A Lehighton councilman has expressed his gratitude toward the first responders who quelled a fire that started at his home on New Year’s Eve.

Councilman Dave Zimmerman took a few minutes at Monday’s borough council meeting to express his gratitude toward the Lehighton Fire Department.

“For those who don’t know, my family had a fire emergency at our house on Dec. 31,” Zimmerman said. “No worries, everyone is OK, no major damages, just a big scare.”

Zimmerman said that while he wasn’t going to say anything, “People these days seem to see the bad in a lot of things. They disparage a lot of things on social media and other places.

“So, in an age where people don’t often take the time to say good things publicly about their town or government or public schools, I would like to take the opportunity now and who knows, maybe start a trend,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman said his family had an accident in their home that caused a fire and called 911.

“Within 10 minutes, probably more like five minutes, volunteer firemen, emergency services personnel, and the police department were at my house,” he said. “These are so-called everyday Lehighton citizens, your friends and neighbors, who came out on New Year’s Eve, in the rain, in full gear, ran a hose to my porch, and put a ladder up to our window in my time of need. I can tell you that they were extremely fast, amazingly efficient, and performed professionally.”

Zimmerman, who began to choke up, said “one of my biggest fears became a possibility that night and I was quickly put at ease by these firefighters. Within an hour or two, the house was deemed safe, and they were on their way.

“As they were leaving, all I could say was thank you, and all they said was ‘it’s what we do.’ Hopefully it will never happen to you, well, last Tuesday was our turn.

“I don’t wish that kind of turmoil on anyone, but I can tell you, that if you ever need these folks, they are out there and they are amazing at what they do,” he said. “As a citizen and a councilman, I can tell you I am very proud of our fire company, our EMS, and our police department. Thank you to all of you.”