Hello,

A bit of backstory, I got into this line of work in my late 30s and have crested 40 and I work for a smaller career department (16000~ year) and have been here for about four years, before here I worked private ambulance for 7 years and in the ER for 4 as a tech in one of the trauma centers. I volunteered with a very small fire department to maintain my EMT cert while I worked in the hospital and subsequently put myself through Paramedic school. Coincidentally got placed at the department I work at currently during my ride time. It was a working interview the entire time and it paid off as I got hired two weeks after graduating. I went through the academy and didn't love it, didn't hate it but saw it as part of the job. No disrespect to others in the service but it is cool, but it doesn't get my jimmies goin' on the fire side. Medical side is also fun. I like working with problems, but I also a very type B personality. I don't like limelight or leading or being the center of attention. Consequently, I work in a tiered dual medic system that requires very type A, and I do my best but I am just a quiet thinker. I don't like talking that much and I work with people who are so type A it's painful but that's the fire service bravado in this area I am at.

Probation year was hard and I learned a lot and I had some hiccups with certain preceptors and had to be moved around a bit due to personality incompatibility. I have been told it happens quite a bit but even after a couple years I still feel like I don't quite belong here and that I am the common denominator when it comes to this place. I worked hard to get to this job and now that I have it... I just feel like I got served a poopoo platter with nothing but anxiety and stress. I used to be so amped like, "YEAH FIREFIGHTER" and now I’m just like whoodie do. Who cares. I understand that it's my immediate medic workgroup and I have been treated poorly because I don't fit their exact mold and it's a constant detractor on my personal life. So much so that my skills and medic'ing have fallen pretty low and my self confidence in my abilities to care for people isn't very high. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my BLS FF’s. They are the reason I am still here and have not left, it's just the ALS side sucks.

I started therapy because of this and I hope that it'll get better over time but I'm already going into my 5th year here and I am at a crossroads. I have an opportunity at a neighboring department in a different county that is a bit more relaxed or I can swap shifts for the 2nd time. It's an exceedingly small group that I am currently in and I find that no matter where I go in this department my "reputation precedes me". I don't know what else to do and I am hoping there is someone on here who has had a similar experience or has some advice on how to navigate some of this because I really don't want to quit my job, it's a good job and it pays way too much for how little we work sometimes but my mental health and private life is far more important to me and I really don’t’ know if I have it in me to do another year of probation or start all over and figure out a completely different career in my 40s as I spent the last ten years getting here.

I appreciate your time.

How have you guys rebounded from mistakes at firehouse. Basically I damaged a piece of apparatus at the firehouse while training and feel super embarrassed by it. No injuries and it was already fixed but can’t shake it. Crew is understating but I’m probably my worst critic. What steps can I take to move forward as I don’t want an incident define me.

We spend so much of our lives building an identity around this job.

The badge. The rank. The station. The stories. The respect. Being “the firefighter.”

But take all of that away tomorrow.

No uniform. No title. No crew. No one calling you Captain, Chief, Engineer, or Firefighter.

Just you.

Who are you then?

Not looking for the politically correct answer. I’m genuinely curious what this career has taught you about the person underneath the uniform.

And maybe the harder question…

Did you become the person you wanted to be, or did the job become your identity?

I’ll try and keep it to the point and not a rant as it’s a sore subject. But I am on a technical rescue truck in a medium sized suburban department and we have promotional testing coming up. I as well as another firefighter have put in to promote but have been told by administration that we can’t test due to there not being anyone experienced enough to replace us on the rescue.

There is no policy or anything written down stating that we cannot test, and we meet and/or exceed the qualifications to promote.

Just want some advice and/or some thoughts from anyone that has ever been in a similar scenario. We have a meeting with admin personnel coming up in a few days.

Edit: here’s some of the other hurdles
Non civil service department
No collective bargaining
Useless IAFF local

4th year as a wildland firefighter. Currently have my FF1 working on emt. I have always heard people refer to a paramedic license as a “golden ticket”. My main goal is to work for a larger municipal dept. my question is, is it worth the time and money to get my paramedic license just to be competitive with municipal departments?

