On Duty

 

September 16,

Well, I can’t think of anything to write about, so I will just write about my day on duty. It started off with my alarm sounding at 5:40 a.m. ugh, that is way too early, and it’s still dark out I thought to myself.  I slowly rolled out of bed, got ready for work, fed and water the dogs. Then I was off for another exciting day at the fire station. Now, some days may be exciting, some not so much.  With this job, you never know when you may be toned out for a house fire, car accident or medical emergency.  Or, you may spend the whole 24 hours not turning a wheel.

Work starts at 7:00 a.m. first thing that has to be done, I check my gear making sure I have all my personal protective equipment. Then, it’s time to check my apparatus, a 45 ft. long, 10 ft. wide, and 12 ft. high with a 95 ft. platform truck.  All the medical bags, air packs, and equipment this usually takes a couple of hours.

Then we spent the next two hours training on pump operations, which is something I enjoy since my main job is that of a pump operator. Training is a big part of our job, whether we are training on medical, pump operation, extraction, or fire extinguishment. After lunch we ran two medical calls. I spent some time ordering fire prevention material and contacting the elementary schools in town, to schedule time for the fire department to come visit the 1^st and 2^nd grade classes during Fire Prevention Week.

Well, so far this shift has been slow and that’s okay, but, I still have 11 more hours to go before my shift is over.  A lot can still happen.

 

Jobs

September 15,

As I was reading through the responses to question “What are your goals in life after college?” I found it interesting how many different types of employment, some are seeking after college. This got me to thinking about the different jobs I have had over the years. My first job was nothing spectacular, but, for a 15 year old, washing dishes part time for a local home town dinner wasn’t a bad gig.  At age 17, I worked as a printing press operator at OTC during the summer, a nanny for two young girls during the school year.

After graduation, I accepted my first full time job designing and printing real estate brochures for Stout Realty.  Where I remained for 4 years until the company went out of business. Then I accepted employment with Bass Pro, where I worked 3rd shift until my second son was born. At that time I chose to open an in home daycare, so I may stay home with my children. I continued with the daycare until my youngest son entered kindergarten.

After returning to the work force, I held down several different jobs, including a donut maker at Casey’s General Store. That job, lasted until a morning when my fellow coworkers and I were held at gunpoint by a masked robber. After that unpleasant experience, I decide to seek other employment. I went to work for the school system as an AmeriCorps reading coach, until the 2 year term ended. At that time I continued with the school system as a health care provider for two years.

Then finally I landed what I think is the perfect job, a full time firefighter/EMT. A position I have proudly held for the last 13 years and hope to have for at least 7 more. Firefighting wasn’t what I originally planned to do when I applied for a volunteer position with the department. I just wanted to run medical calls, but, in this town you have to do both, fight fires and medical. So, after many hours of training on both medical and firefighting, I was hired as the first female firefighter in my town.