Firefighting from Within

Imagine yourself being in a very deep sleep, when suddenly your dream is interrupted by bright lights and you are jerked awake by the loud tone of the dispatcher over the loud speaker making the announcement of the emergency code and the address. Your body is running on auto-pilot: getting ready and getting out on the road with the light flashing and siren wailing loudly.

Every day in this job is an adventure, not knowing what type of fire or job we would be dispatched to. It could be a family home, a commercial building or vehicle with people trapped inside or even someone having a heart attack. Every day we are placed in extreme situations where we are being challenged physically, emotionally and mentally. Our mind, body and spirit are all working together paying close attention while driving or riding the truck at the high speeds when responding to the emergency call.

As a fire fighter I have learned a lot over the years responding to intense situations. I remember when I was going through training, we had to watch a film where a doctor was dissecting a human body, pulling out the body parts wriggling it in his hands explaining each part as he went along.

I thought I did quite well watching it without getting sick! Until I saw the electric hand saw cutting open the rib cage and using the cutting pliers normally used to cut open a lock, then I started to feel warm and flushed. I began to sweat and felt nausea starting to sweep over me, I managed to walk away to catch my breath and regain my focus back to reality. Once I got myself back into reality, I found myself evaluating the “what if” situations, those that I would be responding to if a call came in and I would end up seeing body parts damaged by circumstances.

I thought how can I help people if I get sick? I knew I had to change my perspective on it.

What I have learned is that it takes a mental shift of our mind to take over the whole body. The mind no longer becomes the observer but becomes the do-er, the body goes into awareness and intuition kicks in. The mind won't have the time to stop and wonder about the next scene you will see, you just do what you need to do.

Normally there are no clues for us to know what waits for us at the scene. A lot of times we risk our own body and life in hazardous situations without having a second thought. We do become adrenaline junkies when responding to a call.

Some emergencies can trigger a personal internal awakening that can change our attitude or behavior about how we view life. I had one interesting call that I attended that would have cost me my life had I not listened to my inner voice to do something else. At the time, I did not realize that I was blessed to be alive. A few weeks later after my brush with death, it hit me when I heard another fire fighter had lost his life in a similar incident I was in. It changed my perspective on what I do and life itself daily. In a blink of an eye it can be over, our life is like a mist, I witness it happening to others almost every day.

I enjoy being a fire fighter where I can make positive differences in people lives, it is a great honour to have the opportunity to provide the service and I feel the sense of purpose in my own life

MOVING FORWARD

Learning experiences process steps:
1. Knowing every day is an adventure.
2. Making the mental shift.
3. Use experience to change attitudes or behavior towards life.
4. Make positive differences.