Being a firefighter is about making the tough decisions so that others don't have to. It's choosing to run up a flight of stairs on fire carrying 100 pounds of equipment − while everyone else is running out. It's about being able to think clearly whether it's 800 degrees or −30. It's seeing horrific tragedy and experiencing sadness − and still remaining steadfast. It's about valuing life and knowing that each time you start your shift you have the opportunity to save lives. You trust that your brothers and sisters, your gear, and your training will take you safely through the worst inferno. Being a firefighter requires a mix of courage, compassion, strength, kindness and grit mixed with fortitude. I wouldn't choose any other career.

In 1988 when I began, there were not very many female firefighters. It has given me great satisfaction to have so many women now that take it for granted that this is another career avenue they can pursue.

Being a firefighter means more to me than fighting fires. It's a "job" that saves lives and families. Firefighting is part of my family legacy, my grandfather fought for 30 years, my father for 32 and I've been fighting fires for 4. There is no feeling that can even compare to putting out a horrific fire and saving a life. I knew I wanted to be a firefighter since I was 3 when my dad got me my first helmet. My bed time stories were about saving lives, and my kids' stories will be the same. I wouldn't change my job for anything. I love every minute of it.

Fire (as defined in the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007) is − combustion; flames; inferno; destructive burning; fuel burned to provide heat; or passionate feeling from within. So, a firefighter is just that, someone who is employed to extinguish, or prevent fires, flames, inferno, or destructive burning/heat, someone that is driven by an inner passion to do a job. It takes a special kind of person to live up to that title and those qualities, someone that possesses that kind of intensity, that kind of passion and that level of commitment. My husband has answered that call, as a volunteer firefighter, and has been doing that job for the past eleven years. He's responded to numerous calls day & night, entered into burning structures/homes for medical calls, had complete strangers look to him for answers and confirmation that all will be all right. Endless hours of training, missed family dinners and holidays, wake up calls in the early hours of the morning, only to get home in time to head to his full time job. I've seen him smile with pride for the lives he helps save, or a fire they caught in time, and I've seen him offer a heartfelt hug to a complete stranger when there was just nothing more they could do. He has a desire to "do good" for his community & doesn't think twice about giving up his free time to a sometimes dangerous, and often thankless job. For me, he not only fills the boots of a volunteer fireman, he sets an incredible example for our son & I couldn't be more proud.

To me, being a firefighter means being the person who people call in their time of greatest need. It means working as a member of a close−knit team, as no one accomplishes anything on their own. It means serving the community, serving my country.