C. Edwin "Bunk" Grimmel Sr. is one of dozens of people being honored at this time of year by friends and colleagues in the volunteer fire and ambulance service in Harford County. For most of the fire companies in and around the county, winter and early spring have traditionally been when awards banquets are organized by the various organizations whose roots go back decades.
Each year, the various organizations honor those who responded to the most emergency calls in the previous year, did the most work for the organization or generally helped the fire and ambulance company make Harford County safer. Also honored are those folks like Mr. Grimmel, who have volunteered for extended periods of time, in his case 70 years in a volunteer fire company — Jarrettsville's — that has been around for 82 years.
Such service is vital to the community. While the hard financial reality of how much money the county saves by not having to hire firefighters is often highlighted as a key contribution by the organizations, the volunteer emergency service in Harford County also provides an important community setting for other functions. In Jarrettsville, for example, the main firehouse is the scene every Christmas season of a holiday train garden, open to the public for free.
In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for the emergency service to remain exclusively a volunteer function, and many ambulance calls are handled by paid crews. Still, the organization's overall structure, and most of its historic functions — namely fire suppression and rescue work — remain volunteer. Hopefully, the dedication of volunteers like Mr. Grimmel will inspire new generations of community-minded people to follow in his footsteps.