There are so many mysteries to being a firefighter and the journey to become one. I decided to sit-down with a firefighter so we could discuss some of the questions behind the profession. In the living room of his house in the City of Huntington Beach, “will anyone be listening to your recording,” he asks. Playing with his dog he smiles and says, “I’m a little nervous so go easy on me.”
Did you always want to be a firefighter and what made you pursue the profession? No, I was in the military before. As I was getting ready to get out, I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do. The job I did in the military didn’t really apply the civilian world. So I took an Emergency Medical Technician class. When I was on my EMT class, I was able to do a ride-a-long with the fire department. Basically, after spending a day there I fell in-love with it. It has all the good stuff in the military I liked and didn’t have the bad stuff. Ultimately, you get to help people. I joined the military to serve my country and now I get to serve the civilians that I live around.
Sounds like you really enjoy helping people. Is that something you’ve always wanted to do? Yeah, you could say that. It’s probably one of my core morals, to do things for other people.
How did you get started in your profession? I took the EMT course and once I realized I wanted to be firefighter, I started taking fire classes. Basically, there were six core classes in college I took. After that, I went to a fire academy and that basically opened the door for me to be a volunteer or reserve firefighter. I went on the engine, rode the same calls they went on, but I just didn’t get paid. But I got to learn the job and basically the kind of culture they have in there.
Sounds like you really found the job exciting or interesting. Yeah, I guess that’s part of the reason why I took the job. It’s not a boring job. I’m not stuck in a cubicle from nine to five. You never know what you’re going to go on so that’s part of the excitement of the job. There is always something new and you’re always on your toes. It’s definitely a thinking-person job, not a sterile, monotonous job.
Most of the time your job can lead you to dangerous situations. Do you remember any scenarios that come to mind? You can go from anything to waking up in the middle of the night and helping someone get back to their bed, or you can be going into a house that’s on-fire and pulling people out. Personally, I’ve been on a plane crash and I’ve also helped someone change their smoke detector batteries. Either way–once the tone drops, (the tone is the alarm at a fire station) you know it’s time to go. Hopefully you can do it in the best of your ability.
Do you remember a specific moment in your job when it rocked you to your core? A time when you knew this job isn’t a regular job and not everyone would be fine with what you went through. Yeah, there are always those calls that stick to your mind. Obviously what no one wants to go on (even firefighters) are kids. Anytime a kid is hurt or sick, those are the times that really stick with you. You wanna make sure you do the best job possible because the parents are handing you their kid. They’re looking at you to try to fix their baby.
Have you had any child fatalities on your hands? Yeah, I’ve had a little kid that drowned.
How was that like? Honestly, it was probably one of the smoothest calls I’ve been on because the paramedic crew I was with had a set plan. The paramedic in charge knew what he wanted to do. When we go on a call, we kind of know what type of call it is and we knew we we’re going to a kid that had drowned. We knew they were doing CPR, so he set up the roles and told everyone what to do before we even got to the call. We showed up and took over patient contact and loaded him up in the ambulance as fast as possible. Oddly, it was the smoothest call I’ve ever been on, even though it was probably it was the most significant.
Even though the kid died?
Yeah.
What do you expect from a call that’s serious? I expect everybody that’s in the crew to step-up and know their roles. That moment in time, it doesn’t matter what your feelings are. You’re the ones that are there to bring calm to the chaos. When people call you most of the time, it’s their worst day. You gotta remember that. They thought their only option is to call you and dial 911.
Do you have any expectations of yourself when you go into a serious call/situation? Just I like I said, we’re the ones who bring calm to the chaos. Even if someone else in the crew is bothered by the situation, for me as their team member, I need to be calm and pull things together. Somebody’s gotta keep a level head on their shoulders.
Clarissa Nazarea 