It is almost commonplace in today’s world to take note of how people don’t like to get involved anymore, of how our communities have become loose-knit collections of strangers, of how neighbors no longer even know each other’s names.

So it is refreshing to learn that’s not the case in Burnsville.

Things had gotten so bad at the Burnsville Volunteer Fire Department that it was close to disbanding. Money was a problem, as was getting enough volunteers to answer the calls that came in.

Then Tommy Williams took the helm. Williams is a big, soft-spoken man, not given much to exaggeration or boasting. In his quiet way he went about rebuilding the Burnsville VFD. Williams saw to it that Burnsville got its fair share of the county tax set aside for volunteer fire departments. He recruited a new crop of volunteers and instilled a new found sense of pride in their work.

Realizing the importance of what Williams has done, the community has responded to his efforts with a grand show of support. Williams and his men have risen to the challenge of meeting the heightened expectations of their friends and neighbors.

Williams reports that on each of the department’s last four calls, his men were on the scene in 10 minutes or less. For a volunteer fire department whose members must drop what they’re doing and respond to a call, that is an excellent response time.

Williams and his volunteers have taken what was fast on its way to becoming a derelict operation and turned it around, making it a source of community pride.

So to Williams and his men, and to the community of Burnsville, we salute you.