Let me say this right at the top of this column. I love firefighters – pro and volunteer. There is no public servant more willing to help us when we are in need.

I love professional firefighters in a frantically busy urban setting, like the NYC pros who sacrificed their lives helping office workers out of the flaming Twin Towers on 9/11. I love the local volunteers who braved death trying to keep the flames of a local shipyard fire from leaping to nearby structures and forests.

Over the years, I have watched as firefighters embraced technology designed to keep them safe. Rubber raincoats and sweatshirts gave way to specialized turnout gear. Old-timers embraced air packs and face masks that enabled them to enter smoky hallways, search for residents, battle flames and survive.

There are no more fervent advocates for smoke detectors in our homes than our local fire departments.

That is why I was puzzled by last week's statement by the Maine Fire Chiefs Association opposing mandated vaccinations for all emergency medical service providers. I noted that several hospital workers also rallied to protest these requirements.

Here is part of a statement the fire chiefs made on their website.

"Fire and EMS leaders from across the state have expressed significant concerns about the loss of staff who have deep-rooted religious or philosophical objections to receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. Many EMS agencies are experiencing staffing shortages and record high EMS call volumes. A vaccination mandate is expected to result in more providers leaving the field of EMS, fire suppression and rescues adding additional challenges to the providers that remain."

They also noted it had not earned FDA approval. However, the FDA approved the vaccine’s use on an emergency basis.

Boothbay Fire Chief Dick Spofford is a stickler for safety. He leads a department that requires regular training sessions to help volunteers succeed and stay alive in dangerous situations. He is on the Chiefs Association board of directors.

He said their anti-vaccination mandate statement puzzled him, too.

"I have been vaccinated and so have all of my guys, except for one," he said. It just makes sense."

"Like you, I am curious. I guess some of the guys are afraid they will lose some members over it," he said.

It is no secret the COVID-19 vaccine has become a flashpoint for some of our friends and neighbors. Somehow a measure that prevents illness and death has gotten mixed up in the crazy land we call today's politics.

Part of it may be the idea of mandates per se. No one likes to be told what to do. I get that. Me too.

But some of us once put up with abuse from military drill instructors because we knew the purpose was to keep us alive. We go along with irritating laws, from taxes to seat belts, drunk driving laws, speed limits and many other mandates because they make sense.

I know one knucklehead who used to wear out your ears moaning about mandated seat belts and government-mandated auto safety equipment. That is until the day someone blew through a stoplight into the path of his truck. Today he loves seat belts and airbags.

I am the proud son of a nurse, my godfather served as an Army doc in the South Pacific. I am proud that one of my grandsons is a medical resident in Chicago. Needless to say, I am a fan of modern medicine.

Not far from where I grew up, a massive facility once housed hundreds of TB patients. The last time I saw it, it was empty and falling down. Modern antibiotics and vaccines defeated TB. Polio was the scourge of us all. Modern medicines and vaccinations stopped polio cold, too.

Once upon a time, I interviewed a doctor/scientist and asked him if there was a single incident that highlighted his long distinguished career as a medical detective.

He smiled and sighed. "I wheeled the last iron lung down the hallway of the polio ward and shoved it in the closet. And no one ever got it out again." That was when he knew medicine had defeated polio.

I get it. Some folks just don't want to go along with the COVID-19 vaccine program. Some cite religion as their excuse, and I know the religious world is all over the lot regarding vaccines.

But, between you and me, it looks like the vaccine works. Mine didn’t hurt, and the side effects were minimal. It is free, too.

Be safe. Be well.