Sunday, October 31, 2010

Cause essay in place of Process

I am a fireman. It is really all I have ever done and all I have ever wanted to do. This is how I would define myself if I had too. The fire service has been what my life has revolved around for the past 23 years. It is the best job in the world and I thank God everyday I am able to do it. I look back now and try to figure how I got here and what made the difference in my life to get me here. The first inclination that I can remember being interested in joining my hometown fire department was a fire near my house in 1987. That fire sparked something in me. Also, through out my life I have had some great friends, role models and mentors who were able to guide me through the minefield of youth and into a career. Because of this I have come to realize that this is the job for me and the type of person I am. This single incident, great friends and mentors, and the way my brain is wired all lead me to where I am today.

It was a cool night in the fall of 1987. The sun had set, it was dark but still early in the evening. As I recall it was around seven or eight at night. I was at home and heard the fire horn blowing in the distance letting the town know there was a fire. It was not uncommon to hear the fire horn in those days and I dismissed it after a couple of seconds. Shortly after that I could hear sirens coming down Rt. 1 in my direction, again not really a big deal because the fire trucks often went by on their way to Rockland. I looked out the window as they were going by and noticed they were stopping at a house nearby. Now it was getting exciting and I put on shoes and a coat and went over to see what was happening. When I got nearer I could see there was a small fire on the second floor and the firefighters were already putting it out. There was smoke and flashing lights and commotion and it got my adrenaline flowing. A smoldering mattress was thrown out the window on the second floor on top of some other smoking debris and was being wet down by some firefighters outside and that was pretty much it. It was really exciting and interesting and something sparked my interest so to speak.

As that fire was wrapping up I saw a friend of mine who was on the fire department and he came over to talk told me I should join. The department had what was called a Junior program and you could join when you were 16 years old. I joined the Thomaston Volunteer Fire Department in November 1987, a month after my 16 birthday, and the Rockland Fire department call division in 1992. At that time there were several other guys on both departments the same age as me, and over the years there was great competition between all us. These guys were tried and true friends and the competition was the best fireman. Always competing for bragging rights of being the first to the station, the first to get geared up and on the truck, the first to get the hose and so on. I believe that this competition and camaraderie is what drove most of us to pursue careers in the Public Safety and shaped our future. Most of them stayed in the mid-coast area, but I applied and was hired to the Bangor Fire department in the fall of 1996.

Along with these friends were many adults that saw in us the potential for the next generation of firefighters and taught us what we would need to do in order to move on to career departments. They were mentors and not only taught us about fighting fire but how to stay out of trouble both in a fire and in life. They taught us things that were not in the training books and classes but what they had learned in their tenure fighting fires, and prodded us to do better and work hard. Not only did these mentors teach me about the technical aspects of firefighting, they taught me about being a man, how to treat others, respect, compassion and the “Brotherhood” in the fire service.

I have come to realize over the years that I am good at being a fireman. Like I said before, it is the way I am wired. It fits my personality perfectly. The knowledge base for a firefighter is pretty simple, in that I have to know a little about a lot of things. I have to have a working knowledge of building construction, plumbing, electrical, heavy equipment operation, hydraulics, human anatomy, pharmacology, psychology, ropes and rigging, public relations, thermal dynamics, risk analysis, legal aspects, and any other thing that you can think of. Sounds simple right? It is not just putting water on fire, and I like that. I have to see bad things, sometimes really bad things. That is part of the job. The way I look at this is that I don't mind seeing some of the things that I do, and if someone has to do this it may as well be me.

I am by nature a compassionate person and always assume the best in people. I like to take care of people and help them in any way I can. This is not just at work, I stop to help people I see broken down on the side of the road and I expect nothing in return. My neighbors know that if they need help with anything, moving something heavy, help building something, or tearing something down, or just someone to watch the kids, they call me. Someone once said “That's the funny thing about fireman...24 hours a day they are always fireman.” I truly believe this, we always want to help no matter what or who, unconditionally. It takes a certain type of person to do this and I feel that it is a calling. I understand the trust people put in me being a fireman. Think about it for a minute, a total stranger will run up to me and thrust the most important things in the world to them into my hands without hesitation. Someone they have never met. A mother will hand me her only child to help them, someone she has never even seen before, she knows absolutely nothing about me, not even my name, only that I am a fireman and that I can help. One of the greatest things in the world to me is the look of relief on peoples faces when I walk in the door. I cherish the trust that the public puts in me and the responsibility that goes along with it.

I am lucky in that I have known what I wanted to for work since I was a teenager. Many people never find out what whey want to do in life and move from job to job or just settle on a job they are not happy at. My job defines me, and I define it. It is what I eat, sleep, and breath. It consumes most of my waking thoughts. A couple of interesting incidents, and some great people all made a mark on the career path I took. This combined with my personality has lead me to where I am now. I feel it is where I am supposed to be in life and I could not imagine doing anything else. The initial attraction of the excitement and adrenaline has changed over the years. I still love the rush of going into a fire, but now it seems to be more for the satisfaction of knowing I made a difference in someones life. I know with out a doubt have the best job in the world and not a lot of folks can say that.

1 comment:

  1. How strange--a five graf essay with four support grafs and two outros! I think I prefer the last outro, but they both have fine material.

    Did the writing take over--so you couldn't stop, didn't want to stop, wanted to say your piece, give your testimony--truth, whole truth, nothing but? It felt that way, as if you were bound and determined to say what had to be said.

    I'll take it with pleasure, even if it's not quite the organization I expected.

    ReplyDelete