totally new to this...

[M1A2TankGunner]

hey, ive been meaning to post for quite some time on here..I wish I knew this forum existed in Iraq, wouldve saved me alot of problems trying to find answers..

Well anyways..I just got out of active duty army this Feb...and Ive been throwing the idea around in my head as to doing the fire fighter thing and i told myself i was going to do it..I went down to the closest fire house that I knew of and asked if they were accepting applications and what not, so they told me to come talk to the chief tomorrow..talked to the chief made some small talk..got the application filled out, gave them a copy of my dd 214(record of military service) and was ready to go..but its been like 3 monthes so I pretty much gave up..sent them a follow up email about..a month or so after i turned the App in (figured they were waiting for a monthly meeting to discuss it). nothing..lol..I Figured the job market was going to be tough, but i couldnt even volunteer..I kind of think that maybe they didnt want me bc i live in a Town that isnt in the town that i wanted to volunteer, but my town his all paid..

So i gave it another shot last week, I found another house(which actually turned out to be closer, and more direct) then the last..and i emailed them through their website..I started off by telling them that i lived in another town..but i was extremely intrested in getting involved..and he said that the distance wasnt an issue ( they have a 5 mile radius rule in their by-laws, and Im only..2.49 miles away) So I dropped off the Application, background check fee and Im hoping for the best..Im going to be really..well not really terribly upset because i had to go around my wifes back because she dosent even want to hear the word fire fighter come out of my mouth lol..let alone doing it..but thats another story in itself, but i really really really hope it pans out for me..

sorry for the loooooonnnngggggg rant that seemed pointless, i ramble on when i get excited lol..but a couple quick ?s for yall..

*How does your spouse feel about you doing this? Was it an arguement or were they 100% behind you? My wife is sooooo anti risking my life its not even funny..im sure she loves me and all that, but i try to explain to her that your more then likely to die in a car then in a fire..and all she comes back with is i dont want you to die because some crackhead fell alseep with a cigarette..shes threatened to throw me out of the house lol..so yea, this is the biggest obsticle, any help would be appreciated.

* what is the average ammoiunt of time that it takes most of you guys to go from, the tones on a beeper, to rolling out the door on a truck? reason i ask is, in iraq, when we were on QRF(quick reaction force) we had to be out the gate in 10 minutes or less from the call from the CP..so i timed myself driving to the station, twice, the longest was 7:30, and the quickest was 5:20, obviously traffic influences my ETA..but i figure i can still get there, dressed, and everything in 10 minutes or less, so im good..

*I have GI bill benefits, and i was wondering, if I could utilize that for like FF1,2 and all that, bc most of those courses here take place at community colleges and what not, i figure if i can save the dept money, and benifit myself at the same time then its a win-win..

Thanks alot, hopefully soon ill be able to consider myself 1 of yall..

[thefentch]

hey, ive been meaning to post for quite some time on here..I wish I knew this forum existed in Iraq, wouldve saved me alot of problems trying to find answers..

Well anyways..I just got out of active duty army this Feb...and Ive been throwing the idea around in my head as to doing the fire fighter thing and i told myself i was going to do it..I went down to the closest fire house that I knew of and asked if they were accepting applications and what not, so they told me to come talk to the chief tomorrow..talked to the chief made some small talk..got the application filled out, gave them a copy of my dd 214(record of military service) and was ready to go..but its been like 3 monthes so I pretty much gave up..sent them a follow up email about..a month or so after i turned the App in (figured they were waiting for a monthly meeting to discuss it). nothing..lol..I Figured the job market was going to be tough, but i couldnt even volunteer..I kind of think that maybe they didnt want me bc i live in a Town that isnt in the town that i wanted to volunteer, but my town his all paid..

