Sam Gibbons: “we always seem to find the words to express our gratitude for heroes, and today I rise in strong support for H.R. 425, a…”

“we always seem to find the words to express our gratitude for heroes, and today I rise in strong support for H.R. 425, a resolution to recognize those heroes, honor the brave men and women who responded to the horrendous wildfires that plagued Southern California last month. While we all recognize that hundreds of first responders from the State of California bravely risked their lives to fight these wildfires, many Americans were less aware that hundreds of Nevada's first responders were also enlisted in this fight. In fact, during the course of this deadly natural disaster, the State of Nevada deployed over 450 brave Americans to Southern California to join our neighbors in this effort to quell this deadly natural disaster. These Nevadans included dozens of firefighters, paramedics, and highly skilled mechanics. Northern Nevada-based crews from the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, along with engine crews from the Nevada Division of Forestry, Reno, Sparks, Storey County, Elko County, and North Lake Fire Protection District, were dispatched on October 27 to fight the Southern California fires. Two strike teams composed of firefighters from Las Vegas, Clark County, Henderson, Pahrump, the Nevada Test Site and the Naval Air Station at Fallon drove by personal car to offer their support to a base camp in Santee. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.”