I may be crazy here, but to me, I honestly think the coolest sound I can imagine is the sound of a fire engine’s horn, blaring alongside it’s sirens.

Okay, don’t get me wrong.  I realize that when I hear that sound, there’s a real good probability that there’s something seriously wrong.  A fire, a car accident, or some other disaster that is requiring the appearance of the fire department is never a good thing.

So why do I think that sound is so cool?  One, it’s just usually got a cool bass tone to it.  Okay, perhaps it isn’t a bass tone, but it’s that deep rumbling that is just awesome.  Add that to the sound of the truck’s engine, and I just keep hearing Tim the Toolman Taylor’s “man-grunt”.

But it’s more than that to me.  It may sound silly to you, but I think that’s one of the coolest sounds because it means that there are real heroic men (and possibly women) who are using that horn to say, “Get out of the way, we’re about to put ourselves in danger for someone we don’t know.” 

Think about it.  When they get a call out, they may know it’s a fire, or a car accident, or whatever.  But the true reality of what danger they may face may not be fully realized until they get on scene.  And yet they dress out, hop into their big red (or safety neon green) trucks, and plunge ahead into the unknown.

I realize they train a lot for doing this, but you can’t train courage.  You can’t train bravery, and you can’t train compassion.  And to me, that’s what the brave men and women of our paid and volunteer fire departments display every day they go to work.  And each time they answer a call out, they say, “This is what we do.  We wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

And for that, I thank them.  If I had an appropriate one, I’d salute them.  And you can be sure, I’ll get out of their way while they race to answer a call.  I pray that call is never for me, even though I know it may one day be.