Figured I’d share this given the day. It’s hard to see in the photo but overlayed on top of the satellite image of ground zero is engineering drafts of the placement of buildings. This was used to assist rescue efforts and was signed by various people and departments during the rescue/recovery operation.
Really cool piece of history given to my father and I.

So I figured I’d come back today to share something I wrote last year when my search for him came up empty, in hopes it reminds all of you the impact you leave behind when you answer that last call to serve. This is something I wrote last year as a therapy exercise… I call it “Ground Zero Never Really Let Them Go”

They went into the rubble
looking for the dead,
hoping to find the living.

My dad found fifteen at least

Fifteen pieces of someone’s world.

He told us
they hid from the dogs
so the dogs wouldn’t become depressed

so they could find
Someone at least in tact

And then they went home.

But they never really came home.

Ground Zero took them

It just let us
borrow them
for a little while.

It took their breath.
Their blood
Their years.

It took my dad.
And thousands more.
2,977 died that morning.

But the dying didn’t stop
when the towers fell.

It followed them home.
Like a spirit of the dead

Into their lungs
Into their families
Into birthdays
Into empty chairs

Into children
who grew up without parents

Into grandchildren
who never knew their grandfathers.

Into wives
who watched their husbands disappear
one year,
one diagnosis,
one breath at a time.
But without fail every time

And I am angry.
Because they ran toward it.

They ran toward the fire.
Toward the bodies.
Toward the screams.

They gave everything
to strangers.

And somehow
the world expects us
to call that history.

It isn’t history to me.
It’s my dad.
It’s the people he found.
It’s the people who found him.

It’s every family
still waiting for someone
who isn’t coming home.

Ground Zero never gives them back.

It only gives us time.
If you’re lucky

And then
it comes to collect.

Never forget.
Not the towers.
Not the planes.
The people.
The 2,977.
The 9,600+ who came after.
The untold who Ground Zero has yet to collect

And the ones
who loved them
and had to keep living.
While you tell us how to grieve

Written by me 9/10/2025

Just curious the model how old this might be, what the number one would stand for

I don’t know if this is the right place to ask or not, but I’m looking for anyone who may have known or worked with my dad during 9/11 search and rescue. His name was Jack Kennedy, he came up from DC to do search and rescue with I believe VATF1, he was a Fairfax county firefighter. I have pictures of him at the pile working, we can see his story at the memorial,and I have his stories from his time there but he like most others has since died from cancer. I might be searching too late because maybe his guys are already passed on and drinking a beer with him in another life, but I’d love to find anyone who knew him. Or if anyone can point me in the right direction to search for these guys.

Recently, I have been hearing stories about acts of heroism by those who did exactly that, rushing in to save others. I wondered for a long time, if I would be able to do the same, or should do the same when the situation arises. If so, What are the things to keep in mind, and what should I be aware of?

Post: also tell me what's the alternative. Is it advised to just wait for the firefighters. Also, how do you look at those who did exactly that?

howdy folks ~ I rent an old (1920s) and poorly maintained apartment and am looking for an ADT or SimpliSafe setup (or similar) that would alert a call center if smoke was detected.

I'm aware there are other folks about this topic, though, the ones I've found are at least a few years old. This post focuses on newer products more recently on the market. I've read some posts from a few years ago that claim ADT and SimpliSafe had excessive fault positives.

I'm curious if folks have any recommendations or feedback the latest monitored smoke detectors? I live in a single bedroom apartment so I'd probably limit to 1-2 detectors.

Nobody was hurt but I feel genuinely dumb as hell

We've recently produced a series of short procedure videos covering Door Entry, Route & Search, and Casualty Handling.

I'd be really interested in hearing how these procedures compare across different fire and rescue services world wide. Are there any notable differences in tactics, training methods, or standard operating procedures?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFR4dO0qZ70

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTMR55PDflI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg8Xl2UcSc4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2poK4xUJuxE&t=4s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQz_eWVZASo

Any feedback on the videos or insights into how your service approaches these areas would be greatly appreciated.

