One Month Later...

I have not done anything Fire or EMS related for at least a month, and it has been a month since my last post.
I finally worked again at the fire station.  It has been a long day though.  I started at 0300 this morning.  I made over 2,000 pounds of yogurt.  When I got home at 1330 I changed into my uniform and went to the fire station.  After about an hour I got a call from my relief asking if he could come late.  I will get home around 2330.

It has been a slow night.  We had a walk in report of unattended smoldering leaves.  We responded at 1620 with E1.  There was no smoke, just charred leaves in a pile.  We were there, so we raked it and emptied the can into the pile.  We were back in quarters by 1630.  Not the most exciting fire...

The Update

I have not written for a while.  My idea of my role in the fire service has evolved and I couldn't write anything about it until now.

Here is the update on where I am going next.  I will be a cheese maker but not at the farm I was applying to.  That farm apparently had some tough times and was not able to make a move on the job.  So I applied and got a job at another farm working under a very experienced cheese maker.  I will also learn how to make yogurt.  I am excited about this opportunity and it means some security for my family.

I originally started this blog as a way to track my progress as a career firefighter.  It does not seem that this is the direction I am going in.  I have wondered if I should get rid of the blog.  I am realizing however, that life is not as linear or black and white as I would like for it to be.  I tend to be all or nothing about my life. So was the case with my aspirations to being a firefighter.  I am beginning to learn the value of being a small town firefighter.

For a long time I did not like some of the aspects of the small town fire department.  Unfortunately there are firefighters that don't take the job as seriously as I think we all should.  I mean lets be honest, if you rely on volunteerism, are you going to turn someone away?  On a small department you have to take what you can get.  On the other hand there are a lot of good things that come from becoming a volunteer.  I can be a firefighter and have time to pursue other interests at the same time.  I'm sure I'll philosophize more on this in the future, but for now I'm satisfied to be a part of what I already know and to find ways of becoming as professional as I can within the framework of any organization I join.

I have decided to continue to post to this blog.  I am still ADVANCING THE LINE in my own little world of fire service and as long as I keep committed to the work I can create a life within fire rescue.

Full Code

I just got off the second shift at the fire department.  We only had one call, but it was a good one.  I mean that of course with respect to the deceased and their family.  I have not had too many opportunities to do CPR and tonight I did.  It went well.  The patient was gray when we found him and a few minutes after starting compressions he was pink.  When the medics got on board they pushed epi and atropine.  The drugs and my compressions jump started his heart and he had a good pulse (a good radial pulse too).  I had to help him breath but we made his cardiopulmonary system function.  Anyway it felt good to feel confident in this setting.  One really has to be tested before knowing one's capabilities.

Does This Make Me a Bad Father?

So the kids and I were playing at the table and then the boy created a little game with his firefighter toy.  When in life do you get to hear this word combination said innocently?

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