Fire

Being a Firefighter, It is said being a Firefighter is one of the most dangerous jobs out there. it is also been identified as a Firefighter is one of the most admired and respected professions in America. Kids used to dream of being firefighters ridong the big red trucks, bells clinging sirens wailing running to help someone, but they never saw the dirty part of the job. the 3AM freezing cold response or the 2PM 110 degree responses to the woods fires or high rise fires. Lets not forget the sitting on the field in the sand box in the Crash Truck in the silvers loosing a quart of fluids an hour or on the flight deck as an alpha strike comes back aboard, plus there are the Damage Control people fighting a compartment fire knowing its either them or the fire. there is no where else to go. The Sea can be a cruel mistress. Plenty of things to hate about the Fire Service, but that is why we love it and would not exchange it for anything else in the world. We run into the fire while others are running out. We go up close and personal with the Dragon, learn what it can do and what it cannot. Sometimes we even prefer to be close to the Dragon, for we understand him better than we can understand others.

Being a Firefighter is not just an occupation it is a lifestyle. It effects every part of your life. You may leave the Fire Service, but the Fire Service never leaves you. it gets into your lungs, your blood, your brain and your heart. You do not go into it as a part time job and expect to excel.

YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHO MAKE UP YOUR SECOND FAMILY THAT QUITE OFTEN CAN BECOME STRONGER THAN YOUR FIRST FAMILY. YOU PUT YOUR LIFE INTO THEIR HANDS NUMEROUS TIMES A DAY, AND THEIR LIVES ARE IN YOUR HANDS.

Loosing Brothers and Sisters.

Listen! pay attention to not only your instructors but to those who have been on the live for decades. Keep your math skills sharp, you will need them if you expect to be an engineer. These new trucks are all automated but anything man-made can and will break and you have to be ready to manually figure friction loss flow pressure to get nozzle pressure. The oild joke of crank it up till the nozzle man lifts off the ground 5 feet then back it off 10 psi does not work all the time.

Many years ago Paul Lamb the President of NFPA once said the amount of information a Firefighter must know just to keep current doubles every 10 years. That was before Hazardous Materials, Confined Space Rescue, 2 in-2 out rules and everything that has come since. Today that information doubles every 3 years. You will never stop studying. Leadership, Management, Customer Service, Code Enforcement, and Instructional Methodology is all part of being a good Fire Officer