Just a short story about myself.
As a young boy, I always knew I would become a firefighter. Growing up, my parents showed me
photographs and memorabilia of past generations of firefighters in my family. I have evidence of being a fifth generation firefighter, and I take great pride in that. I distinctly remember going to the firehouse with my dad, and watching him work. I watched that man at so many of his firehouse functions, that I can’t remember what I wanted to do more…Walk in his footsteps, or run up behind him, and exceed what he has done in his fire service career. I now find myself on track of surpassing him, as his career has ended. He is proud of what I do. I am becoming the fireman that even my father has always wanted to be.
It’s in my blood. And not only is it in my blood, it’s in every ounce of my body. The brotherhood. The camaraderie. The passion. I live everyday to become a better firefighter, and to prove to not only to myself, but to my loving family, that I was born for this. This profession is better than any other out there. This is the type of profession that has you walking out the door with a smile from ear to ear, every day you go to work. This profession is what gives many of us the drive to keep training, keep working, and keep going home after every tour of duty. A firefighter that decides it’s time to permanently grow roots in the station recliner, and hold the remote control until his knuckles are seized to it. That, my friend, is one who has given up. He has decided that the job has not worked out completely the way he wanted it to, and that he has nothing else to learn. That is when he expects the job to give something back to him, in return of all the years he has given to it. That is when we need to feel that fire burn again. We need to feel the heat, as we look down a dark, smoky hallway. At a moment like this is when all firefighters get that feeling back. That livelihood. That reason we all became a firefighter in the first place. That is when we remember that we are all brothers. No matter who we are, or what our family history is….it’s in each and every one of us.
We can all sit at the kitchen table or on the back step of the truck as we laugh, cry, or joke. No matter what, it’s in our blood. I train to better myself, my crew, my shift, and my community. The more we can learn, the better we will be. I strive for the best. I demand to be the best. As an instructor, I demand the best from my students, and I hope they take away as much as I could possibly teach. If they take one thing away from me, I can only hope it is the same feeling and desire to serve that I have for the job. And for that reason, they too, can say that it’s in their blood.
The good come with the bad, however. When we become bad apples, it brings the crew down. It brings the battalion down, and in the worst case, it could bring the community down.
We are not in the business to let our community down. Let’s all get out there, get motivated, and get to work. When you feel like you’ve done enough work, do some more. We all have something to learn. Many of us can learn from each other. All you have to do is get out there, dig deep, train hard, get dirty, and GO GET IT! Now, can you see that it’s in my blood?
– The “Irons”
“Blood relatives have nothing to do with family, and similarly, family is about who you choose to make your life with”. – Oliver Hudson
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