Each member of the volunteer fire service can explain his sole reason for taking the oath of courage. I can't. In fact, 17 months later, I'm still trying to pinpoint the reason for raising my right hand and being sworn in.
For the first 26 years of my life, I lived in a household that echoed the constant sound of a fire department scanner that was enough to collapse walls, and was laden with firefighting paraphernalia. My dad was a member of the East Rockaway Fire Department (NY) for 45 years, before retiring to the Gulf Coast of Florida in the spring of 2005. During his tenure, I received the opportunity to see a lot -- and hear a lot -- but never had a true interest in following his lead. Neither did any of my siblings. I guess we all saw -- what we believed as -- an enormous amount of time dedicated to a full-time volunteer job.
Then, it happened. It was sort of like the zap of an unexpected lightning bolt. In the summer of '05, I was driving past fire department headquarters and spotted the sight of an East Rockaway chief. I hit the brakes, parked and pounded on the door for a good five minutes until he let me in. He must have thought I was psychotic. We sat, talked, and two hours later my application was complete, notarized and returned. What the hell was I thinking? I still don't know.
I have to admit, I was a little scared at first; I never had an interest in this line of work and, now, here I was, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. But I quickly found my place -- my zone. And the men and women who have helped me along the way thus far, well, they're my boys (and girls).
I joined the same department my father served for nearly half a century. Shortly after completing the fire service academy in June of 2006, I ventured onto the EMS Academy to pursue my New York State EMT license. For a guy who never had an interest in firematic services, I suddenly gained a supreme quest for the knowledge of flame-fighting and injury treatment.
More than 500 days after walking into the zone of the unknown, I can say that my experience there has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
The adrenaline, camaraderie and, most important, the ability to make even the slightest impact on the lives of others (civilian or firefighter) is what the fire service is all about. If we can travel through life and make a meaningful, significant difference in the attitude, passion or ability of just one person, each and every one of us has done our job.
Anything more is golden.