Editor:

On a recent Saturday afternoon, my husband and I were not home when a thunderstorm blew in around our home in Belforest. 

We received a cell phone call from our security monitoring service saying the alarm had notified them of a fire emergency at our house. 

We immediately headed home as I called a neighbor to see what was happening. He said that soon after a clap of thunder, the alarm at my house had begun to scream through the neighborhood and the fire department had just arrived at my house.

Belforest Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Lawrence Alley came on the phone and told me he didn’t see any flames, but they were going in to check everything out to make sure there was no danger. When we arrived home, imagine the frightening sight of two fire trucks, lights blinking, in front of your house!

The firemen had run “hot spot” tests in every area of the house. Fortunately the blaring alarm was due to a malfunction caused by the lightning and my house was never in danger.

That being said, I am eternally grateful for the fast response of the Belforest Volunteer Fire Department. You don’t always realize what blessings you have until you need them. Fortunately ours wasn’t an emergency after all, but had it been, it’s good to know that this fine group of volunteers would have been on the scene to fight a fire so quickly.

It is with great pleasure that we made a donation to the Belforest Volunteer Fire Department during a recent “Fill the Boot Campaign.”

This group depends on the community to support them and, in turn, provides a wonderful, life-saving service. 

Thank you again, Belforest Volunteer Fire Department, for being there for us!