Early one morning, around 1:30 a.m., retired Clinic internist William Clark was called to the home of a diabetic patient in insulin shock. When he arrived, the patient was thrashing in bed so violently that Dr. Clark was unable to hold down the man’s arm in order to insert an intravenous tube, needed to administer sugar quickly. "I said to the patient’s wife, 'We’re going to need some help here. Maybe we better call an ambulance.'" Instead, the wife suggested they call the volunteer fire station around the corner.

"So she called the fire department and the siren goes off right behind her, and then in the house right next door, I saw the lights go on, and then there was some banging and the screen door shutting, and getting in the car that was about 10 feet away, backing out. There were a number of different cars coming out in the area, and down to the firehouse. Then the fire engine started, with all the sirens going and red lights flashing, and they come the one block around."

Dr. Clark related the problem, and the firemen swung into action. "Oh, he’s a diabetic! Get the pull motor to help us! So five of these guys come into the house, all cramming in there, with all kinds of equipment. I said, 'Look, look, all of you back out but one, just one of you.' So we got it achieved."

As the firemen returned to their homes, "two big guys about 16 and 17 come out of the back room, saying, 'What’s going on here, ma?' When I asked the mother why she had not awoken the boys to help, she said, 'They need their sleep. Besides, the volunteer firemen like to get called because they get paid by the call.' Well, it was things like that that made life very rich."