So i gave it another shot last week, I found another house(which actually turned out to be closer, and more direct) then the last..and i emailed them through their website..I started off by telling them that i lived in another town..but i was extremely intrested in getting involved..and he said that the distance wasnt an issue ( they have a 5 mile radius rule in their by-laws, and Im only..2.49 miles away) So I dropped off the Application, background check fee and Im hoping for the best..Im going to be really..well not really terribly upset because i had to go around my wifes back because she dosent even want to hear the word fire fighter come out of my mouth lol..let alone doing it..but thats another story in itself, but i really really really hope it pans out for me..

sorry for the loooooonnnngggggg rant that seemed pointless, i ramble on when i get excited lol..but a couple quick ?s for yall..

*How does your spouse feel about you doing this? Was it an arguement or were they 100% behind you? My wife is sooooo anti risking my life its not even funny..im sure she loves me and all that, but i try to explain to her that your more then likely to die in a car then in a fire..and all she comes back with is i dont want you to die because some crackhead fell alseep with a cigarette..shes threatened to throw me out of the house lol..so yea, this is the biggest obsticle, any help would be appreciated.

* what is the average ammoiunt of time that it takes most of you guys to go from, the tones on a beeper, to rolling out the door on a truck? reason i ask is, in iraq, when we were on QRF(quick reaction force) we had to be out the gate in 10 minutes or less from the call from the CP..so i timed myself driving to the station, twice, the longest was 7:30, and the quickest was 5:20, obviously traffic influences my ETA..but i figure i can still get there, dressed, and everything in 10 minutes or less, so im good..

*I have GI bill benefits, and i was wondering, if I could utilize that for like FF1,2 and all that, bc most of those courses here take place at community colleges and what not, i figure if i can save the dept money, and benifit myself at the same time then its a win-win..

Thanks alot, hopefully soon ill be able to consider myself 1 of yall..

#1, My girl stands behind me 100% its not all about going into the house thats on fire. there are plenty of other "jobs" that can be done. when you do get accepted and done some training and all that great wonderful stuff, try bringing her to a scene, i bring mine alot of the time. shes a great pump operator now because of it.

#2 it all depends on the dept. the dept im in, the avg response for a truck to roll out is about 30 sec to a min. rather its just one person or a few guys all depends.. i have three stations and a very large area to cover, might take 10 min to come up on scene.

#3 im not to sure about that. training officer or chief might know.

#4, ty for YOUR services for the united state.

[Eng34FF]

[QUOTE=M1A2TankGunner;1187584]
*How does your spouse feel about you doing this? Was it an arguement or were they 100% behind you? My wife is sooooo anti risking my life its not even funny..im sure she loves me and all that, but i try to explain to her that your more then likely to die in a car then in a fire..and all she comes back with is i dont want you to die because some crackhead fell alseep with a cigarette..shes threatened to throw me out of the house lol..so yea, this is the biggest obsticle, any help would be appreciated.

* what is the average ammoiunt of time that it takes most of you guys to go from, the tones on a beeper, to rolling out the door on a truck? reason i ask is, in iraq, when we were on QRF(quick reaction force) we had to be out the gate in 10 minutes or less from the call from the CP..so i timed myself driving to the station, twice, the longest was 7:30, and the quickest was 5:20, obviously traffic influences my ETA..but i figure i can still get there, dressed, and everything in 10 minutes or less, so im good..

*I have GI bill benefits, and i was wondering, if I could utilize that for like FF1,2 and all that, bc most of those courses here take place at community colleges and what not, i figure if i can save the dept money, and benifit myself at the same time then its a win-win..
QUOTE]

Initially I had full support from my wife. In fact, she suggested it and when I told her I was concerned about the time away from the house and family she said that I needed to get out more anyway. Now she complains a lot, but lets me continue to do it because it's something that I love. It's a balancing act between spending time at home and meeting my committments to the firehouse.

If you don't have support now, watch out. I'm not sure that she will learn to be OK with it, and you really can't continue for long without support at home.

As far as time out the door, we are given 5 minutes after dispatch before we are replaced. Most of the time the first piece rolls out within 2 mins or shorter. Everyplace is different. Some places are expected to be out the door in 1 min or less.

[voyager9]

My wife is very supportive, though less than excited about the pager going off at inappropriate times.. I will 2nd what Eng34 said.. having support at home is important. This can require a significant amount of time away from home and will stress you're relationship.. as was also said, finding a balance between the Firehouse and home life is very important... critical unless you want to be burnt out in less then a year.

