The life of a Firefighter
Title
The life of a Firefighter
Creator
Jordan Wood
Date
04/21/2022
Text
It is 6:30 am, I'm currently on the way driving to the local fire department to spend the entire day with the men and women who are some of the bravest heroes doing what they do best.
Miami Dade Fire Rescue is the third-largest fire department in the United States. I had the privilege of joining the Miami Dade Fire Rescue Jr. Cadets back in High school my junior and senior years. With that being said we were trained as first responders before we were ever able to go on real-life calls with the fire department.
Ever since I have joined the program It has opened my eyes up to the real Miami of what truly goes on in one of the largest cities that keeps on growing in America. Once I arrive I greet with a firm handshake all the firemen and firewomen who are currently on duty and are about to
finish their shift a full twenty-four hours. Once 7:00 am roles around that is when the shift changes.
When I arrive at the fire station I start by brewing some coffee for the ones who just got off shift. You never know what calls could have happened on the last shift until you arrive and ask for an update to know if anything might turn over to the next shift. At 7:00 am everyone sits down on the new shift and will be briefed of anything going on that day and any big calls that have happened recently as well as any community events that we might have to go to. I will then
make my way to the engine which is also known as the fire truck. That is where then I will check all the equipment to make sure it is still fully capable of running since some days not all equipment gets used on fire calls and making sure all the medical supplies are fully stocked.
After we make sure that the fire truck is stocked we will then have breakfast all together as someone is picked to make breakfast and dinner and lunch you usually buy on your own most of the time at Publix. After breakfast, we head outside to go over some drills that might be useful for the day or just practice for when the scenario might arise. After we finish up the drills we received a call from headquarters that we will be participating in a community event with the police department later in the day. While sometimes there aren't any calls during some parts of the day we will then spend time in the station watching movies or tv shows playing cards or even going over more drills. When the calls go ahead and come through the station, an alarm goes off notifying that the time has come that we need to rush to the truck and head on out. One thing that I have always heard is that as firefighters we help people on one of their worst days. The first call
was about an elderly person who was not feeling the best while cooking lunch. We arrived at the scene while making contact with the individual and I was in charge of measuring all of the vital signs. Everything checked out to be all good. We complimented the patient that it smelled beautiful of whatever it was that she was making. She told us to follow her in the kitchen and look to see what it was. One of the firemen who were on the call with me stated that it was his favorite food and the patient insisted on serving him for being so kind to her. It was a truly
heartwarming moment bonding with the community. We stayed for a little bit and cracked some jokes before we had to head back to the station. There are times when the firemen will leave with
the fire truck to run some errands if they have. Going to best buy or dropping off a package at the UPS store. Later in the day, we were told that we have a community event to attend. When that happens the fire truck is taken out of service for a short time while at the event. We arrive at the event with lights and sirens and all the children seemed very excited that they were going to be able to see what a fire truck looks like inside and all the tools that are used on a variety of
different calls. When we arrived and got off of the firetruck we weren't able to let all the kids come to the truck just quite yet since we had one more surprise for them. The police were already there with their different types of squad cars for all the children to see and discover what it looks like inside and the variety of tools that they use. When we were telling the children to be patient we told them do you guys hear that in the air. Then a few seconds later the helicopter that belongs to Miami Dade Fire Rescue did a fly-by over the event and went around eventually landing in the empty field. The flight medics hopped on out and told the children who wants to see the fire truck and the helicopter and all of the children's faces lit up with happiness. We ended up staying at the event for a couple of hours. While the firemen insisted that I would show the fire truck and all the supplies that are used to all the curious children who wanted to see. We then opened all the doors so the children were able to go on inside and look to see how is it like
sitting in the fire truck. After showing the children what it was like inside we then went ahead and put all the fire gear on to show the children what it looked like when we had all the fire gear
on for calls relating to fire. Firemen always show children what they look like with the full gear on as we are there to help them when the unlikely happens. We start wrapping up when we received a call from dispatch that there was a house filled with smoke. When we receive fire
calls that is the most important as we safely have to get there as soon as possible. When we arrived it was an older couple who left something on the stove too long as they were very worried about the situation but we talked to them to, calm them down, and told them everything is going to be ok and that they just needed to air out the home. While partaking under the Jr. cadets it has shown me a lot of things that I didn't know and I am very grateful for the opportunity that I was given in high school to be a part of a team that is there for each other and the community no matter what situation or what challenges that we have to face head-on from a call to an everyday situation. Working with the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to help the community shows how strong of a community it is from helping people on their worst days to showing kids what it is like to be a fireman. I am hoping soon one day with all the training and hard work I too will become a firefighter with Miami Dade Fire Rescue and serve
my community no matter what it is that happens. I don't think that if it wasn't for me partaking in the events that I did during high school I wouldn't be the person I am today.
