A Continued Reflection

I know that I posted a 9/11 reflection the other day. Today, on the actual anniversary, seeing the outpouring of remembrance has given me hope. It was interesting to discuss 9/11 with friends and see the postings throughout social media. Memories, photos, and messages; many of which were for people that most of never met but that we wish to honor them.

Images of the towers falling caused heartache, images of the One World Trade Center offer hope. One discussion I had was on the generation that remembers 9/11. I'm 21 years old now, making me nine at the times of the attacks. I remember that day, but my brother would have been seven and I don't believe he entirely remembers. It is interesting to think that people my age and just two years younger will be the last generation with memories of those attacks.

One thing that strikes me is that I always remember how it was such a beautiful day that day. Gorgeous blue skies. That is always very constant in my memory. It was a beautiful day in Pittsburgh, but in New York as well. That clear blue sky so contrasted with the flames, smoke, and dust.

This is something I posted on my personal Facebook page today. Although it overlaps with my previous post, I would like to share it:

"It's so hard to believe its been 12 years. I remember the day so vividly, but I also remember the fear. It didn't seem real. Even now it's difficult to comprehend. In America's darkest hour, our strengths and values were still so evident. In all the loss and destruction, we saw heroism. We saw strength. From the ashes we rose and swore never to forget. We got the bastard responsible too. We were united as one and we became a stronger nation. The heroes of 9/11 emerged from everywhere. We stand strong. We stand together.

All of the death from those attacks is so crazy and horrifying to comprehend. 343 firefighters gone...entire crews. So much was lost. From the deaths of first  and civilians so much potential and goodness was lost. That's why we remember. One day when I have to explain 9/11 to my children, I hope they are living in a safer world.

"Let's roll""

Heroes emerge during our darkest hours. We are strongest when we are tested. Those attacks have proven to be costly. But, as the saying goes, freedom isn't free. And there isn't any price on freedom. It is truly a glorious thing. And I know that the flag still means freedom. We're still free.

I am also going to share a few photos. My university (Robert Morris University, Pennsylvania) has a flag project every year for 9/11. The flags on our front lawn are breathtakingly beautiful, it's a sight to see. I wanted to share a few photos from the lawn. The person wearing the FDNY shirt is me. Today, nothing seemed more appropriate than wearing my FDNY shirt (bought at a fire expo a few years ago) and a hat from my own fire department. 

Keep fire in your life. Stay safe.

Time to Reflect

This Wednesday will be the 12th anniversary of 9/11. For many, including myself, it is hard to believe that twelve years have passed since the attacks. I was an elementary school student when it happened, and I can remember watching the Towers fall on television like it was yesterday. I remember being in terrified. My dad was still fire chief at the time, and for whatever reason, my ten year old mind was convinced that my dad was going to have to go to New York and fight the fires. I think it was 9/11 when I truly realized that firefighters could die doing the job that I had been in awe of my entire life. Growing up, there was no greater hero to me than a firefighter. Images from Ground Zero were horrifying. So much destruction and loss. Seeing fire trucks destroyed like they were on scene was disturbing to me. I am pretty sure that I thought fire trucks were indestructible.

The aftermath was shock, despair, and heartache, but also a will and the strength to go on. I don't know any of the men and women that died in the attacks. But I know 343 FDNY firefighters died responding to the fire, many knowing that when they entered that they would not come out. More firefighters have died of illnesses/injuries related to the World Trade Center attacks, an issue that has been controversial at times in declaring it a line of duty death (LODD).

After all this time, it sometimes surprises me how often I have reflected on these attacks. I know that on Wednesday the news will be running programs remembering and commemorating the lives lost. I can't imagine how much pain the loved ones of the fallen feel. Although obviously the pain would be the most on the anniversary, many Americans only remember the attacks on that date but the families feel it everyday. It was an American loss. I may not have loss any blood family, but my firefighting family lost something that we never thought would happen.

343. Entire crews were gone, just like that. 343.

There were so many questions about it all, wondering what could have been done differently from the response. Would it have changed anything? We'll never know. But we will never forget. Even watching movies and television shows, subtle reminders can be present. A shot of that iconic New York skyline with those two towers standing tall. That simple image will never be recreated in reality. But we have our new reality now and a new normal with the One World Trade Center. One. We are one country and one nation united.

From my point of view, the One World Trade Center is important because it recognizes American strength. We were knocked down but stood back up. And there was no way in hell that we would ever forget.

As a firefighter, I believe that it is not just important but also necessary to recognize the magnitude of their sacrifice. The one thing that I know about firefighters is that we love our job. It doesn't matter if you are paid or volunteer, if you have one year in or twenty. Firefighters love this job. It is the best thing in the world. Best thing I ever did. I can't explain it. It's not an easy job. Really, it is exhausting. But it is just so awesome. And to forget the sacrifices of those who died from the attacks or forget any other brother or sister who died in the line of duty is just wrong. We can never forget. We don't dwell, we got to keep going because those tones are going to go off or that bell will ring and we got to get on the rig. We keep going and keep doing our job and by doing that we remember. We remembered what they loved and what they did. And to be honest, most firefighters would probably kick their crews' asses if they didn't keep going.

We train, we learn, we get better. It will always be a dangerous job. You have to respect that. Not respecting it is the biggest mistake. You watch your back, keep you and your crew safe. When we look at incidents that resulted in injury or death we need to learn from it. We can't change the past. We have to live with it. But we can try and make the future better.

This brotherhood is so strong.

