Tag Archives: NYC

Maybe my "value" can be found in being a firefighter? In being on the job and willing to help others ... to die if need be for complete strangers. IS there "value" in what we do? Who's and how much? How do you measure it?

What if he hadn't picked me? Was this his last good meal? Where is he now? This man is someone's son. He may even be someone's father, brother etc. How many people have I neglected to help throughout my life? As a Firefighter, isn't that what I'm supposed to do... help others? Is that not what I "signed up" for? So many thoughts clouded my mind.

Now, they have to learn the details. The details of every aspect of the job ... an ever changing job at that. They have to build upon the foundation gained in Recruit school. They have to learn to carry the dedication and enthusiasm they maintained while in Recruit School throughout an entire career.

SPECIAL THANKS to Seal Team 6 for a job well done. I only wish that his death could have been much slower and painful. The thousands that he murdered and the many more he left behind suffered. He should have too.

A photographer captured and unbelievable shot of James, at attention, hand on the bell, a tear on his cheek and the American flag in the foreground. I can't describe the emotion I felt seeing the photo ... or the emotion it captured.

I'm not sure what I've done to deserve the life I've been given this past year but I am truly THANKFUL. Together, Rhett and I have made the journey of a lifetime in just a few short years. I can only imagine what 2012 will bring us.

We don't do it for the honor or glory. We damn sure don't do it for the pay. We do it because we're fireman .. it's what we know ..what we do. BROTHERHOOD, HONOR, PRIDE, TRADITION and RESPECT .

It's the hardest thing I've ever done yet somewhere deep down, somewhere deep down in your soul and out of that stairwell, you find the strength the keep climbing. It transforms you. I was in that stairwell climbing but I was also somewhere far away. Sweating, out of breath and burning with pain yet at peace.

Our strategies and tactics must change and adapt to the environments in which we are placed. I'm not so sure that our training methods and text books shouldn't be changed as well. I mean we may as well be teaching single firefighter techniques right? Why teach and drill into a rookies head the "team concept" when in reality, they are gonna end up on the nozzle or searching alone?

Rhett, Zach Green and I have just returned from a trip up to New York City. Much like most of the journeys Rhett and I embark on ( ie; 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs, NFFF Memorial Weekends, etc), this trip was life altering. I find myself back home and even on duty today but so far from the person who left Roanoke a mere 5 days ago.