Some would say, and I am one of those who would say, it takes a special person to be a fire fighter. For some it is a way to give back to the community and for others it starts off as a way to meet friends and interact with a group of individuals who are motivated to come together to help one another. It’s responding to calls day and night to any number of emergencies. It’s the challenge of remembering how to cut a car apart, making entry into a burning structure or responding to that wild land incident with the large plume of smoke and you are still miles out from the scene or you are entering a residence for a medical call and you have family looking at you as if you have all the answers and they want everything to be alright. It is seeing your fellow humans, your neighbors and sometimes your friends at their worst, and looking to you to help them through an event that forever will be in their memory. It is something that you will never forget or regret doing.

Being a volunteer is like taking on a part time job. Time is spent on training, public education, fund raising and a lot of other jobs that are all part of making an organization work. The work does not end when the fire is put out or when that patient has been transported; that is just a small part of the whole.

Fire fighting is a very demanding and dangerous job. We train to educate and prepare ourselves; with education we also lessen the odds against us, keep each other safer and as a result, we do a better job of protecting our community.

Fire fighting can be ugly. The “bad” in fire fighting is part of the “good”. They both make us stronger and better for and at what we do. It is what makes us different .We do what others can not do. Once a new member becomes one of us, they will share in the challenges, the comradeship, and when we are successful, a sense of accomplishment that is second to none.

It takes a special person to fill the boots of a volunteer firefighter. Someone with the desire to do something important for the community. Someone with courage and dedication, who isn’t afraid of hard work, and is willing to accept the challenges of a difficult job. A person who goes out the door , day or night, at the sound of the alarm knowing that they are the first line of defense to answer the call for help.

It is often said that “firefighting gets into your blood.” That is not true. Firefighting gets into your heart.