People always ask me the same questions:
“How do you run into a burning building?”
“Don’t you get scared climbing the ladder?”
“How do you handle all that stress on your body?”
Truth is, it’s not the fire, the ladders, or the gear that really gets to you, it’s what you see and hear. That’s the part nobody prepares you for.
I’ve been in the fire service for over 11 years now, and I can tell you this…the hardest part of the job is the mental side.
When I was younger, I used to ask firefighters, “What was the worst call you ever ran?” Back then, I was just curious. I wanted to hear the stories, the action, the danger. Now, I wish I never asked that question.
Because now I’ve lived those calls.
One time, an old firefighter gave me some advice that I didn’t fully understand until years later. He said, “Protect mental. If you don’t have to see it or hear it, don’t.”
Back then, I thought he was just trying to dodge the work lol. I figured he was being lazy or burnt out. But now I get it. He was trying to protect his mind…and mine.
The truth is, seeing someone take their last breath… hearing the screams of a mother who just lost her child… those things don’t leave you. They sit quietly in the back of your mind until they show up again maybe in the middle of the night, maybe at the grocery store, maybe when you’re just trying to eat dinner with your family.
People think being a firefighter is all sirens and hero stories, but the emotional weight is real. Sometimes, you hold it together on the outside while falling apart on the inside.
And here’s the thing we have to remember…especially us vets in the field… just because we’ve seen it all doesn’t mean the new guy has.
What might not shake you anymore could crush a rookie.
So it’s on us to look out for them. Talk to them. Remind them it’s okay to feel something.
We’ve got to stop acting like emotions are weakness.
Crying after a hard call isn’t soft, it’s human.
Talking to someone doesn’t make you weak it makes you stronger.
We train hard to protect our bodies, but we’ve got to start protecting our minds, too.
If you’re a first responder reading this, I just want to say, don’t carry it alone.
Protect your mental.
Talk to someone.
Be that guy or girl who checks in on others.
