Climbing the Ladder to Become A Fireman

So, you're thinking about becoming a Fireman, huh? Well, personally, I can't think of anything more worth wild in life than to a Fire Fighter!

My father tells me that I had wanted to be a Fireman since about the age of two or three. Every toy I wanted had to be either a new fire truck, a police car or an ambulance. Let me tell you, for years I think my father was the main reason the toy industry made billions of dollars in profits! I think I had every fire truck ever made. My bedroom closet, toy box and bedroom floor was covered with them!

Perhaps one of the reasons I liked emergency vehicles so much was that I had been born deaf, and after two major experimental ear surgeries, I got 30% of my hearing, than 60 %, and eventually at nearly age three, I had 100% hearing. I'm sure that even though I didn't know how to talk at age two and three, I sure loved hearing the barley audible sounds of all those sirens and of course their flashing lights!

Well, I never tired in my love of fire trucks, nor my interest in becoming a fireman. Anytime anyone asked me while growing up "what do you want to be when you grow up?" My answer was always "A Fireman!"

A few days after I turned fourteen, my father took me to the nearest fire station to meet it's Station Captain and crew members. My father asked most of the questions, but we both found out together that I was still to young to become a Junior Fire Fighter (you have to be at least 16 years old). We also found out you had to maintain at least a "B" average in school, with good behaviors, have a clean criminal record, and that you must get the recommendations of your school guidance counselors and teachers! Sounds like allot huh, well it is, and yes, it's a must.

Besides meeting all of these requirements, you still have to have the approval of your legal guardian, and be interviewed by the station Captain, who has to accept you as a Junior Fire Fighter Trainee.

Well, two years later I had Straight A's in school, recommendations by my teachers and guidance counselors, and of course my parents approval. Then I still had to pass a really thorough physical exam, criminal background checks, and be interviewed by three different Captains at the Fire Station where I was applying. Thank God the Station Captains thought I was worth a shot! I actually got to become a Junior Fire Fighter and proudly wear the Junior Fire Fighter's Green Helmet (Green signifies that I was a Junior Fire Fighter with certain limitations)!

Over the course of the next two years, I had to learn everything their was to learn at the Fire Station. I had to learn about all the different types of vehicles and fire trucks that we had at our station, and other stations as well. I had to learn and memorize all of the different types of fire protection and fire equipment that we wear and use in fighting different types of fires, i.e. house fires, brush fires, chemical fires, electrical fires, and in dealing with hazardous materials.

Besides learning about all the equipment and vehicles, I had to learn all of the emergency call signs/codes that the emergency dispatches use to notify and dispatch police, ambulances and fire department personnel to emergency locations. I also had to have a clear understanding in what my limits were for a Junior Firefighter, because no matter what, I wasn't allow to exceed my limitations. For example, I couldn't go into a burning building or climb a 100 foot ladder as a Junior Firefighter, nor could I drive the Fire Trucks or Emergency Vehicles. However, I could perform traffic control duties, operate fire hoses, the jaws of life, perform CPR and things like that! I was also expected to ride on ambulance duties on a monthly basis.

During my first year at the Fire Station, and still while in high school, I enrolled in our local Community College. The courses I took, all had to do with some aspect of becoming a professional Firefighter. I had to take courses on every aspect of Types of Emergencies, Chemical, Electrical, Explosive, and Fire Hazards, Equipment Maintenance, Storage and Usage, Emergency First Aid and CPR, etc., etc.

Every course I took was a challenge for me, but with every challenge I met, there was a big reward, and for me it was putting new tools into my tool box for when I needed them, and in taking one step after another until I was to become a Fireman!

I'm happy and proud to say, that during my first year as a Junior Firefighter, I was able to provide the necessary life saving skills required to save the lives of two men, and only a few months apart. Both of these individuals, had quit breathing, and had to be successfully resuscitated, which I was able to do thanks to my outstanding preparation and training provided to me by my trainers and experienced Fire Rescue Crews.

I was so happy to actually be on the job, and my life and training was making a difference in the lives of others!