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I never saw myself as a hero, never believed I would have one of those magazine cover moments. I just wanted to help. Not everyone can do what we do, and I always figured - if I could; I should. And I like the stuff that comes with it - fire prevention, talking with the cub scouts, doing community events, musters, public relations, parades, town committees. There’s no cape flying from my shoulders. When I come round the corner and the kid hit by the car looks at me, smiles and says... Read Full Story

The morning of February 4 2009 was a morning that all of us got lucky due to training and experience. We were the first due on a working structure fire with flames visible on the A/B/D division of the structure. Another firefighter and I were making entry when the porch roof started going south. As we noticed this, my partner saw that the floor under us had been compromised as well. We backed out and went with plan B. While we were knocking the fire down our Chief realized three 100lb propa... Read Full Story

The Chief and his Deputy went golfing together one Saturday morning, as they have done since they were cadets 24 years ago. You might say these guys were fanatics about their golfing. That afternoon the Deputy returned home exhausted, and plopped down dejectedly in his easy chair. His wife, concerned by his appearance, asks if something went wrong with his game. “No, no,” he replied, “I had the best game I had in years! As a matter of fact, I started out the first three holes at 4 under par, ... Read Full Story

I’m sure some others can relate, I was in a house fire, when we were ordered to evacuate, to make a long story short I ended up yelling at myself in the mirror, “what the hell are you still doing in here”…LOL Read Full Story

The most memorable training experience was in paramedic school doing my clinical at a local hospital. Under the direction of the doctors and nurses I was charged with the supervision of a patient on life support - starting of the IV , monitoring the progress, preparing and pushing the meds ordered by the doctor. After a while the Dr. ordered the disconnect of the life support and pronounced the patient dead and issued a time. The doctor then said to all in the trauma room that it was do... Read Full Story

Some say you have to be crazy to jump out of an airplane into a forest fire, but smokejumpers can’t wait for the next fire call Smokejumping was first proposed in 1934 by T.V. Pearson, the Forest Service Intermountain Regional Forester, as a means to quickly provide initial attack on forest fires. By parachuting in, self-sufficient firefighters could arrive fresh and ready for the strenuous work of fighting fires in rugged terrain. The smokejumper program began in 1939 as an experiment ... Read Full Story

As firemen prepare for wildfire season this summer, they will reach for their trusty Pulaski ax, the century-old tool used to hack ditches between flames and the rest of the forest. But they will have some new, high-tech help as well. Mini tree-mounted weather stations and airborne infrared sensors will provide the clearest picture yet of where fires are and where they’re headed. Traditionally, when trying to identify a blaze early and predict its next move, firefighters must wait for ... Read Full Story

Mr. right brought me into the fire I was only in my second ever relationship when I met him. Mr. Right I decided when got to know him. He has been firefighting since he was seventeen years old. I always thought it would be fun to marry a real firefighter. I never thought it would become a reality. He has been on volunteer fire departments since he was seventeen. We fell in love.. deep Love. Something I never imagined outside of the movie theatre. I am a year younger than he is. When things ... Read Full Story

There is a flame, a flame that burns inside of us. Most of the time, we as firefighters try not to fight it, it keeps us going, from house to house or wreck to wreck, we know that once we put that gear on, we are stronger than superman. The flame that burns eternally inside of us pushes us to achieve better things not only for ourselves but for others as well, we risk our lives for others, not because they call us firefighters, but because of that ember. We bust ours to save theirs, it’s wha... Read Full Story