Response time will very from department to department. In our case if we have in-house crews it's a minute or two. Home-response it's more like 4-5.

With respect to the GI benefits, I'd talk to your training officer. They may take you up on it, they may not. In our case all training is provided by the department and if in-county is very inexpensive.

[M1A2TankGunner]

see...Im sort of a "house husband" i do cooking and cleaning and what not, honestly, i just needed a month or 2 to slow down and try to readjust to a civilian/normal life style..but, i dont do anything all day, can only vaccum the rug so many times and dinner only takes like..45 minutes? so i mean i have all this time durring the day..and my only other semi obligation is i go to a veterans group once a week for 2 hours..i dont have the same friends..well..any friends here anymore since i moved back to Pa..

I think that she thinks that I want to do it because she calls me a "lunatic" because of some of the stuff ive done over there, not too many people get blown sky high then volunteer to go back 4 monthes later lol..or, she thinks that i wont be intrested in it after like a month or 2...on top of the whole i might die thing, im not afraid of dying, im cool with it, just not now lol..

I really miss being apart of something with a brotherhood mentality, like, Its not a boredom thing or whatever, but theres a bond people share when they frequently are put in life threatening environments, and i miss that, and i really want to do something good, Ive had all this anger inside of me for like, since november 23 2006 at 1150am and i just need a positive outlet to do something good, to help someone, to better an organization dedicated to helping someone..

She's deff. my biggest obsticle....i mean im willing to quit smoking, i wear this bracelet that i havent taken off in 4 years..im ready to cut it off and burn it, like..my heart is into this..and i hope if i express that and she sees my passion for it, and that i wont get burned the first 5 seconds then it will be ok.

I really appreciate the help

[CaptOldTimer]

If she wears the pants runs the ship and you are the doer, getting on the FD is going to cause more problems. She may put up with you gone for 24 hours at a time and may not. A lot of wifes can't adjust to the schedules. Some can and makes for a great marriage.

[HuntPA]

You said that you are in PA, but I am curious as to where. Most classes at Community Colleges that are put on in my region are supported by the counter terrorism task force and are free for department members. Again it will depend on where you are.

[M1A2TankGunner]

i live in scranton..but i applied in moosic..its the next town over...i looked at lackawanna CC and luzern but they didnt have any listed..i think the only 1 close to me would be bucks county

[jam24u]

Frankly, I would bring this up to the chief and some of the other members and have their wives explain it to your wife.

The fire service is so dedicated to returning everyone home it borders ridiculous. The entire fire service suffers more deaths from heart attacks than from actual firefighting.

Remember we need volunteers more than ever. There are plenty of veterans that should be able to allay her fears.

Stick it out, they/we need you.

[XRaysJL]

New to this?

hey, I've been meaning to post for quite some time on here..I wish I knew this forum existed in Iraq, would've saved me alot of problems trying to find answers..

*How does your spouse feel about you doing this? Was it an argument or were they 100% behind you? My wife is sooooo anti risking my life its not even funny..im sure she loves me and all that, but i try to explain to her that your more then likely to die in a car then in a fire..and all she comes back with is i dont want you to die because some crackhead fell alseep with a cigarette..shes threatened to throw me out of the house lol..so yea, this is the biggest obsticle, any help would be appreciated.

* what is the average ammoiunt of time that it takes most of you guys to go from, the tones on a beeper, to rolling out the door on a truck? reason i ask is, in iraq, when we were on QRF(quick reaction force) we had to be out the gate in 10 minutes or less from the call from the CP..so i timed myself driving to the station, twice, the longest was 7:30, and the quickest was 5:20, obviously traffic influences my ETA..but i figure i can still get there, dressed, and everything in 10 minutes or less, so im good..

*I have GI bill benefits, and i was wondering, if I could utilize that for like FF1,2 and all that, bc most of those courses here take place at community colleges and what not, i figure if i can save the dept money, and benifit myself at the same time then its a win-win..
Thanks alot, hopefully soon ill be able to consider myself 1 of yall..