Miami Dade Fire Rescue is the third-largest fire department in the United States. I had the privilege of joining the Miami Dade Fire Rescue Jr. Cadets back in High school my junior and senior years. With that being said we were trained as first responders before we were ever able to go on real-life calls with the fire department.
Ever since I have joined the program It has opened my eyes up to the real Miami of what truly goes on in one of the largest cities that keeps on growing in America. Once I arrive I greet with a firm handshake all the firemen and firewomen who are currently on duty and are about to
finish their shift a full twenty-four hours. Once 7:00 am roles around that is when the shift changes.
When I arrive at the fire station I start by brewing some coffee for the ones who just got off shift. You never know what calls could have happened on the last shift until you arrive and ask for an update to know if anything might turn over to the next shift. At 7:00 am everyone sits down on the new shift and will be briefed of anything going on that day and any big calls that have happened recently as well as any community events that we might have to go to. I will then
make my way to the engine which is also known as the fire truck. That is where then I will check all the equipment to make sure it is still fully capable of running since some days not all equipment gets used on fire calls and making sure all the medical supplies are fully stocked.
After we make sure that the fire truck is stocked we will then have breakfast all together as someone is picked to make breakfast and dinner and lunch you usually buy on your own most of the time at Publix. After breakfast, we head outside to go over some drills that might be useful for the day or just practice for when the scenario might arise. After we finish up the drills we received a call from headquarters that we will be participating in a community event with the police department later in the day. While sometimes there aren't any calls during some parts of the day we will then spend time in the station watching movies or tv shows playing cards or even going over more drills. When the calls go ahead and come through the station, an alarm goes off notifying that the time has come that we need to rush to the truck and head on out. One thing that I have always heard is that as firefighters we help people on one of their worst days. The first call
was about an elderly person who was not feeling the best while cooking lunch. We arrived at the scene while making contact with the individual and I was in charge of measuring all of the vital signs. Everything checked out to be all good. We complimented the patient that it smelled beautiful of whatever it was that she was making. She told us to follow her in the kitchen and look to see what it was. One of the firemen who were on the call with me stated that it was his favorite food and the patient insisted on serving him for being so kind to her. It was a truly
heartwarming moment bonding with the community. We stayed for a little bit and cracked some jokes before we had to head back to the station. There are times when the firemen will leave with
the fire truck to run some errands if they have. Going to best buy or dropping off a package at the UPS store. Later in the day, we were told that we have a community event to attend. When that happens the fire truck is taken out of service for a short time while at the event. We arrive at the event with lights and sirens and all the children seemed very excited that they were going to be able to see what a fire truck looks like inside and all the tools that are used on a variety of
different calls. When we arrived and got off of the firetruck we weren't able to let all the kids come to the truck just quite yet since we had one more surprise for them. The police were already there with their different types of squad cars for all the children to see and discover what it looks like inside and the variety of tools that they use. When we were telling the children to be patient we told them do you guys hear that in the air. Then a few seconds later the helicopter that belongs to Miami Dade Fire Rescue did a fly-by over the event and went around eventually landing in the empty field. The flight medics hopped on out and told the children who wants to see the fire truck and the helicopter and all of the children's faces lit up with happiness. We ended up staying at the event for a couple of hours. While the firemen insisted that I would show the fire truck and all the supplies that are used to all the curious children who wanted to see. We then opened all the doors so the children were able to go on inside and look to see how is it like
sitting in the fire truck. After showing the children what it was like inside we then went ahead and put all the fire gear on to show the children what it looked like when we had all the fire gear
on for calls relating to fire. Firemen always show children what they look like with the full gear on as we are there to help them when the unlikely happens. We start wrapping up when we received a call from dispatch that there was a house filled with smoke. When we receive fire
calls that is the most important as we safely have to get there as soon as possible. When we arrived it was an older couple who left something on the stove too long as they were very worried about the situation but we talked to them to, calm them down, and told them everything is going to be ok and that they just needed to air out the home. While partaking under the Jr. cadets it has shown me a lot of things that I didn't know and I am very grateful for the opportunity that I was given in high school to be a part of a team that is there for each other and the community no matter what situation or what challenges that we have to face head-on from a call to an everyday situation. Working with the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to help the community shows how strong of a community it is from helping people on their worst days to showing kids what it is like to be a fireman. I am hoping soon one day with all the training and hard work I too will become a firefighter with Miami Dade Fire Rescue and serve
my community no matter what it is that happens. I don't think that if it wasn't for me partaking in the events that I did during high school I wouldn't be the person I am today.
Collection
Citation
Jordan Wood, “The life of a Firefighter ,” Everything Speaks To Me , accessed September 18, 2026, https://everythingspeakstome.com/items/show/26.