How To Become a Firefighter: What I’ve Learned

       Glamis, CA for side by sides is the equivalent of Sturgis, SD for Motorcycles. Glamis is the Mecca. Anybody that owns a SxS, will at some point in their owning career, go to this renown place. Many Generations have spent family trips at this sand filled, high octane wonderland. But, Everybody who’s been there will tell you to “keep your head on a swivel”. In fact, every single person I told that I was going, told me to be careful because it’s dangerous. After my first trip, I know why they say that.     For starters, there are thousands of SxS there. Not only SxS, but 4 wheelers and dirt bikes too. Even Sand-rails (custom built, super light cars with huge engines) and trophy trucks (trucks that have been completely customized for jumping). I saw Sand-rails doing wheelies at 100mph+. One of the craziest things that is mind boggling to me is that there is a drag strip out there and people park their SxS all along the sides of the “track”. There’s No ba...

    Allow me to take you on a journey of extreme excitement. When I first popped one of these hard, flavor packed treats in my mouth, instantly I felt an explosion of what I can only describe as vapory essence. It started at the tip of my tongue and quickly spread throughout my entire mouth and nasal cavity. It briefly took my breath away when I tried to inhale because I heard that’s what you do to get the full effect. I paused for a moment, the sensation almost overwhelming. The best and worst part of eating such a lusciously fragrant treat is that the feeling lingers for what seems like an eternity.        My heart rate was bounding, I felt like I was running a marathon. I closed my eyes and leaned back further into the soft leather chair I was sitting in. The juxtaposition of the warm leather back and the extremely cold sensation in my mouth felt like balancing on a slackline during a wind storm. My mind was racing, but I knew I had to hold it together. ...

People testing to get into the fire service should all know about panel interviews. The interview is a large percentage of the candidates overall testing score, which directly correlates to where they end up on the hiring list. You, as a candidate, can do well at the rest of the testing process, but if you do bad on the panel interview; you won’t end up high on the list. There are dozens of ideas on the right way to answer panel interview questions. I want to give you a unique perspective. For me, one of the hardest things to do in this profession is to run calls in the middle of the night. Calls for service that aren’t true emergencies, or emergencies at all for that matter, and remain professional. Here’s a few examples of some interesting calls for service to prepare for when starting off in the fire service. Be ready to change the batteries of a smoke detector, not because it’s alarming, but because it’s been exactly one year and the day “got away” from the homeowner otherwise they...