My Firefighter Nation
Engineco913
Male
Bradford
United States
Profile Information:
- Type of Organization
- Fire/Rescue Department - Volunteer
- Job Function
- Firefighter, First Responder, Hazardous Materials Team Member, Driver / Engineer
- Years in Fire/EMS:
- 15
- Primary Fire/EMS Department:
- Hope Valley Wyoming Fire Department
- Years With Department/Agency
- 3
- My Training:
- Firefighter 1 and 2 certified Pro Board
RIT training
First Responder (just below EMT-B)
Emergency Vehicle Operations
Vehicle Rescue Technician
SCBA Instructor
Assistant Deputy State Fire Marshal (NFPA Inspector for fire code compliance)
Haz Mat Operations,
Haz Mat Technician,
Cameo/Aloha/Marplot,
ICS 100, 200 700, 800(NIMS)
Wildland operations 1 and 2
Jouvenile firesetters awareness
Evidence collection (haz mat)
Advanced Forestry operations,
Pump Operations,
Propane emergency Trained x 3(with live burn)
Tanker Shuttle operations
VFIS Highway Safety Program
VFIS drivers training Program
and many more I have taken - About Me:
- Been on the job (yes even volunteer its my job, and my life) since 1993, loving every minute of it. I have rescued 2 people from burning houses, and more animals than I care to remember. (mental note, iguana's have a whip for a tail, and ferrets bite when freaked out) I am the go to guy when things need to get done, and My only reward is knowing I am making my community a safer place to be for all the residents and visitors who grace us with their presence.
- Day Job:
- Construction
- Relationship Status:
- In a Relationship
- Why I Joined Fire/EMS
- I am a fourth generation firefighter. Growing up around the firehouse gave me the desire to become like my family had, a member of the brotherhood.
- Why I Love Fire/EMS
- Knowing that I am part of the firefighter family, and ensuring the life safety and property preservation of any and all whom live or visit the town. Firefighters that crave recognition are in the wrong business
- Top Issues Facing Responders:
- The top issue for the fire service is the declining support for the fire departments as a whole since 9-11. 9-11 brought on an immense if not overwhelming amount of support for all fire companies nationwide. It exposed America to the real job, and the reality that at any given moment we can be gone as firefighters. We are taken advantage of by cities, towns and the citizens. Always the first for budget cuts, and we make due each time. I think they need to create a grant that would provide money to fire departments with true need, for lack of budget funding, or community support. This grant should be easy to apply for and should limit ALL paid departments whom get funded through big tax dollars. Too often with funds match grants the smaller departments get left behind because they cant match the grant requirements but a city with millions of dollars can afford to throw money to match.
Firefighter Safety is something else which is growing more lax. There are many great officers and firefighters who are great at spreading the word safety, and not just spreading the word, but practicing what they preach as well. We have way too many damn injuries and deaths a year that are completely avoidable due to safety issues. Even basic things like not wearing a seatbelt will kill enough firefighters a year to show that there isn't enough being done to make ourselves safer
Kimberly A Bownas
Sep 11, 2008
LadyChaplain
Sep 17, 2008
LadyChaplain
Sep 17, 2008
LadyChaplain
Sep 17, 2008
LadyChaplain
Sep 17, 2008
LadyChaplain
Sep 17, 2008
LadyChaplain
Sep 17, 2008
Shawn
Shawn
Sep 17, 2008
O'Kitty
Sep 17, 2008
O'Kitty
Glitter Graphics & Comments
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
thought you'd like a little beefcake for your birthday
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Sep 17, 2008
Kimberly A Bownas
:o)
Sep 17, 2008
Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd
Sep 20, 2008
Kimberly A Bownas
Oct 1, 2008
Joe Stoltz
Ahhh... good spam...
Oct 1, 2008
Kimberly A Bownas
Oct 3, 2008
Julie Seargent
Oct 4, 2008
Kimberly A Bownas
Oct 5, 2008
Kimberly A Bownas
Oct 6, 2008
Dave, NB 9
Oct 9, 2008
Dave, NB 9
Oct 9, 2008
Kevin King
Oct 12, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Oct 30, 2008
Kimberly A Bownas
Oct 31, 2008
Christopher J. Naum, SFPE
Nov 3, 2008
Terry Ingram, Sr.
Nov 6, 2008
anne potter
Nov 11, 2008
Terry Ingram, Sr.
Nov 20, 2008
Rick
Thanks
Nov 21, 2008
LadyChaplain
Free Comments and Graphics
Nov 26, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea
Nov 27, 2008
Kimberly A Bownas
Nov 27, 2008
emodfd
The seat belt and safety pledge is right on the money. It is definately hard to change the mentality of a lot of firefighters. I am a Lt. with Dallas Fire Dept,Dallas TX and we are supposedly the largest fire department to have signed a national seatbelt pledge......however I witness daily folks not wearing them. A lot will preach but not practice. Keep up the good work on the seat belt safety pledge. Here is a thought for fellow firefighters ,it was from a good friend of mine on the department who was a US Army tank commander for 22 years, it was from his training in the military. The scenario is this,
You are responding to a box,multiple reports coming in, people trapped, you are screaming down road in your $ 350,000 apparatus specialy ordered, engineered and built to perform and save lives, you are putting on roughly $2000 worth of bunker gear ,$350 boots and A $3,000 SCBA that will keep you safe and protect your life in the most dangereous atmospheres.Wait we are not done, you get off the apparatus with a Thermal imager that runs anywhere from$ 2000 to $4000, a $1200 motorola radio,and to finish it off a halligan tool that costs $300. You are 1st due.
30 seconds out you see a large black column of smoke, more updates of a rescue, !!!!!!! You driver is fixated on the smoke column. and runs the light Your driver swerves hard you t-bone the car begin to roll the rig, you are ejected and sustain massive trauma As you take the final breaths of life laying a few feet from the rig you hear a funny kind of fluttering noise as you look through the smoke and debris you see what the noise is from, it is your seat belt , the $30.00 piece of nylon you were not wearing fluttering in the wind. You die with thousands of dollars worth of equipment on and ...oh yea how about the family inside that burning house who are still waiting and hoping,you wonder how they are doing? Way to go dumb@#S
I know this is a little dramatic but it has stuck with me for several years and my crews are tired of hearing the condensed version, but really it illustrates the mentality we have. I am all for getting to the fire and being aggressive, we are still hardcore interior attack fire department but you still have to use your head and take calculated risk when the need arises.
ps I know this seatbelt thread is rather old but I have only been on FFN for a few months and I had to offer my opinion, and as you know being a firefighter, none of us will ever be accused of not having an opinion! Great playlist, my wife overheard the Vince Gill tune and started laughing her a@# of in the other room. She had never heard it.
Jan 10, 2009
Mary Ellen Shea
Jan 14, 2009
Mary Ellen Shea
So hi.
:)
Jan 19, 2009
Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd
Jan 22, 2009
LadyChaplain
Jan 27, 2009
Joe Stoltz
Jan 29, 2009
Joe Stoltz
Jan 29, 2009
Ben Waller
Jan 29, 2009