Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the realization that there is something more important than fear.

So just a couple of things that have happened to me recently. I was finally able to get into an EMT-Basic class and tonight was the start of the third week. I have been waiting for this class for a year and a half. I am hoping that I am able to learn all that I need in class. The lady that is teaching the class isn’t the best teacher in the world. She tends to skip words that are too long or too hard to say. Then there are some people that are in the class that insist on bringing their three kid… Continue

It was my express privilege and honor this week to travel to Clayton, NM to stand in for their fire department. The Tucumcari Fire Department Deputy Chief and I represented our department. There were a couple of firefighters from Texline, TX and one from Sedan, NM that came and brought a couple of pieces of apparatus. An ambulance and crew came out of Folsom, NM to cover on the EMS side. The reason that we all traveled to Clayton was so that the Clayton Fire & Recue department could bury one… Continue

Death... Something that we as firefighters have to deal with. A part of the job. There isn't any way to become used to it. If it no longer effects you then maybe a different line of work is in store for you. In the short time that I have been a part of the fire service I cannot or should I say that I do not want to remember those scenes that I have been on where someone has lost their life. Thankfully none of these has been a fellow firefighter and I hope to never experience that loss. There are… Continue

So I just posted a discussion about the one call that got you hooked on fighting fire. I will go into a little more detail on what call got me hooked.

It was in October of 2005 that the rural department that i was on got paged out for a mutual aid for a grass fire. It was a clear warm day but the wind was steadily up around 20 -25 mph with some gusts of up to 40 mph. It was perfect weather for a grass fire to get out of hand in a hurry. We took two brush trucks and one engine for water supply.… Continue

So I am new to FFN and still "wet behind the ears" relatively in the fire service. I live and go to school in a small town of about 6000. I guess you could say that I had always thought of being a firefighter but I had never pursued the idea until moving here for college. I am what some would call an adrenaline junky ( snow skiing, water skiing, riding ATVs,would like to skydive and bungee jump). I go to a college with a rodeo team and I had always wanted to try to ride a bull. Mom would never l… Continue