We as Firefighters, First Responders and EMS Personnel live with fear everyday and on every call.

The fear we feel for others in distress, is what drives us. That fear can also make us careless and we make mistakes. We must learn to deal with the urge to rush in and take chances. We are no good to a victim if something happens to us. That fear needs to be controlled or we become part of the problem not the solution.

The fear we feel for our own safety is the fear we need to nurture. When we fear for our own safety we are much less liable to take stupid chances. I can speak of this from a personal view. I did the old macho stuff in my younger days and got overcome a few times. I had to grow up and realize macho is not good. We all come into the trade wanting to help our fellow man, but we all have that underlying desire to be a hero. Don’t rush it. It will happen some day and you will be that hero. One can go through a whole career and never make that miraculous rescue, others will be put in the position many times. You are proving your bravery every time you get on the apparatus.

God Bless you one and all, still out there doing the job.