First week on the job; vacant house fire, fairly common I was to find out, arson for profit likely, we had it under control in ten minutes. Once the smoke had cleared, I took the mask off my face. Everybody else already had, felt kind of silly wearing mine. Felt even sillier when I realized […]

Thank you Scott Ellis! The firefighters I worked with and write about are among the kindest, fiercest, accepting and dignified people I have ever met, this story from Scott makes me proud to part of the fire service . . . Several years ago my wife Trish and I had a nice weekend roaming Connecticut’s […]

A new guy had a fat chance of grabbing overtime on the 4th of July, most of the spots were taken by the senior firefighters. Provdence used to man two task forces then, each consisting of two engine  companies and a ladder truck. Ten or twelve men, one engine to pump, one to feed and […]

A new guy had a fat chance of grabbing overtime on the 4th of July, most of the spots were taken by the senior firefighters. Provdence used to man two task forces then, each consisting of two engine companies and a ladder truck. Ten or twelve men, one engine to pump, one to feed and […]

  You’re a firefighter and let’s face it, you’re a little different from the rest. As the years go by, and the experiences pile up, parts of “the job” begin to define who you are. It doesn’t happen all at once, and most of the time you can’t even notice it. Your kids, not knowing […]

So I was thinking about the Providence Firefighter who prepared a speech for the Black Lives Matter rally, and told his story for the local news. Then I was thinking about my former union’s president releasing a press release in support of that firefighter. Having stared down the barrel of a police officer’s gun not […]

Memorial Day I often think of the people whose lives ended violently, in a foreign land, far away from their friends and families. I imagine their last moments, maybe spent looking into the eyes of a person they may have known only a little while, but whose bond held them tighter than the blood shared […]

0800 I miss getting to work an hour early, picking up the paper from the ramp, the apparatus floor ghostly quiet, entering the boot room, smoke mixed with sweat and leather, gear lined up, squared away, waiting for bodies to fill it. I miss signing the accountability sheet, seeing who was already there, climbing the […]

Night shift started at 1800 hrs. but most of us came in an hour early. The ones who didn’t came in even earlier. Didn’t want to miss anything. After turning in the pack, relieving your man and telling your officer, “I’m with you,” we would gather in the day room and talk. It never took […]

By the time you are finished with your career in the fire service, everything about you will have changed. You will be old. You will be experienced. You will be confident, patient, and wise. Or, you will be old, disillusioned, angry, and bitter. The people with whom you started your career won’t be the same, […]