From the White House today President Joe Biden made a brief address to the firefighters that were at the International Association of Firefighters convention.
During the four minute speech he said:
All men and women are created equal, and then a few become firefighters. So I owe you. The nation owes you. Especially when we keep asking more of you to deal with raging fires made more dangerous by the climate crisis.
When he was Vice President he spoke at the memorial service July 9, 2013 in Prescott Valley, Arizona, for the 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots who died June 30, 2013 on the Yarnell Hill Fire. From the C-SPAN recording, we made a video clip of his remarks and the slide show that followed featuring the 19 men. You can see the entire two-hour service at C-SPAN.
As Vice President Mr. Biden also spoke September 12, 2009 at the memorial service for the two firefighters killed on the Station Fire near Los Angeles, Tedmund Hall and Arnaldo Quinones.
Mr. Biden is a former Chairperson of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus.
That was very gracious for our president to mention and appreciate the hard work by firefighters. I feel very positive for our country in the next 4 years. A few days ago somehow the tragedy of the 19 hot hots came to mind all of a sudden. It was such an unbearable tragedy to lose them. Stay safe please while fire fighting!