August 2001 I turned in my application to be a Volunteer Fire Fighter. Seems like the fire station is my second home now and at times has been my first. The training never ends, nor should it, and neither do the calls. Our district runs approximately 900 calls a year and is made up of the Bellingham International Airport, Marietta/surrounding areas, and the Lummi Indian Reservation. We work 12-24hr shifts with 4 FF's on at all times. We do not have company specific assignments so everyone on the team has to be able to do it all. Drive/operate every rig, treat every patient, fight every fire.
Some nights you get to sleep peacfully and others you never see the station again until shift change. The type of calls and frequency are impossible to predict, but we still try to anyways. I've seen alot of things in my few years with the fire service. Some make you want to give more and some make you want to quit. Some make you proud and some break your heart. Sometimes you can't tell which. Most of the stories are impossible to share due to regulations and patient privacy, but there are some photo's which can give you a sneek peek at just a few of the things we were actually able to get pictures of, and don't show too much.
Not sure about the hollywood generated stuff when it comes to being a Fire Fighter, but there is something to the 'brotherhood' that develops in the firehouse. You share experiences, trauma and tradgedy with your team mates that normal people will likely never encounter. Pulling a good old fashioned prank on someone in the station never gets booring either.
I have earned numerous certifications and a few awards along the way that I am proud of. Some of my FD stats: longest continuous shift ever worked = 100hrs, most calls responded to in a year = 444, most shifts worked in a month = 28, most calls in one night = 14, Most trainings attended in a year = 45 out of 47 (one I was sick and the other I was out of state). A position saddled with an awesome responsibility that is impossible to understand unless you do it, but a rewarding one none the less! |