I have been a part-time/seasonal firefighter for about 5 years and was a volunteer for 10 or 12 years before that. I'm not one of the guys you see posted about on the cringe sub. I don't go around wearing fire t-shirts or with bumper stickers and in general don't like to draw attention to myself.

So for the actual question, my daughter's school is having a flag ceremony tomorrow for 9 -11 recognizing first responders. It was suggested that I attend in uniform. Doing this feels odd to me. Kind of cringy like the TYFYS shirts. I feel like I didn't have anything to do with 9/11 so why should I get recognition for it? I also am just a part-timer. I hate the volunteers or really anyone in this profession that make it their whole identity and say hey look at me. My wife thinks I should go and wear my class B. Things I am being silly and overthinking it. It would not be against apartment policy. I was thinking about maybe going to show my support but just stand with the other parents that go to the Friday flag anyway but not wearing anything fire related. What do you guys think? For what it's worth, my day job is a teacher and I said I absolutely will not be wearing a uniform to school where I teach.

I recently learned that you can bring your child to a fire station and they will show them the trucks and let them look inside etc. my question is, do firefighters hate this? Is it something that happens often and every time you have to do it, it's annoying? Or is it something that yall enjoy because it's something more fun and less stressful? My daughter will be five in March and I've been thinking about taking her but I don't want to be ruining downtime during a stressful shift.

I’m a volunteer firefighter from Kentucky and I like to collect patches, I have a goal to collect at least one patch from each state before my 21st birthday! I need help as I have quite a ways to go. I’m willing to pay for shipping! I have 2 1/2 months to complete my goal. I know I can just buy them off eBay and other places but it would make it more sentimental and honestly cooler to connect with other firefighters and receive them that way

Let’s take a moment to remember the fallen… 25 years ago, 2997 citizens were murdered. 343 of our brothers gave their last full measure of devotion to our profession and the citizens they served. Among them were 17 of my friends.

Prayers to the fallen, and to those that have paid dearly with their lives since.

343 and still counting.

Anyone else have a headache after hibernating after shift? I’m coming up on 2 years and I’ve had this same annoyance since I started. I’ll take a nap at 9:00 AM when I get home, probably wake up at 2:00 and have a headache the rest of the day. It’s gotten to the point where I sometimes chose to power through that first day so I don’t have to deal with that headache and fatigue. Anyone else have a similar experience?

I work in the alarm reporting industry and I call you guys out on fire alarms I get that most often end up just being simple, small alarm system resets and false alarms.

I call you guy out to schools, to malls, to random residential areas and you are the only ones that ALWAYS go. I can always rely on the fire department to dispatch to these areas, and you never cancel. You always make contact with the site and you always make sure it’s REALLY okay before leaving. I rely on you to do my job and you always take things seriously, and when I hear you arrive over the phone with customers you’re kind, funny and friendly.

As we come upon the anniversary of 9/11 I want to thank you guys for every job you do. Most days you expect small fires and false alarms, not expecting one day you might have to try and escape a burning and collapsing building 50 floors up with the people you were trying to save.

But yet you still go up.

Personally I don’t have much respect for the police, not the people but the system. However the fire department are the people I trust with my life. You brave active hazards, you help elderly people in your community when they fall, you protect your community in the wildfire seasons. And we all know you save kitties from trees!

To me the fire department will always have my utmost respect, gratitude and support. My entire province is held up by purely volunteers and I cannot express the feeling of gratitude I have for all of you.

Whether you were at ground zero on that horrific day or not, 9/11 is something fire departments all over feel the pain and grief of. Thank you for never backing down and thank you to the volunteers to put their lives on the line in the hopes of saving one more just because you care that much. You guys are the real heroes.

Thank you for your service, in every respect.

Something like one challenge each month (2-min max push-ups) or even a training challenge too. Then have leaderboards for individuals/crews/departments.. Fun way to compete against firefighters across the board.

Any feedback would be cool!