Why a firefighter? Isn't it dangerous? How do you deal with the stress?
Well I'm here to tell you that yes, it is in fact very dangerous. And at times it can be very stressful. However, I don't do it for the stereotypical image of pulling little Sally out of a burning building. But don't get me wrong, I would have her unfortunate ass out of that building faster than you could say I think my house is on fire.

Then why do you do it?

I'll tell you. When flowers randomly show up at the station with a card showing how much we cannot be thanked the day after we run a horrific car accident, it keeps you coming back. When that 5 year old boy shows up the day after he broke his arm falling out of his tree house wanting you to sign his cast, it keeps you coming back. When you have a long day at work and need to grab a cup of coffee on your way home and someone randomly pays for it, thanking you for everything you do, not realizing you're wearing your station's shirt, it keeps you coming back. And right as you're about to leave, a mother of 2 comes up and informs you that she has taught her sons to say a prayer for us each and every time they see us going down the road with lights and sirens, you can bet it keeps us coming back. The feeling you get when a medevac helicopter takes off with the patient you just spent 20 heart-pounding minutes extricating from their now destroyed vehicle that you could have very well just saved their life, and at the same time wondering why it took you so damn long, keeps you coming back. Your brothers and sisters at the station you will have for life because no one else knows what you go through, keeps us coming back.

Because all in all, you are just another body on the street, another car in rush hour, to your boss you are a number, but when you put that uniform on and the tones drop for that structure fire in your first-due with a report of someone trapped, for that brief moment in time, to someone, you are everything. And you can bet your ass I'll be back for that.

Thank you

Firefighter Johnson