A message/thank you to my Brothers and Sisters in the fire service... I HATED the Massachusetts Fire Academy. The instructors yelled, they went off when we screwed up, they made us climb up and down ladders until it made our heads spin. They made us sit in a classroom the other half of the time and learn the same shit we just went over outside. You got demerits for screwing up on something you saw ONCE. There were instructors that when you saw their vehicle in the parking lot you knew it was going to be a shitty morning of PT. Those guys seemed like they got pleasure out of making recruits do burpees, air squats, and 6 story tower runs. You know you dont have a name when youre at the academy? Youre given a number the very first day and THAT is your name for the 12 weeks there. You cant take the time to learn my first OR last name? Nope. A fire recruit cant make rhyme or reason of how they do things at the MFA while youre there. But looking back I see why now... They yelled because I was the third recruit to make that mistake and they needed more than one person to hear . They gave me demerits because they knew if I screwed up like that in a real fire that I could get myself or someone else hurt and they NEEDED me to remember that mistake. They made us do burpees and air squats because they knew that all of your physical power comes from youre legs and core and that might come in handy dragging a heavy person out of a building. They made us run up that god forsaken tower to improve our cardiovascular health so that maybe we could get a few more minutes out of an air bottle. They gave me a number because there just isnt enough time to teach me all the things they had to AND learn 72 recruits names. They made us do the same shit again and again until it became seared into our brains and they did so because they knew complacency is the key to injury. It was all to prepare for the variables that you cant see coming. There are variables that you simply cant prepare for and the loss of our brothers in Boston proves that. The phrase I have heard more than any other since starting this job is The day you know it all is the day you retire kid, and it really is the truth. Not only am I fortunate to have trained where I did but I am fortunate to work in a firehouse along side guys that know their job like the back of their hand and whom are adamant that I be the same way as them. I still have a thousand things to learn but to the men and women that have given me the foundation to build upon I say THANK YOU... If you happened to make it through this blog/novel then I ask this of you. Please dont thank, bless me, or say any crap about firefighters being heroes. I did not take the time to post this for anyones gratitude or thanks. I posted this to give my fellow First responders a digital knuckle bump(with or without the explosion after said knuckle bump). Stay safe fellas.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:16:47 +0000
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