It’s 7:45 a.m. on Sunday. I’ve been invited by a local engine captain to the station for a morning workout and breakfast with the crews. Entering the fire station, I’m greeted by the captain, who quickly introduces me to the truck captain and his crew. In the bay I see the engineers going through their daily apparatus checks and the firefighters finishing up their station duties in preparation for the morning PT session.
The two captains and I sit down to chew the fat while waiting on the rest of the crews. The engine captain tells me that the relieved crews (engine, truck and rescue) ran 40 calls the night before, with the rescue picking up 14 after midnight alone.
The crewmembers begin to filter in. The noticeably young guys (which includes a firefighter/paramedic student nicknamed “Richie” based on his close resemblance to Ron Howard’s “Happy Days” character) are downing quart-size caffeine-enriched Monster drinks, the older firefighters are sipping their modest cups of java, and the station health nut is chugging water out of a recycled milk jug–his second before 8 a.m.
PT for the day is three trips up and down the stairs of a nearby 45-story hotel. The three crews, the firefighter/paramedic student and I make up a group of 12 firefighters of all ages. A few guys are wearing turnouts (some with and some without an SCBA), some are wearing their standard PT attire, and the station health nut is wearing sweatpants and a job shirt. In short order, the race to the top begins.
As we descend the stairs for the final time, we exit street-side and are greeted by carloads of tourists awaiting entrance to the hotel. They smile, admiring the physical efforts of the local firefighters–a natural reaction for those who haven’t been deluged by the recent negative stories about the fire department that have dominated the press.
With more than 135 grueling floors behind us, we head back to the station for a traditional firehouse breakfast. As the crews assemble around the kitchen table, the captain promises not to get political with the conversation, knowing that it’s an easy track to negativity given recent negative press coverage.
After about an hour of small talk covering a range of fire service topics, the captain directs everyone into the TV room for a class on attic fire tactics. The class is being led by one of the younger crewmembers who had recently attended a national conference. As he proceeds through the series of slides, the captain and I chime in with a few comments and questions for the group’s consideration, and a lively tactical discussion fills the next 90 minutes. Meanwhile, the rescue crew and paramedic student have come and gone three times on medical calls in their first-due.
The training session concludes, and I thank the captain and crewmembers for their hospitality and head back home. As I leave the fire station, the house alert goes off for the engine and rescue to respond to an auto accident on the nearby interstate. The crews respond without hesitation to yet another customer in need.
This story is not fictitious, nor is it filled with glitz and glamour; it’s the life of a modern-day firefighter. It’s about a group of individuals who represent the political spectrum, yet they choose not to allow the effects of a struggling economy or the negativity of the local media to deter them from their mission.
They choose not to fight their battles with words, but rather with dedication and professionalism. Their actions are not expressed in anger or discontent directed at the misconceptions some of their own customers have of them, or the wrongdoings of citizens who lash out at them. Rather, their actions speak of preparedness, competence and respect for the customers they serve.
As I read the news stories and travel around the country visiting with firefighters at conferences, seminars and local fire stations, I’m saddened by the mischaracterizations that have defaced the professional image of the American fire service, yet I’m humbled by the crews that manage to put aside their personal frustrations and make individual sacrifices to ensure the safety of their community.
Although many will claim that the image of the fire service has been tarnished by actions of greed and self-reward, a far greater number know that the vast majority of firefighters reflect the true image of the American fire service: humility coupled with selfless courage, dedication, professionalism–and a refusal to abandon the mission, despite those who have lost faith in them.
