It didn't take much time to figure out where I wanted to look next. Not long after being turned away from the idea of serving in the U.S. Military, I took my attention and put it elsewhere.
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I remember sitting on our mismatched couch in my parents house, listening to the TV. I was home for summer break, which had started a few weeks ago. I wasn't really paying attention until something caught my eye. It was some type of advertisement, advocating for firefighters. That is when it hit me, you might say, like a brick. I remember the idea flooding my brain, the stupidity I felt for not having thought of it before.
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Just like that I knew that I needed to find out more, I remember swarming YouTube for any videos related to firefighting, from live footage to informational videos. I even went as far as to look at recruitment videos directly off of some of my local fire department webpages. I started with the one Fire and EMS company that was seven minutes away, went to another Fire Department page, for a company twelve minutes away, and then onto the next Fire company about seven minutes away as well. I watched videos that pertained to the realness of PTSD among firefighters and learned that "brotherhood" as they call it is what is referred to as a firefighters saving grace. I went about this informational excursion for about a week. I stayed in contact with Evan, who encouraged me that it would be a great idea to join a local fire department as a volunteer.
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It was coming up on my 20th birthday.
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Thats when I decided it was time, I knew I wasn't ready, but if I waited for that time to come, I felt that it may never come. I logged onto my laptop and landed on the Fire company that was twelve minutes away, I went into the membership page and sent an email to the chief. I stated my interest and asked a few questions. Then I proceed to one of the other companies websites where I did the same. I decided in that moment that I would become a firefighter at the first place that would except me.
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I considered using the real names of the departments but for privacy reasons and personal, I have decided to leave it a mystery.
JE LEEST
Probational Opposition
AvontuurIt's going to hurt, you are going to bleed, but you are never going to stop chasing your dreams. - This is the story of my journey in the Fire service, all of the writing is based on true events that have happened in the span of my servitude. - My n...
