Firefighter

Dallin has begun a new adventure. He is taking the Firefighter 1 course at our county public training facility. When he finishes (16 hours a week for 12 weeks) he will be a Volunteer Jr. Firefighter at the Lingohocken Station. This was not something I was expecting at all, but he is enjoying it so much I can't believe it. He has two friends who have recently completed the course and they all enjoy meetings at the firehouse several times a month. These meetings often include washing the truck, rolling the hose, and continuing training. The course itself is really intense. He has to wear full gear every class (an extra 65 pounds) and do all kinds of training scenarios. He's not allowed to be in a burning building at age 16 (thank heavens!), but still has to learn to rescue people in the dark and smoke as well as CPR and First Aid.

I totally crack up almost every night when I pick him up. He'll get in the car totally sweaty and tired and say something like, "Tonight they taught us FORCIBLE ENTRY!" His eyes light up as he describes the lesson in which they hand him an ax and a crow bar and teach him how to break into any door. He also loved the close quarters confinement drills where they had to crawl through dark tunnels in their gear breathing their tank air. Getting used to breathing with the mask and tank is not as easy as you would think. They make them practice the first few days by gearing up and then playing a game of wiffle ball followed by a round of chopping wood.

He's also learning some great life lessons. He's one of the only teens in the class and is with a bunch of older and somewhat less refined guys. (Cami is surprised that so many firefighters smoke - shouldn't they know better?) When someone screws up - they get yelled at. Dallin doesn't particularly like being berated in front of others, especially when he actually didn't mess up. We just smile and tell him life is not fair and he should get used to it. It's been a great experience so far and we're very proud of his desire to do something so far out of his comfort zone and offer a great service to our community.

September 9th is our school's remembrance of September 11th. Dallin will be in his dress uniform alongside the other firefighters to be honored at the assembly. I wish I was allowed to attend and take pictures. They will arrive on the firetruck and march two by two into the school. There is just something wonderful about a uniform to a boy. I'm sure he will be very proud to wear it tomorrow. I know I will be very proud of him.

I wanted to take some pictures of him in his gear, but somehow it was more fun to dress Cami. I will post some pictures of him in his dress uniform after Sept. 11th.