Type of Organization

Fire/Rescue Department - Combination, EMS/Rescue Squad - Volunteer

Job Function

Safety Officer, Sergeant, Firefighter / EMT-Basic, Other

Years in Fire/EMS:

25

Primary Fire/EMS Department:

Spring Garden Twp. York, Pennsylvania

Years With Department/Agency

3

Dept. Web Site:

http://grantleyfire.com

My Training:

FF 1 & 2, Rescue Tech., Haz-Mat Tech., EMT, CPR/FirstAid Instructor, NIMS 100,200,700.

About Me:

I have been in the fire service since I was 14 years old. I started out in the York City Fire Explorers and came up throgh the ranks of my volenteer dept. I have served as the Captain, 1st Lieut., 2nd lieut., Vice President, President as well as other administrative offices. I currently have 4 children, two of them are now getting into the fire service. I also have now gotten my wife of 19 years,into the fire police end of the service too.

Day Job:

Auto Mechanic, and soon to be Pa. State Constable

Relationship Status:

Married

Why I Joined Fire/EMS

It was something that all the men in my family did starting with my grandfather. I have now passed this down to the children in my family, including my 16yo son and my 14yo daughter. I feel she is a future fire chief in the making. The fire service is something that I love to do and will do it until the last breath is drained from my lungs. I am unable to fight fires due to a heart condition, but this has pushed me to get into the fire police end of the service as a seargent.

Why I Love Fire/EMS

Helping the people of the community and seeing the results firsthand.

Top Issues Facing Responders:

I feel that training our members is a major problem with all volenteer services today. We need to have all of this certs, and training but how are we to make a living while training? There also needs to be more moneys from the government to pay for the training and gear that we need to do our jobs effectively. the final thing that I feel is doing harm to the fire service and the Fire Police end of it is the laws that do not do enough to protect the Men and Women who are out there on the corners protecting the fire fighters, dodging the crazy fools who feel that they can drive where they want too when they want too. Here in Pa. they has been several close calls of the Fire Police being struck and the police not doing anything to protect them or getting these people off the road