You are at the greatest moment in your life. You are stepping off to learn about one of America's defenders of life itself. You are part of the fabric of America and in my estimation, its heart and soul. This thought is as awesome as it is rewarding.
The months of probationary and then basic training will seem like an eternity. I know, I vividly recall my time in rookie school and the following year of probation. Even at this time, I can remember each day, each hour. Time went so slowly then. I only wish that my years since of fighting fires went as slowly. Believe me, it goes fast--much too fast.
A word of caution. You will arrive at many plateaus in your life from here on. And this moment is most assuredly one of them. You're entering training and most likely will successfully complete it, as those before you have done. When you complete your training, you'll think it's finally over. Nothing could be further from the truth. No firefighter is worth anything to themselves, their department, or their community the moment they believe that they know enough or knows it all. Training is and must be an ongoing concept, from day one (now), until day last. That idea should be accepted by the probationary fire explorer and nodded to in agreement by the fire department chief.
You must continue to grow. You will grow at different rates and in different directions, but, grow you must. Your safety and the survival of those you will come to protect, love, and work with depends almost totally upon it.
Avoid those who "know it all." You will meet those people sooner or later. They're in every department in every state. They are the ones who have stopped growing long ago. They have become self-centered and stagnant. They will be of no value to you and most likely a detriment to you and their department.
Capitalize on every experience. Critique, listen, learn, attend, train, decide, and most assuredly in the future, "command!"
Look for reasons for what you do, in what you perform. The watchwords of what, how, when, why, where, and who should constantly pop up in your mind. If what you will learn is reasoned out, then it becomes knowledge. You can and will build on knowledge, not on memorization.
You are anticipating entering in the future the only profession that operates in an uncontrolled environment. Some moments are more stressful than others. Your ability to
keep your wits about you while all others are losing theirs is a sign you'll develop into a true professional. That ability is necessary to be successful and in reality, to survive. At a time like this, if you have only memory to rely on, it will fail you. You will also not be able to defend what you believe, evaluate what you hear as new to you, or recall vital information when the "fan" is being hit.
Whittle down the surprises. Yes, you are planning to enter a risky business, but, supported by training, knowledge, and understanding, you will not be surprised by situations as often. You'll learn to take calculated risks based upon analysis: You'll be a professional!
You'll grow to be a member of the world's greatest profession. You will ascend to personal highs that only another firefighter will understand. You will also be brought to tears that only you will understand. The job is truly unique in its humor as well as in its sorrow. I only pray that you will always be able to function between those extreme feeling so that one never overshadows the other.
It'll be up to you to make people better off because you came this way, because you entered the profession, because you responded, because you showed up. You are your brothers' keeper, keep them safe.
Enjoy "OUR" job brothers and sisters. God Bless You. You are now in the beginning phase of becoming a part of one big family and if there is ever anything one of us can do for you, don't ever hesitate to ask.
Your Friends
The Post Advisors