A lot has changed since 9/11. The aftermath of the attacks has led to wars, more losses and pain. But you know what? There's another day I will never forget. I will never forget when it was announced that the son of a bitch bin Laden had been killed. I remember an image of a  handful of FDNY firefighters in their bunker coats, one had his arms raised as the words "BIN LADEN IS DEAD" scrolled across on a screen.

It's going to be okay. I hope that the families and the loved ones of those who died from the attacks and the War on Terror know that they won't be forgotten. It is always going to hurt. Someday, I will have to explain 9/11 to my own children and have those memories still vivid in my mind. But I just pray that my children will never have to experience anything similar.

Take care of each other.

Keep fire in your life. Stay safe.

My Goals for my firefighting career

One of the most important lessons for any firefighter is that training never ends. The day that a firefighter believes he no longer needs to train is the day that a firefighter should walk away.

Although I currently cannot attend training in person as much as I would like, there are other ways to keep up, although naturally these do not replace actually doing it. Just on my tablet where I write this post, I have resources at my fingertips. Mobile applications from firefighting magazines provides up to date content on a variety of topics. YouTube allows the sharing of videos, whether it be training or of past incidents. Of course, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is a way to interact with others and share information. With this blog, I hope to utilize these resources more and expand my knowledge.

My firefighting career may be strictly volunteer, but I can think of no greater honor or privilege than being a firefighter. I'm the lucky one.
Passing my FF1 was awesome. Since I passed that, I'm hoping to become Firefighter II certified in the near future. As well, I would like to obtain Pro-Board certifications in rescue. Eventually, I want to be a fire instructor. Throughout my firefighting career, there have been a few instructors that have had a lasting impact on me. They helped me keep going and succeed when I wanted to give up. I hope to help others like some instructors have helped me.

I know that I have a long way to go. But I am willing to learn and train. One of the best ways to keep myself sharp while I'm at school is working out. Now, I'm a 21 year old female and I'm only 5'2 to begin with. At first, I was hesitant about doing heavy lifting. However, after a couple weeks I was hooked and seeing results. I have found that different types of exercise like Cross fit and yoga all have their benefits to firefighting.

Nothing replaces actually putting the gear on and drilling. I miss it so much when I'm at school. But I've made do. If someone would've told me that I would have passed FFI a week after finishing the finals of my junior year of college, I would have laughed. A lot. But I guess you can do anything you put your mind.

That is the attitude I'm trying to take overall with firefighting. I hope to learn a lot from this blog. I hope to have interactions with my audience too. This will be the last introductory post. Next, I am planning on finding a good topic on an issue facing the fire service today.

Keep fire in your life. Stay safe.

Why Read this Blog?

A good part of my childhood was spent at the firehouse. My dad was chief when I was a kid, and my brothers and I spent countless hours at the fire station. When I was 14 and eligible to join as a junior firefighter, it was an easy decision. I never looked back since. 

I can't explain how lucky I am to be a volunteer firefighter. Living at my college campus has limited some of my training and responses, but that makes me appreciate being a firefighter even more. I hope that this blog will help me learn more as well. Even at school, training never ends. That is the great thing about the Internet though, I have all of these resources to keep up and keep reading and keep learning. That is what I want to do. I want to learn to be the best firefighter I could possibly be. However, my love for the job is evident in my college apartment. Among pictures of my family and friends, there are also firefighter photos from my experiences during the past seven years; some weird little Tonka fire truck I got somewhere along the line has sat on my desk all four years of college. 

I had to complete an honors thesis, I could research any topic. I chose volunteer fire department consolidations. I have never enjoyed writing a paper so much, but I have also never been so proud of a piece of work. In fact, I got the chance to present it at a conference at the PA Capitol Building and it was awarded one of the "Best Papers" at another conference, prompting a publication. It is also scheduled to be published in a firefighter magazine, I cannot wait to find out when! 

I had been considering writing a blog about firefighting for awhile now. When a professor listed a blog as a suggestion for a writing project, it was an easy decision. As an English major, I love writing. I have learned that I love writing about firefighting most. I had previously thought it would be difficult to find topics to write about-what do I know? I've only been involved in the fire service for seven years. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this could be the perfect opportunity to learn. Nothing beats real experience. There is no comparison. But I'm a nerd. There's no question about it. By researching the topics I want to write about, I believe that it will translate into gained knowledge. 

There aren't many things I am looking forward to after college graduation. I am looking forward to be back at my fire company full time once I get settled in. If a career takes me somewhere else, I look forward to joining a volunteer department there. There is so much that I want to do as a firefighter. I spent my summer taking a basic vehicle rescue class, now I want to take more rescue classes. Early in the summer, I passed my Firefighter 1 Pro Board exam. That was a pretty proud moment. It was a reminder that becoming a firefighter is the best thing I ever did.

I want to learn. That is the purpose of this blog. I want to learn, and I hope others will as well. Ideas keep popping into my head and I hope they actually work! There is so much I want to do with firefighting. Of course, a dream job for me would be writing/research firefighting topics. No doubt about it. But there are so many classes I want to take, so many certifications. Someday, I would love to be certified as an Instructor. I'm an English major, and I could never consider teaching English. But I would give anything to feel competent enough to teach firefighting.

I think what will be important for me in the coming months is exploring my weaknesses. I wish I was a better firefighter. But I will make myself a better firefighter. You can't give up. Not many people are lucky to do what they absolutely love. I want to take advantage of it every chance I get. I'm hoping to post in this blog twice a week. If anyone has feedback or topic ideas, I would love to hear them. 

Keep fire in your life. Stay safe.