Washington, D.C. — On Tuesday, Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata highlighted Firefighter Appreciation Day, also known as International Firefighters’ Day:

 “On Firefighter Appreciation Day, I want to say thank you to our firefighters for their readiness and responses. They help educate us to prevent house fires, and rush to contain them so lives are saved, each time along with potentially a lifetime of possessions and memories in a home. 

 “We specially remember and think of the families of Captain Mike Tipoti and Captain Allen Velega. Our community lost these senior firefighters last year in a vehicle accident as they were doing their jobs, serving the public, returning from responding to a fire call. 

 “In 2017, I had the opportunity to officially thank our firefighters in Congress. As I said then, in American Samoa, we are blessed with abundant rainfall and green vegetation, so we can be thankful we aren’t likely to ever see a raging forest wildfire like the American West endures. Instead, when those fires were at their worst, our firefighters more than once have generously gone to join their fight and serve others on the U.S. West Coast. 

 “We love and appreciate our firefighters.”