Hello

I am a 27 year old "kid" in the fire service. I took this job with visions of grandeur and the fantasy that every day we made a save, every call was a barn burner, and every house was balls to the wall! I have only had 5 years in, and in that short time I have found that this is NOT the case. Not just where I am. Not just on the east or west coast but everywhere. I have knocked around the idea for a while to start a blog to voice my frustrations with todays fire service. To give a place for others to come and read and understand that it is not just them that are hungry to be better. For to many days my crew and myself have sat idle with no training, no learning, and a diminishing moral. This is unacceptable.
Just because we come onto the job at a much different time doesn't mean our expectations cannot be met. Does the house in BFE today with nothing but a few farm houses run as many fires as the house in the 1960's Bronx. THATS A BIG HELL NO. Can the guys in BFE be just as ready? That's a big HELL YES! Should you be doing something every day? YES! Should you have some piece of equipment in your hand each day trying to master its every idiosyncrasies blindfolded, upside down, and behind your back? YES! Does this happen? Again, THATS A BIG HELL NO!
This is the problem that my generation, the next generation faces every day across the country! Those coming in that want to be the next Paddy Brown and legitly get better (not just wear the shirt and tell stories) don't have that many people to teach them. This is the place where you will hear about my struggles in my career, life, and quests to become that "go to guy." They say the best complement a firefighter can get is to have another brother say "Hes a GREAT FIREFIGHTER!" That rings true, but the even better complement is to have someone say they want to work with you so THEY can become great too. So over the next however long I can keep this up I will write about the good, the bad and whatever pisses me off. I would love to have you ask me questions, bring up topics, or make statements. You will get the most honest opinion from me. I'm always good for saying "I don't care!" but that's a lye. I wouldn't get so upset if I truly didn't give a damn.

ENJOY!