#1.) My paid profession is Radiologic Technology (X-rays), I've been a FF-2 before my fiance' and I met. She is an RN (Registered Nurse). She knew that I'm as safe as I can be and that I have a greater chance of being killed on the highway here because of all the tourists who drive like they're still in the big city. She's not only been supportive but she went back to school and got her EMT certification. Now we respond together and she finds great personal reward. We've handled MVA's and EMS calls together (With deceased individuals). We've also responded to fires where I had her on the nozzle. We've become closer together by responding together as a team.

My advice to you is to try to get her to become a volunteer with you. As a volunteer, if she's unwilling to get involved in fires, then what about EMS calls? Try to find some way to get her in the field of emergency response so she can understand it better understand it.

#2.) As far at responding and ETA's go, it's different for everyone. In my situation, we are going from a 210"+" sq. mile area of coverage to over 350sq miles. (Over 35 miles on the highway with over 5 miles on either side of the highway, and off-road + forestry areas). The situation for my department is that we have equipment positioned throughout the area as best we can. This means we keep some equipment with us at home. We do this to keep our response time down to the absolute minimum. We've found that this works FOR US (This "may" not work for other departments). Hence one of the reasons my fiance' and I work so well as part of a team on calls of various natures.

If you are being totally safe while responding, then your response is pretty good. Methods of responding is something that you and your Chief should discuss together.

#3.) My advice is to get your toes wet before jumping in. You have a great thing with the GI bill. Try volunteering first to make sure that you really love it. If you do, then from what I understand there should be no problem using your GI bill at the community college. Other community colleges I've attended accepted the GI bill (One of them even gave GI bill students priority over others). My old department paid my way for my FF-2 certification. I just had to agree to a contract with them for a certain length of time. I definitely came out ahead on that.

[tree68]

Frankly, I would bring this up to the chief and some of the other members and have their wives explain it to your wife..

This is something I feel every fire department should do. We interview the prospective FF, but very few take the time to sit down and interview/brief the spouse.

My late father helped form the police reserves in my old home town - rather analogous to a "volunteer police department." Part of the process of bringing on a new member was a meeting with the wife (very few women in law enforcement at the time).

You might lose a member right at the starting gate, but that's better than getting them all trained up then having the spouse force them to quit because they're spending too much time at the FD "hanging out with the guys."

[M1A2TankGunner]

I think im going to try the scientific approach, basically get statistics on job related deaths, line of duty deaths, and if i could find that the leading cause of fatalities is cardiovascular failure that would work too. She is just hard headed to no end..and I think the only way she will accept this is for me to just do it, fight for a week or two, and then once she sees im not running into a 100 story high rise on fire every other day..I think it will be ok. Im sure she bases her decision or opinion on watching backdraft and ladder 49 and Ive never been in a real fire or anything close to it, I highly doubt the credibility of the extremes in those movies, if im wrong, i appologize before hand. The craziest part about the whole thing is that, when i was home on R&R from iraq a year ago, she was all about me going to school for fire science and what not because she was ok with me testing for the FDNY lol..now shes like move out if you want to do it..I dont know..women are confusing. I would try to get her involved lol, but she is opposed to any involvement what so ever..

on another note, I find myself taking a lot longer to post because I am more self aware of my grammer because, you guys seem to be grammer nazis lol

[CGITCH]

on another note, I find myself taking a lot longer to post because I am more self aware of my grammer because, you guys seem to be grammer nazis lol

Yes, it's grammar by the way.

[M1A2TankGunner]

lol my bad

[tree68]

on another note, I find myself taking a lot longer to post because I am more self aware of my grammer because, you guys seem to be grammer nazis lol

On a serious note along those lines - good grammar and spelling seem to be lost arts these days, especially amongst the young.

Being well written is as important as a fresh haircut and a clean shirt at a job interview. Taking the time to check your spelling (don't rely on "spell check" - their, there, they're) and ensuring that you're using the correct word and context will pay dividends far beyond the time it takes you to do so.