Message from a Volunteer Firefighter

Imagine being part of something that can transcend personal boundaries and empower you to make a greater impact in your community. Something that allows you to be so much bigger than yourself, providing you with experiences that are more rewarding than you can imagine.

This opportunity is practically everywhere, and you don't have to go far to find it. In most towns across America, look no further than that seemingly quiet little building down the street. The volunteer fire department. A hidden jewel of immense value to every community.

Most people believe all firefighters are paid, but they are not. Throughout the United States, not just in rural areas, but in many of today's busy, overpopulated, towns and suburbs, sixty-nine percent of all firefighters are volunteers.

I'm one of them.

I've been a volunteer firefighter for most of my life, and honestly, I can't imagine my life without it. When you've been part of an organization like that for so long, it becomes part of who you are. You find a sense of purpose that is hard to put into words. Over the years, I've experienced both the unimaginable, and the amazing, with all the adventure, drama, excitement, compassion, and heartbreak, of anything you'd see in the movies.

There are times when riding on a fire engine, responding to a fire call, I think of the great honor it is to serve in this way, to be a member of a volunteer fire department. The citizens that we protect owe us nothing. As volunteer firefighters, it is our privilege to serve them.

To me, the firehouse is home. Putting my key in the firehouse door feels a lot like putting the key in my door at home. And the people? Over the years, they become a second family. They support you, challenge you, laugh with you, and stand beside you when things are difficult. Somewhere along the way, these people, who may have started out as strangers, become friends for life.

You've probably driven past the firehouse in your town hundreds of times and not paid it any attention. It's usually a quiet building. The lights may be off, the doors may be closed. Most of the time there's nobody there at all.

Everything changes when someone in town is having the worst day of their life. At a moment's notice, that same building can become the most significant and crucial structure around.

A Call comes in. The siren wails. Pagers go off.

Across town, no matter the day or the weather, members of the volunteer fire department, who in other circumstances might not know each other, drop whatever they're doing to respond to the firehouse and come to their neighbor's aid.

When you stop and think about it, that's pretty incredible.

I think we're all searching for something that makes us feel connected, to remind us that we can be part of something bigger than ourselves.

The opportunity may be right down the road, in that quiet little building you've driven past without ever giving it a second thought.

I encourage you to visit your local firehouse. Walk through that door. Meet the people. Ask some questions.

You don't have to travel across the world to make a difference. You don't need some special background or knowledge, or be in top physical shape, although that helps. And generally, age doesn't matter. Whether you're eighteen or eighty-eight, if you feel you have something to offer, it doesn't hurt to check it out.

You may walk in thinking you're there to find a way to help your community. But you may discover something much more. A purpose. Lifelong friends. A second family.

And years from now, you may look back and realize that walking through the door of that quiet little firehouse was one of the most important decisions you ever made.

Because sometimes, the opportunity to change someone else's life... is also the opportunity to change your own.

See you at the firehouse.

Firematically,
Ed Paladin
Broadview Manor FD