firefighter-safety-health

How can we be expected to save the lives of the very people we are sworn to protect and serve if we can not save our own?

When asked how he thought we could ever "pull it off", he said .... "With the group of Brothers and Sisters we have assembled here, HOW CAN WE FAIL?"

I mentioned that I had returned to duty and that decision or "step" in my healing process was as huge and difficult as any of the others I've made.

I'm not sure I'd be here today if he hadn't. Rhett, and the process he sat in motion SAVED MY LIFE that day and I will be forever grateful!

It's up to us to bring those alternative options to the front! I'm still lost but you don't have to be. Our Brothers and Sisters don't have to be. Open your eyes! We should NOT be suffering due to an ignorance of Behavioral Health and Wellness.

I can't explain the feelings I've experienced when I've walked out of an emergency scene and spotted Father Sandy standing there.

I'm emotionally exhausted and ashamed to admit it. I'm ashamed because I've meet people here who have been through so much more yet they continue to survive. They continue to rebuild and push forward with a determination and strength that's humbling to witness.

I'll be meeting up with NFE President Shane Parkins and we will be delivering some much needed relief to our Brother and Sister firefighters down there who were affected by the EF5 Tornado that tore through their Moore back on May 20, 2013.

Everyday I work I meet people "worth" dying for. It's the people in my territory .... the people I'm sworn to protect. It's also the Brothers and Sisters I work with ... for me, they're all "worth it" but I don't think about it that way.

Added to the reports from the U.S Fire Administration, these 19 Line Of Duty Deaths bring the total for 2013 to 62.