages are written in blue ink, "people will know that we took the time to say, 'thank you,' and we wrote those," explained Ken Smith, president of the Firemen's Association, "and hopefully they'll see the difference in the color of ink and know somebody took the time it takes to sign each one of those."
Members of the department say taking the time to send handwritten letters shows just how much they appreciate the hundreds of letters, cards, and donations they have received, "I've been just telling them how grateful we are and how much their support has meant to us," said Vicki Polkowski of the West Webster Fire Department. Lieutenant Tom Jayla of the West Webster Fire Department added, "it's just a little tip off the iceberg from us that we can repay to the community for stepping up and really coming together for us, it definitely means a lot."
Letters and donations are still pouring in for the department and the families of the four firefighters and the department plans to send out more thank yous.
Ted Scardino, one of the fire fighters hurt in the Christmas Eve shooting, was at the fire house signing letters. He did not want to be interviewed, but he appeared to be making good progress on his road to recovery.
The department printed 1,800 thank you letters, but they needed something extra before they were dropped in the mail, "we have the letters typed up but we didn't want to just mass mail them without a personal thank you," explained Captain Glen Moorhouse of the West Webster Fire Department. The personalized messages are written in blue ink, "people will know that we took the time to say, 'thank you,' and we wrote those," explained Ken Smith, president of the Firemen's Association, "and hopefully they'll see the difference in the color of ink and know somebody took the time it takes to sign each one of those."
Members of the department say taking the time to send handwritten letters shows just how much they appreciate the hundreds of letters, cards, and donations they have received, "I've been just telling them how grateful we are and how much their support has meant to us," said Vicki Polkowski of the West Webster Fire Department. Lieutenant Tom Jayla of the West Webster Fire Department added, "it's just a little tip off the iceberg from us that we can repay to the community for stepping up and really coming together for us, it definitely means a lot."
Letters and donations are still pouring in for the department and the families of the four firefighters and the department plans to send out more thank yous.
Ted Scardino, one of the fire fighters hurt in the Christmas Eve shooting, was at the fire house signing letters. He did not want to be interviewed, but he appeared to be making good progress on his road to recovery.
