Who Is This Guy Anyways?

While sitting around and thinking about some new topics to write about, I realized not everyone that reads this knows me.  Furthermore, you don’t really know anything about me other than I like to write about fire department stuff.  For all you know, I could be some buffoon with no business writing about the topics I do.  I am going to attempt to briefly sum up who I am and let you draw your own conclusions as to whether I’m actually a buffoon.

I live in Northern Virginia, where I am a volunteer firefighter in my hometown and a career firefighter approximately 35 miles north of my hometown.  I am a second generation firefighter and have known, for as long as I can remember, the fire service was the only path in life I wanted to take. 

I joined my volunteer fire department in the summer between my junior and senior years of high school and took Firefighter 1 shortly thereafter.  Two days after I graduated high school, I became a “live-in” member at my volunteer fire department.  I remained a “live-in” member for more than eight years and, in those eight years, I gained a lot of life experience and ran a lot of calls.  I have also had the opportunity to progress through every rank in my volunteer fire department from Junior Firefighter to Fire Chief.  I am currently a Technician with my volunteer fire department and serve as the co-leader of the Technical Rescue Operations Team for the jurisdiction where I am a volunteer.

I was very fortunate and became a career firefighter at age 19 in Loudoun County, VA.  I was assigned to the South Riding firehouse and was a member of the Hazardous Materials Response Team.  I spent approximately three years with LCFR before leaving to work in my current jurisdiction.  I have worked in my current jurisdiction for a little more than five years. I am currently a Master Technician, which means I am the assigned driver of a piece of fire apparatus and I can act as the OIC on the ladder truck in the absence of an officer.  I am also a member of the Technical Rescue Operations Team in my career jurisdiction.

While that briefly sums up who I am and what I have done with my career thus far, it doesn’t paint the full picture of who I am.  I am a constant student of the trade and I strive to put my learning to use on the street.  I love to talk shop and listen to how other departments are doing things.  I pride myself on being able to “walk the walk” and truly believe that you can only hide for so long in this job.  Eventually you will be forced to step up and perform or step aside and watch those who have stepped up.