If You See Something, Say Something

The importance of this admonition was demonstrated this morning. At around 10:00 a.m., I noticed this post on Facebook. The building that is the subject of the post is the very one that has been getting attention on Gossips recently because of the proposed plans for its renovation.  

A few hours later, I learned the backstory from the person who had seen something and said something, Bill Huston. Huston was walking past the building at around 9:00 a.m. this morning when he noticed smoke coming from one of the wooden planters at the front of the building. He speculated that someone had disposed of a lit cigarette in the planter. 

Huston hailed on a passing DPW worker, who, according to Huston's account, "attended to it right away with a shovel and some water from a nearby puddle." The DPW worker must also have summoned the fire department, given that the incident was reported on the Columbia County Fire-Rescue Incidents Facebook page.   

The fire was extinguished, the planter moved to the side of the building, and "minor extension into the structure" was reported, but as Huston observed, "This could have been really bad if it had occurred overnight."

Let's all be thankful this didn't happen at night, and that, when it did happen, someone was there to notice it and raise the alarm.

COPYRIGHT 2022 CAROLE OSTERINK