Sitting in the library at Ithaca College, I get a text from my sister with myriad photos whose contents included numerous fire trucks and buildings billowing with smoke.

I was shocked. Upon further investigation, I found an article in the Sun Journal and an article in the Kennebec Journal telling about the fires on Blake Street and the surrounding areas that occurred Monday evening in Lewiston.

According to the news, firefighters and emergency volunteers from seven surrounding towns came to help contain the fires. If that doesn’t speak to the potential severity of these fires, I don’t know what does.

Even though there was talk that the water pressure of the hydrant system wouldn’t be sufficient to contain the fires quickly enough, I followed the firefighter/EMS radio feed online for the rest of the evening and they seemed to have everything under control. Close to midnight, they began to clear out assisting fire engines and EMS personnel and, rather adorably, initiated a conversation about a cat who was also an unfortunate victim of the fires.

I would like to applaud the inter-city cooperation of all the emergency workers and volunteers who helped with the blaze. It’s a blessing to have a community of emergency personnel that can work so well together, even across town borders.

It is because of the collaboration of those workers and volunteers that the fire didn’t do more damage than it did.

Amber Thibault, Lewiston