Moments before the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the small town of Padua, Minn. (west of St. Cloud), was about to begin, a truck fire broke out at the end of the block. Fortunately, the all-volunteer firefighting crew from nearby Sedan, Minn., was on hand to celebrate their 125th anniversary and to raise money to pay for their new fire hall and truck; one of their members was set to drive the city’s new fire truck in the parade and the others were on a float dressed in drag to entertain the crowd.

When a truck erupted in flames, people called 911 to alert the fire department that was assigned to that jurisdiction; but that crew was 15 miles away and some members of the general public were already attempting to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers, which can be exceptionally dangerous. When the blaze spread to an SUV, the Sedan crew decided to take action to prevent possible injuries as well as further damage to additional vehicles or to the surrounding fields and cropland. So the Sedan firefighters, still in drag, grabbed equipment from their truck and put out the blaze in two minutes, some of them adjusting their brightly colored dresses as they did so.

Yes, it was dangerous for these firefighters to do what they did, but in my mind they are heroes.