HE IS standing in chest deep water,freezing rain falling and stinging as it hits the exposed parts of HIS body. Holding her head above water to keep her from drowning until the rescue truck could get there to cut her free--- BUT HE IS JUST A FIREMAN HE IS comforting a 89 year old woman who just watch me and my partner cover the face of her husband of 64 years as he lay dead in their bathroom floor--- BUT HE IS JUST A FIREMAN HE IS on scene at an mva with a mom trapped upside down in her car and her dead sons body laying on top of her ,without a second thought for his own safety, he crawls into the wreckage to take C-spine control and calm the frantic lady--- BUT HE IS JUST A FIREMAN HE IS called away from his just prepared meal to respond to the middle of B.F.E to a house with no numbers,no porch light on,nobody waiting to signal us in and they bitch because we took too long only to find out the patient left P.O.V ten minutes ago...so we smile and walk away from the verbal lashing only because we are JUST FIREMAN HE IS standing in the middle of the street at midnight on the wrong side of town trying to patch the holes and stop the bleeding of a 19 year old shooting victim with the occasional bullet wizzing past our heads, we never break stride because this kids life is in our hands--- BUT HE IS JUST A FIREMAN HE IS doing chest compressions on a 16 year old girl who decided this life was more than she could take.Her family screaming at us to help as though we are the ones who did this to her.Her lifeless body flailing about as the tube goes in and IV's being started, my arms and back burning from the pain of 30 minutes of CPR never once giving up, hoping she would make it through and over come whatever lead her to this bad decision---- BUT he is JUST A FIREMAN DEATH is all around me, and still i go home to live my life i get kicked,hit,spit on, bled on, puked on... i look into the eyes of a lifeless child at 7am and by 8 am i'm holding my child a little tighter and they know nothing about what happened. i have hundreds of hours of classroom time years of field experience i have challenged death and won i've helped the helpless i've neglected my own family for yours i find comfort in complete chaos i eat cold meals if i eat at all i work with no sleep for days at a time i miss birthdays,holidays and school functions i put myself in harms way for total strangers on a daily basis ALL BECAUSE I AM JUST A FIREMAN I AM A FIRE DRIVER!!! I DRIVE 90 MPH THROUGH CONJESTED TRAFFIC FULL OF PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO YEILD RIGHT OF WAY WHILE MY PARTNER STANDS UNRESTRAINED IN THE BACK OF THIS SCREAMING LAND MISSLE, SAVING YOUR LOVED ONES LIFE!! NEVER ONCE DOES HE QUESTION MY DRIVING. HE KNOWS THAT AT THE END OF THIS SHIFT, HE WILL GO HOME TO HIS FAMILY SAFELY , BECAUSE I AM A FIRE DRIVER....