Are You Willing to Go All-In?

(Photo credit: Chris Ayer)

When was the last time that you gave a little kid a tour of your engine? When was the last time you threw lights and sirens or blew the air horn for a kid pumping his arm emphatically?

It seems so trivial or easily overlooked. I am coming off a 21-day roll in Northern California on a pre-position as support for the Oak Fire. I was in a small town that was so happy to have us there for fear of losing their community to a fire. I witnessed an event that is worthy of this blog.

We have a new hire; he has twice as many years as me and is a qualified engine boss. He was riding in the back seat only because he is new to our agency. We came upon a mother with two little boys; a hat had been thrown in the river over a bridge. (Younger brothers can be such a pain.) The reaction of our new hire was surprising, “Hold my phone!” I watched as he went trudging into the water, waist deep, to retrieve that hat. Comically he did fall all the way in; he claimed there was algae on the rocks. The hat was returned and the look of surprise and excitement from mom and kids was heartwarming. "We just got a future firefighter” was the consensus.

We have an opportunity to grow our profession for future generations. But are we living up to that? Are we making our profession, whatever it is, a little better? Are we collectively trudging into waist-deep water doing the little things to build that brand/bond us with the community, with people?

In our region there has been constant hiring and always talk of not enough firefighters. But looking forward are we showing people how amazing our job can be and how much of an impact we have?

When was the last time you fell in a creek to help somebody else?

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Christopher Ayer is a Firefighter/ Firefighter Type 1/ Paramedic for Corona De Tucson Fire Department in Tucson Arizona. The expressions and views are those of the author.