Firefighters - Can we have a thread? Law enforcement, too.

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Sprinter

Sprinter

Minister of Fire
Jul 1, 2012
2,984
SW Washington
I know there are a bunch of firefighters here and LEOs, volunteer, paid or retired. I'd love to see some banter among us, with other interested members welcome as well.

To start, I was a very active volunteer FF/EMT in Eastern Washington through the 90's. I've had a rewarding career (now retired) but I always tell people that the best thing I ever did was the firefighting thing. I was with Benton County FPD #1 at Kennewick and Richland. Google "Benton One".

I'm always interested in hearing others' experiences, most memorable incidents, etc. It's a close fraternity.

My Son-In-Law is a retired Oregon State Trooper and I rode with him often and even helped with some of his criminal cases now and then, so I like to talk to LEO folks as well.

To start, where have you worked, what kind of incidents are most common to you (medical, structure fires, wildland, etc)? For me, it was a mix of all of that, but structure and wildland fires were my favorites. Medical, not so much, but there sure was a lot of it.

For LEOs, what kind of work do you do?
 
Not a firefighter, but thanks for your service. Eastern WA has other big issues like wildfires that are seriously scary in their scope and power.
 
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1990-1995: Volunteer firefighter with Thorndike (Maine)
1995-now: Volunteer/Paid Call with Unity (Maine)
1995-now: Paid Fire Prevention Officer (technically Fire and Life Safety Officer) Bangor (Maine)

Unity does not not provide EMS . . . calls vary with a mix of wildland and structure due to our rural nature.

Bangor does provide EMS (three rescues out of three stations) and as you might imagine that is the majority of our calls followed by structure and a smattering of wildland fires which never tend to get very large.
 
Volunteer fire & ems since 1998, became a state Emt in 2001, just expired this past May (and I don't miss it) Past captain, president, training officer of ems.
Fire dept and ems are two separate entities in my area, our coverage area was 68 sq miles, average calls ems - 800 a year, fire - 280. Plus mutual aide calls for other towns.
 
firefighterjake said:
1990-1995: Volunteer firefighter with Thorndike (Maine)
1995-now: Volunteer/Paid Call with Unity (Maine)
1995-now: Paid Fire Prevention Officer (technically Fire and Life Safety Officer) Bangor (Maine)

Unity does not not provide EMS . . . calls vary with a mix of wildland and structure due to our rural nature.

Bangor does provide EMS (three rescues out of three stations) and as you might imagine that is the majority of our calls followed by structure and a smattering of wildland fires which never tend to get very large.
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Don't forget TV Star, Jake!
 
begreen said:
Not a firefighter, but thanks for your service. Eastern WA has other big issues like wildfires that are seriously scary in their scope and power.
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Yeah, I was involved in only a few of the big ones over there. I did have my State "red card" for the federal and state fires, but they usually required a three day commitment minimum and my job didn't allow for many of those. They were very exhausting. We had some pretty nasty wildland fires locally, but most of them we got mopped up within two or three days. Usually quicker.

I once saw a wheat field fire jump over a 6-lane freeway with high winds. I hated wind-driven fires, but over there, they were all too common.
 
kennyp2339 said:
Volunteer fire & ems since 1998, became a state Emt in 2001, just expired this past May (and I don't miss it) Past captain, president, training officer of ems.
Fire dept and ems are two separate entities in my area, our coverage area was 68 sq miles, average calls ems - 800 a year, fire - 280. Plus mutual aide calls for other towns.
Click to expand...

It seems to be very common for EMS to be a majority of calls in local departments. They were not my favorite and I don't really miss them much either, although it was rewarding when you could make a difference. Too many fatalities and too many kids involved, though. I'm a little soft that way.
 
I'm a fireman's daughter .... on it :)
 
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