Thursday, December 31, 2009

New Year

Well here we are on the cusp of a new year.  So much has happened in the last year and there is so much to look forward to in the coming one.  To be honest I don't usually make a big deal of the passing of one year into the next, but this year feels different.  This year there is a lot that coincides with the coming of the new year.  I feel like I am really starting out on this journey right now in the very beginning of the year in the very beginning of a new decade.

I hope that ten years from now I will be blogging (or whatever we'll be doing with our implanted computer minds) about my career as a firefighter medic.  But alas, we never know what the future will hold.  Just a year ago I was an artisan cheese maker.  Whatever happens I am excited about the possibilities and can't help feel, if even a little naïvely, that success is not as far away as I may think.

I wish all those in the field tonight a safe a happy new year.  Unfortunately many folks out there ring in the new year with stupidity and cause more work for emergency services.

Take care and have a happy new year!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Naysayers

As I've made my decision to become a career firefighter, I've talked with a lot of people in and out of industry.  I have to say that everyone has said that it will be hard.  I find this to be a bit frightening but not a deterrent.  I think you have to understand each person's frame of reference to really grasp the reality of why they say something.  I have heard that it is hard because it is so competitive, and in the same conversation the person will admit that they never went to the physical abilities test (nor trained for it I'm sure).  People speak very doubtfully about my success.  It's kind of annoying.  I suppose this is why I'm not looking for work in western Mass.  It will be far more likely to land something out east.  There are only two or three full time career fire departments in my entire county!  No wonder people are such naysayers.  I think I have the determination to see this through though.  I just have to figure out how to move to the Boston area with a family of four, get a job (preferably EMS), establish residency, find good schools, start a medic class, find good daycare, and wait to be hired or take the civil service again (which ever comes first).  I don't see the big deal.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Waiting for the Payoff

So here's the deal.  I'm really hoping that this blog will payoff.  It is sort of an experiment to see if some of the networking I have to do will work through this forum.  If it does I think it will be a lot of fun.  The other thing is this; I also want this blog to be a sort of a resource for others who are trying to get a fire job or,  'get the badge'.

I have had fun setting this thing up.  I'm not sure on the purple.  I just think some of the firefighting sites are a little over the top and campy, what with all the animated graphics and overuse of the color red.  I think firefighting can be purple.

Why firefighting?

I grew up in a small town with a volunteer fire department.  My best friend and many of my other friends were all firefighters.  I never joined because I went to school in Boston and I didn't stop moving around for six years.

Finally my wife and I settled down on a farm in western MA.  I took the opportunity to sign up with a call fire department.  I took a 180 hour class taught by the Mass. Fire Academy.  I became a state certified firefighter.  Meanwhile I had been on with the fire company for over a year and I discovered I wanted to do more on our medical calls so I became an EMT.

Over the last six months I have been trying to decide what I really want to do.  While going to school to pursue a degree in social work I couldn't shake my desire to do more with the fire service.  As I learned more about what it takes to become a career firefighter, I realized I would need to focus more of my time on it.


I love the excitement and immediacy of firefighting.  It feels great to help someone in an emergency situation.  To look at an injury or a set of symptoms and be able to help a person is very satisfying.  There is always a challenge in firefighting and the job is never the same.  I wont be able to say I'm bored.



This is class 14, my call/volunteer class that prepared me for the FF I/II certification

Monday, December 28, 2009

Here we Go...

I am about to start a long journey toward becoming a firefighter. I live on the opposite side of the state from where I want to work so there are going to be a lot of complications. More on that later.

For now I am just going to start this blog. It will be a sort of measure of my progress from the beginning of my journey to the hopeful end, where I get a job.
 
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