The Woolsey Fire has rampaged and spread to more than 200,000 acres across southern California. In the effort to help contain the fires, Frisco has deployed five firefighters and resources to serve the affected communities as part of the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System.

“Our goal is for them to remain safe and serve the citizens of California in any way necessary,” Battalion Chief of Administrative Services Jacob Leeper said. “It could be helping people, protecting property, or responding to calls from a municipal fire department, we know they will make us proud.  They are prepared for any situation.”

Despite being more than 1,000 miles away, the Frisco Fire Department is willing to do anything in its power to help all those affected by the wildfires.

“It is a way to tell our citizens that we are ready to respond no matter where the situation occurs,” Leeper said. “Firefighters spend years training for situations that may or may not occur and we want them to put the training and education to good work when they can. We obviously believe they are well suited for any assignment they might get out there and will rise to any challenge the encounter.”

Upon hearing about the massive wildfires that are affecting the residents of California, a sense of sympathy overtook the closely connected community of firefighters all across the nation.

“As a firefighter myself, we definitely have a mutual brotherhood, if you will, and so there’s definitely shared experiences and shared connections,” former firefighter and current boys’ basketball coach Stephen Friar said. “My thoughts and heart went out to the families that were affected by the fires.”

The safety of citizens is one of the top priorities for firefighters across all state borders.

“Most of us thought the same things, just let us know how we can help and we’ll be there,” Leeper said. “We always want citizens to be safe no matter where they are and we hope that the firefighters can provide the service and care to their communities in a timely manner.”

School resource officer Glen Hubbard believes that first responders have a mutually symbiotic relationship in which they aid each other and their communities during times of emergency.

“I think it’s great that Frisco sent firefighters to help out,” Hubbard said. “I think it’s good to have an interagency cooperation because you never know when it’s going to happen here and we might need the help.”

Friar thinks the readiness to serve the community has no borders and that all public servants have a duty to prioritize the wellbeing of all communities equally.

“That’s kind of the nature of being a public servant. When you’re in that service role, of a policeman, firefighter, military, your first duty is to be called to serve,” Friar said. “Regardless of what goes on, we’re always in it together. I know people all across the state, across the country that are trained to go out there and provide aid for those guys and give them a break so they can go back to their families.”