Tag Archives: Paul Combs

We had several good discussions with valid points made by most everyone in the room. It didn't take long before the word "Millennials" was thrown out. Now all of us "old guys" know that the "Millennials" are, have been and will continue to be the damnation and ruin of the Fire Service.... right?

Firefighters all across this Country do EXTRAORDINARY things on a daily basis but we are NOT "supermen". Sometimes we may feel that way about ourselves and are often times viewed that way by the public but, I would suggest that if we wore that big, red and gold, "S" on our shirts it would mean so much more than "Super".

As firefighters, we see and do things on a daily basis that most people never will (and shouldn't have to). We see and do these things without hesitation yet there was no way we could have known or been prepared for the life we were about to devote and expose ourselves to.

And here's the thing ... you can only "step up" so much .... especially when there's no (or little) forward movement or improvement. You can only beat your head against the wall for so long before you eventually develop a headache.

If we can not help ourselves.... our own members... the Brothers and Sisters riding beside us ... how can we be expected to help those we are sworn to serve and protect? Think about that for a minute.

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

I'll never get to make "those" calls again ... not to Jackson and it's killing me. This grief ... the depression.... it keeps knocking me down but I won't let it keep me here.