Hi people, thought i should introduce myself.

My name is James Vattimo, and i have been with the fire service for 7 months now. currently with the Nunda VFD in western NYS, Livingston county. iv enjoyed just about every moment of my time with them so far, although i will admit i have not been to a call yet that would be considered "bad". since joining the fire dept, i have learned so much, and not just stuff about firefighting, some of the things i learned in training i can actually apply to my job! (much to the dismay of my boss, when i find yet another unsafe or out to date piece of equipment). the biggest thing i have learned though. is to consider your actions, for the safety of yourself and everyone around you.

as for why i joined the VFD, it was many pronged. i always wanted to give back to the community, and while there are charity to do that, i am just starting out on my own (23 here) and don't have the resources to give like that. all i had was my blood, sweat, and tears, and that's what I'll gladly give up if that makes my home, my town, a better and safer place to live. part of my reasons though is my family has a background in the fire service. my grandpa, gus schmitt, was a former fire chief down in freeport, NY, and where many of my cousins and relatives still serve. i lost several of them on Sept 11 when those towers came down, those boys doing their jobs. so i guess i do this in part for them as well, in their memory.

so far i have had NYS scene support operations training, and looking into where i can go next. due to my health conditions (my asmatha is too severe to be rated for SCBA) i wont be rated for interior firefighting, so i am looking for what else i can take, to be more usefull. would like to take EVOC and pump operations but its hard to get in our area. i guess i will have to wait and see what comes up!