[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 116 (Friday, September 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1669]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           A TRIBUTE TO JEROME TOWNSHIP FIRE CHIEF ALLEN COLE

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                             HON. DAVE CAMP

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 5, 1997

  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, the poet T.S. Eliot wrote that ``water and 
fire shall rot the marred foundations we forgot, of sanctuary and 
choir; this is the death of water and fire.'' For 50 years, the 
foundations and sanctuaries of Jerome Township were not forgotten, and 
because of one man's work, far fewer have suffered the death of water 
and fire.
  Today we honor a man who has not only protected our sanctuaries, but 
our homes and hearths as well; who stood by the foundations of his 
community and in doing so, fortified its stones. Fire Chief Allen Cole 
built the Jerome Township Fire Department stone by stone, starting 50 
years ago with little more than a converted fire truck Cole kept as his 
wrecker service he'd opened in 1935. With his wife, Lydia, acting as a 
dispatcher, citizens reporting a fire could call Cole's garage and know 
that help was on the way.
  In an era when fire was a community's greatest enemy, and was 
ravaging America's towns and cities, Allen Cole stood watch over Jerome 
Township, protecting property and citizens from an enemy known for 
launching deadly, surprise attacks under cover of darkness.
  Allen Cole was no stranger to the surprise attacks of fire. Once, 
while fighting a house fire in Homer Township, he fell through the roof 
of a burning home, only to slide down the hose--still battling the 
flames--and emerge through the front door unscathed. Allen Cole today 
enters retirement, but his commitment and heroism will remain.
  He also bestows to the community a fire department that has grown and 
nourished generations of firefighters to carry on his legacy. For 
protecting the families of Jerome Township from the destructive power 
of fire for a half-century, we thank Chief Allen Cole for his service 
and dedication, and bestow upon him our highest esteem.

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