Type of Organization

Fire/Rescue Department - Volunteer

Job Function

Firefighter

Years in Fire/EMS:

4 Years

Primary Fire/EMS Department:

SAINT ALBANS, WEST VIRGINIA

Years With Department/Agency

4 Years

Dept. Web Site:

http://WESTSIDEFIRE22.COM

My Training:

WV FIREFIGHTER I
FARM EXTRICATION
HIGH RISE OPERATIONS
TRUCK COMPANY OPERATIONS
VEHICLE & MACHINERY SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS
CONFINED SPACE RESCUE
DIVE RESCUE
ROPE RESCUE
SUBTERRANEAN RESCUE
WATER RESCUE
STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE
VEHICLE EXTRICATION
WILDERNESS RESCUE
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL OPERATIONS
STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING
NIMS IS-700

Day Job:

Quality Analyst

Relationship Status:

Single

Why I Joined Fire/EMS

Here are some of the things that I love about the fire service, and I am sure if you become a firefighter, you will also appreciate them.
get to help people. There is a certain satisfaction I get from knowing that my entire job is to help other people during the times when they need the most help. It gives me a sense of importance. I love knowing this.
I could go on all day about why I like being a firefighter. It is a truly great job.
With every good thing, there is also a downside. I believe many firefighters cannot comfortably talk about what has bothered them during their career, but here are a few things I could do without.
Getting up in the middle of the night to go on calls after reaching a deep sleep. Firefighters have to go from a deep sleep to thinking clearly and making life saving decisions in about 30 seconds. This can be hard and stressful on the body, and burdensome to the mind.

Why I Love Fire/EMS

I love my job. I have had a lot of different jobs before I became a firefighter, and none of them even come close to being as cool as a fire job.

Top Issues Facing Responders:

From early in our fire service careers, we are taught that there are three priorities on any incident: life safety, incident stabilization, and property conservation. Paramount in this list is life safety, especially the lives of our firefighters. However, during the discharge of our duties, it is possible that firefighters can become disoriented and trapped, requiring the assistance of a well-trained rapid intervention team; the team on scene that is solely used for the purpose of rescuing trapped or missing firefighters. But, just how well-trained are our firefighters in the field of rapid intervention and self-rescue?