#volunteer firefighter

[mashupofmylife]

I've been in fire/EMS for almost 17 years (since 2007!)

I got my first state EMT card in 2009

I applied for medic class in 2011, but dropped out before it started because it conflicted with my college classes

I finally started medic class in 2021

I officially got my NREMT-P in 2022

Today, 3.5 years after medic class started, I finally got cut loose to operate independently as a paramedic. Right now, there's only one other volunteer medic in our whole jurisdiction.

It took way longer than expected. There were barriers and heartaches that I never could have imagined. I'm not working in the same system that I was when I started medic class anymore.

All the time, people ask me why the heck I still do this. I don't need to. I'm not trying to get hired as a firefighter/medic anywhere. I definitely didn't need to use vacation days to work a 24-48 shift schedule for the past several months, on top of my full time job where I'm a physician. I'm definitely not the best firefighter or medic out there, but I love this. I love the work, I love the people, I love the community. There are some other big fire department goals that are sitting on the horizon for me, but right now I am so excited that I've finally achieved one of the biggest goals that I set for myself when I first started volunteering. There aren't too many goals from that time left that I haven't yet achieved (and fewer that I still want to!).

[vfdinthewild]

"Blueberry grower, volunteer firefighter, dairy farmer."

-via a sponsored instagram ad

[saludos-desde-california]

Team BLAZE – California State Guard

[autismonfire]

Throwback to an incredible milestone in 2016! I was honored to be featured in a FireRescue1 article, sharing my journey as an honorary firefighter and my passion for spreading autism awareness.

It’s moments like these that remind me why I started Autism On Fire—to inspire and educate others through personal stories. A huge thanks to Fire Rescue 1 for highlighting my story and helping bring more awareness to the intersection of autism and the fire service community.

Check out the article and relive this special moment with me!

[brucestambaughsblog]

There's Great Joy in Decluttering

The cowboy hat. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh My wife and I have been cleaning the house item by item for longer than I can remember. And we’ve been married for 53 years. She has always been ahead of me in the disposing game. I’m finally beginning to understand the joy of discarding items I have clung to for far too long. Gone is the brown felt stetson cowboy hat my daughter’s family gave me as a…

[hearthfire-heartfire]

no one on the english-speaking side of this site gives a fuck about japanese people except as paper dolls in their fantasies. y’all don’t notice or care when we’re targets of violence in america STILL and you don’t notice when our history on this continent is being erased because you can’t fucking recognize it in the first place! even as we relive it.

i’m tired of the gentrification. i’m tired of vandalism, arson, and censorship. i’m tired of arguing about the atrocity of the a-bombs and the incarceration and model minority shit. i’m tired of people using my heritage as an escape, both in imagination and in physical reality. i’m tired of people’s fake familiarity that leads them to correct my grandmother’s accent coming out of my mouth.

if you don’t show up for nikkei where you live, if you don’t even know how, you don’t belong anywhere near japanese culture.

[botanyshitposts]

since the beginning of this blog people have asked me. how do i get a job in botany. and i am here to say i do not know because the only jobs i have ever had have been in agriculture, the section of applied botany other than natural resources that makes stable 9 to 5 money long term. my career path is more winding than i wanted it to be...... my motivations complex..... i want to go to plant grad school some day for plant evolutionary biology my deepest most heartfelt love but at the same time manual labor entices me with a deep urgency right now at age 25.... ive been hitting the gym for the past 2 months daily for the arduous pack test because i NEED to toil or i WILL perish and i also find helping people rewarding and these things come in direct conflict with what i thought was a pretty straightforward academia storyline. i can carry 20 pounds 3 miles in under 45 minutes now which doesnt sound like a lot but in my defense i didnt play sports in high school. just got my healthcare CPR certification and im starting EMT classes soon tbh

[spearxwind]

Hi Alex! Are you still volunteering for the Valencia catastrophe? How's it going?

It's going bad. We are going back on wednesday again to help some more because we havent been able to go back for a couple days

There is barely any help at all from the authorities, most of the work is being done by volunteers, farmers with their heavier equipment, and a few emergency vehicles they could spare to pump water out of the flooded areas.

A couple days ago they barred the entrance to affected areas to volunteer workers so that the president of the province, the president of the country, and the king could go in there and take some pictures and say a speech. But they only made it three streets in before being shooed out with calls of "MURDERER" and people throwing mud, eggs, and sticks at them. (All three of these people have power to override bureocracy and send help to the people, but they are all refusing for some reason. despite the catastrophe being the size it is. Theres nuance to the situation but the response from the people is very warranted)

People are only receiving supplies and aid from volunteers so if it wasnt for the thousands of people volunteering they wouldnt have anything.

On a brighter note, my friends houses are pretty clean, and some people are now able to consider getting new furniture, but it's still gonna be a while until everything has been cleaned up.

[robbiereyesangr114]

@cicada-candy @wazzappp @belushiii I know this may be an odd request, but would any of you be up to draw Robbie as a firefighter? I recently started volunteering at a local fire company and after thinking about it for awhile it'd work good as a cover job for him (would give him a better understanding of how fire works, explain him being on scene during fires and crimes, would help explain to Gabe or a S/O his late nights out in stories, etc). If not, I totally understand, but I figured it'd be worth a shot asking

[mashupofmylife]

Finally. I finished my 10 in a row without stuffing anything up too bad. Now I just need to pass the written and practical and have a meeting with the medical director and I will finally be able to ride as a paramedic without supervision. Only took 3.5 years to finish the "accelerated" process.

[flyboytracy]

[grumpy-mare]

Sunrise at the beach for our first visit back to Muriwai after the February cyclone devastated the area taking peoples lives and houses. The main road has only just reopened, seeing the land slips and damage in person is unreal and the continuous rain and storms we have had since then have only made things worse. What a nightmare of a year

[minisugakoobies]

Okay but name 7 idols that would be in your ideal firehouse

LMAO are they dating an entire firehouse?! That's amazing 🤣🤣

See if you can figure out the common thread here:

Mingyu

Choi Minho

Mingi + Yunho (DO NOT SEPARATE)

Changbin

Jungkook

Jeno

BM

Hope they like my cookies 🍪

[choppywaterswiftboats]

It is crazy living in another state during the L.A. fires because your childhood neighborhood is undergoing a Pompeii extinction event and you’re surrounded by people who don’t really care. I mean they know it’s horrible but you can’t even convey the sheer amount of people you’re scared for, the places that are lost, all the memories you had there before they’re bored. And inside you’re screaming DONT YOU UNDERSTAND!?!?!?!!!!! MY HOME IS GONE!!!!!!!!

[larryshapiro]

Pierce Lance pumper - Clinton VFD, Prince George's County, MD for #TBT