To my horror, I received a call from one of my insured's at 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 15. She informed me at that time her house was on fire. As an insurance agent for nine years, I could not have been prepared for what I was about to take part in. There were firefighters running in and out of the home, on top of ladders, and running back and forth between trucks. The Ione Fire Department had set up a temporary station serving the homeowners, neighbors and firefighters hot coffee, water and other beverages. When the firefighters had completely put out the fires, including any hot spots, Chief Ken Mackey took the homeowners aside and apologized for their loss. He then quickly asked his firefighters to go into the house and salvage any personal items that could be saved. I watched firefighters make trip after trip carrying furniture, clothing and other items of both monetary and personal value out of the home. They took extra care to not damage any of the insured's property. Not only did they pull these undamaged belongings out of the house, but then placed tarps over items still left in the house to prevent further damage. The support staff did not pack up their station until after they had made several rounds, asking if anyone at the scene needed more coffee or water to drink. What a great job the Ione Fire Department did.

At this point, I had a chance to look around and noticed one of our Ione police sergeants still on the scene. Sgt. Harpham had spent hours standing in shadows making sure he was not needed. After the excitement died down and the emergency crews left, Sgt. Harpham would speak with the neighbors who called him by name and explain the situation or allay their fears. I was also on scene the next day and, sure enough, Sgt. Harpham patrolled by again several times to check on my customers or soothe the worries of others. I was so impressed with Ione's finest! Both our fire department and police department portrayed a feel of professionalism along with a small town feel! So often we do not take the time to notice the little extra things our police and firefighters do and I just wanted to say thank you!