Personal Narrative: Firefighters

On January 3, 2009 around 11:00 PM the phone rang with what I thought was exciting news about my newly born sister, Tristyn ,but quickly turned to horror. I could heard the fright in my dad's shaken voice as he told me Tristyn had to go into immediate heart surgery because she needed a stent to open up the blood flow to her heart. Being eight at the time the only thing I could think about was how she might not make it. My dad said to me “look after your sisters, and tell them nothing about the surgery”, which terrified me more than before. I knew I needed to be brave and take charge of the situations for my sisters. Bravery is something I learned for a situation I never knew would happen.

May 30, 2015 it was a stormy night with thunder and lightning flashing all over my town. I had been a volunteer firefighter for the the past 4 year and had just completed my firefighter one course and I had a strange feeling that my fire department was going to get a call soon. At around 10:00 P.M. the call went out for Pawlet, West Pawlet, Rupert, Grandville and Dorset, (which was my department) for a working structure fire at Mach’s General Store caused by a lightning strike. My father was also on the departemt however he was captain and I was just a firefighter. I would always ride down to the station with him becuase it was easier for me. This was my first fire with my Firefighter one so I was pretty excited to go and I

I woke up one cold, fall morning in September. I went and checked on my kids. They have been kind of sad since my wife, which was their mother as well, passed away in a car accident. They were still asleep, I woke them up one by one, to begin with I woke up Carman, then Christy, and finally, Jessie. Next, I woke up Jessie last because he is the only boy, and his room is the farthest from mine. Today being a firefighter would be hard because there is training. Then, my kids off at school and headed off to work with my trusty dog, Rover, but not before I got something to eat.

I was born into a First Responder family, both my parents were certified in different aspects of the job. My father was and still is an EMT, Paramedic, and the Fire Chief of our local fire department, and my mother was an EMT for ten years. Being born into this lifestyle I didn’t really view it any differently than other families. Around the age of 5, when 9/11 occurred, this changed. My father at the time worked for a company that contracted fire apparatus to the NYPD for 9/11 relief. Due to this he was called out to New York during 9/11 and our whole family relocated there for a few months. This was the first time in which I realized that my parents job is quite different from many others. Instead of running away from New York like many families

Put the gun down! Put the gun down! Pow Pow Pow. The gun shots cracked into the air as loud as thunder. One after another. We live day by day not knowing our end. In the blink of an eye our lives can be changed forever. Its life, yet even in knowing this we never expect tragedy to find us. We never expect it to affect our lives and the people we know and love. I’m going to share with you the day tragedy found my life.

In 2012 I joined the Harlan Fire Department continuing my long standing commitment to my community as a volunteer firefighter EMT.  As a member of the fire department I respond to many different types of calls.  Some of these calls include but are not limited to wildland fires, structure fires, car accidents, and medical calls.  As an active member I was qualified as a Firefighter/EMT, confined space rescue technician, and technical rope rescue technician.   We have a wide range of equipment ranging from type one to type six engines, a heavy rescue truck, UTV, and a 75' ladder truck. With the equipment and training I was a part of a successful grain bin rescue saving the life of one local farmer and part of a successful rescue of a trapped

Henry had a lot of courage going into the first battle. He didn't truly know what war was like so that might be why he wasn't scared. The first battle was not very brutal and Henry stayed calm. His friends were calm as well and Henry didn't want to seem like a coward if he ran away. Henry got some respect for staying during the first battle. There was a different story however for the second battle.

Six Firefighters were killed while fighting a fire in a supermarket in August 1978. Investigators claimed that the fire was caused by arson, and after receiving a tip, arrested Eric Jackson-Knight, even though they claimed there were two additional suspects. The twenty-one year old Jackson-Knight confessed to police about setting a separate fire two years earlier and that no one had been hurt in that arson. At trial, an inmate claimed that Jackson-Knight had admitted to him that the supermarket fire was indeed started by Jackson-Knight. Jackson-Knight was then convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The families of the deceased firefighters were preparing civil suits when they discovered not just evidence from the initial investigation

As a first responder who arrived to respond to a small fire downtown. Upon my arrival, I see 20 people with foam-like substance emanating from their mouth. The first thing I would do is to make sure that I’m secured with the proper equipment and using my proper training that I’ve learned as a first responder before entering a contaminated area and before approaching the people who have already being exposed to hazardous material. Also, you want to make sure you test what type of substance it is to determine how dangerous it is before approaching the people. However, it’s human nature to be more cautious on how you going to approach the situation. It’s very important as a first responder to ask questions and have the full understanding of what

One cloudy evening in 1995, there was a family that awaits at Disney World for a week off so they can spend more time with each other. Jonnie is a fearsome firefighter that loves his family dearly. Susan, Jonnie's sweet wife, is always with Emily Jonnie's and Susan's beautiful daughter.

This was my second year in the law enforcement program and I had the feeling that this was definitely something that I really wanted to do. My first year in law enforcement definitely caught my attention and I really had a desire to continue down the law enforcement path. I really looked forward to doing my job shadows. I knew that I would be able to go to a lot of different police agencies, different county's courthouse and even get to go to the different county’s jails which would really help me decide what I really wanted to do in law enforcement.

On 04/25/2017, I, Dillon Dickerson, badge #155, was working as a Patrol Officer for the Wichita State University Police Department, in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas. At approximately 2350 hours WSU dispatch advised there was a female at lot 25 Emergency Phone who reported an altercation with her boyfriend. Dispatch advised there were no injuries to her or weapons involved. Dispatch also advised the boyfriend would be driving a newer white Acura and that he is a black male 5’9” thin build possibly wearing a black hoodie.

It was a Saturday morning and I woke up earlier than usual. It was 8:00 and I normally wake up

Being a volunteer firefighter was something I was born into, it is present through generations of my family. I started helping at our volunteer company, Lake Meade Fire and Rescue, when I was five years old. Of course I was not fighting any fires at that age, but I did help around the station with stocking the soda fridge, sorting the laundry, and other simple tasks. As I grew older, I began to do more around the station, helping with fundraisers, washing the trucks, and starting to learn a little more about the actual firefighting that takes place. Eventually after some training, I was able to run calls. I have responded on calls including rolled vehicle accidents, snow collapsed roofs, hemorrhaging patients, house fires, hay fires, and

The single greatest event that to this point that has shaped my life is clearly September 11, 2001. Not, moment in a given day do not think about that day and how it changed me as a person.