The Outlaw Firefighter

HOME ; Dierks Bentley

2012-02-05T13:26:00.000-05:00

Love this song!

Catching Up. . . . . . .

2012-02-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

Haven't really been blogging at all lately.. A few post here and there, just trying to figure life out at 42 and where I'm headed! Can't really complain about much. Still have my days that I miss my grandmother. Saw a posting on Facebook the other day and I Re-Posted it.... It said - Wants to go back to the time where Me Ma's (My Grandmother) band-aids and ice cream could fix anything. Missing her A LOT these days! ~ ~ Really wish I could pick up a phone and just talk to her one more time. I've been trying to make it to church more often. My parents became members of a local church in my hometown. On the weekends I'm off I try to make it. Sometimes I just cant roll myself out of bed in time to make it. I do plan on going this weekend.

No SUPERBOWL plans yet... Not really sure if I want to do anything. May just sit at home at watch for the commercials. WooHoo! We will see what happens...

I finally got fit tested so I can get back to being a Volunteer again. Just trying to find the time to spend at the H.V.F.D. Looking forward to running some calls back in the old stomping grounds. It's been awhile since I've actually ridden there. The annual banquet is coming up real soon, That's always a good time. Looking forward to having a night I cant let loose and have a few drinks. Don't have to worry about driving home. We're all getting rooms! ;-)

Work has been going great. With everyone under one roof since Walter Reed closed it isn't that bad. We have a few people that complain but that is in any firehouse. I ran for Union President and lost by only a few votes. Kinda glad I didn't win because the president we have now is doing a remarkable job... I could have never did it. Just had my 23rd Anniversary on the JOB on the 23rd of January. 2 more years and I'm eligible to retire... I'm not going anywhere yet. I'm having way too much fun!

Checking out the Apparatus first thing in the morning and had to grab a Picture...

So the Captain takes the seats out of the utility truck to install some lights and I could resist the opportunity to sit down and play on Facebook.

New Tattoo on my Left Arm...

:-)

So until next post..... Adios and Vaya Con Dios

Better Than I Used to Be...

2012-01-27T17:48:00.000-05:00

A Firefighter Meets God

2011-12-24T09:33:00.000-05:00

The firefighter stood and faced his God, which must always come to pass. He hoped his shoes were shining, just as brightly as his brass. “Step forward now, you firefighter, how shall I deal with you? Have you always turned the other cheek? To my commandments have you been true?”

The firefighter squared his shoulders and said, “No, Lord, I guess I ain’t, Because those of us who fight fire can’t always be a saint. I’ve had to work on Sunday’s, and at times my talk was tough. Sometimes I’ve been violent, because the streets are awfully rough. But I never took a penny that wasn’t mine to keep… Though I had to work a lot of overtime when the bills just got too steep.

I never passed a cry for help, though at times I shook with fear, And sometimes, God forgive me, I’ve wept unmanly tears. If you’ve a place here for me, Lord, it needn’t be so grand, I’ve never expected or had too much, and I will understand.” There was a silence all around the throne where the saints had often trod, As the firefighter waited quietly, for the judgement of his God.

“Step forward now you firefighter, you’ve borne your burdens well, Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets, you’ve done your time in hell.” -Author Unknown

I wish You Could

2011-10-30T21:29:00.000-04:00

I know I posted this awhile back but wanted to post it again.

I wish you could see the sadness of a business-man as his livelihood goes up in flames, or that family returning home, only to find their house and belongings damaged or destroyed.

I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen beneath you burns.

I wish you could comprehend a wife’s horror at 3 a.m. as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively that it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done.

I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke ~ sensations that I have become too familiar with.

I wish you could understand how it feels to go to work in the morning after having spent most of the night, hot and soaking wet at a multiple alarm fire.

I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire. “Is this a false alarm or a working, breathing fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped? Or to an EMS call, “What is wrong with the patient?” Is it minor or life threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he or she waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?

I wish you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead the beautiful five-year-old girl that I tried to save during the past 25 minutes. Who will never go on her first date or say the words “I love you, Mommy” again.

I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab engine, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield the right of way at an intersection or in traffic. When you need us, however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, “It took you forever to get here!”

I wish you could know my thoughts a s I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the mangled remains of her automobile. “What if this was my sister, my girlfriend, or a friend? What were her parents’ reaction going to be when they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?

I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call I was on. I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally and sometime physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes or “It will never happen to me.”

I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life, or preserving someone’s property, of being there in time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.

I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking. "Is Mommy okay?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to hold back a long-time friend who watches his buddy having rescue breathing done on him as they take him away in the ambulance. You know all along he did not have his seat belt on ~ Sensations I am too familiar with.

Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will probably never truly understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really means to us

I WISH YOU COULD

Fall in love with me!!

2011-10-21T23:07:00.001-04:00

My favorite line in this entire song is..... I don't want to settle for good not great. I miss the way that it felt back then, I wanna feel that way again

What do I Make ?

2011-10-11T23:52:00.000-04:00

So you're a firefighter? I wanted to do that when I was a kid. "What do you make?"

What do I make? I make holding your hand seem like the biggest thing in the world when I am cutting you out of your car. I can make 5 minutes feel like a lifetime when I go into a burning house to save your family. I make those annoying sirens sound like angels singing when you need them. I make your wife's head turn when I walk by in uniform. I make your children breathe after they have stopped. I can make you survive a heart attack. I make myself get out of bed at 3am to go risk my life for people I have never met, and have never asked for thanks. I make a difference.

What do you make ? ? ? ?

Its been awhile......

2011-10-07T18:59:00.000-04:00

Where do I even start?

Work:
Well it is now official. Walter Reed Hospital is closed. Spent 22 wonderful years as a firefighter there and going to miss that place! All the patents have been moved over to Bethesda Naval which is now carrying the name - Walter Reed National Medical Center - (It will never be Walter Reed)

Forest Glen (The Walter Reed Annex) is still open and falls under Ft. Detrick now. That's where we're all working now. 2 Engine's, Ambulance & The Haz-Mat Unit.. No more Tower... Long Story and I don't even want to get into that!

The Old Hospital - Bldg. 1

Don't know the date of this picture.. Love it Though!!

Ceremony at Walter Reed Lowering the LAST American Flag flown on Post. September 15th 2011

Truck 50 & Tower 54

My Dad & I at Engine 13 - Truck 10 DCFD. Dad did 20+ years there. Went down with him to visit!! :)

Well other things are going ok. Enjoying life and spending time out and about. Looking forward to Fall. Plan on getting tons of Pictures this year. Stay Tuned for more Updates... I think I'm going to start Blogging again.

Remembering Mike!

2010-03-30T16:42:00.002-04:00

I have had the pleasure of knowing Mike for 21 years. We met in 1989, when I was hired at Walter Reed. Mike took me under his wing, showed me the ropes and I learned so much from him. I am thankful to have had such a great person to mentor me during my career.

I look back over the last 21 years and there are so many memories…
The first time Mike sent me to the grocery store, the only thing he had written on the list was, and I quote “2 pieces of cheese and 2 pieces of ham.” These items were exactly enough to make his sandwiches for that meal. It was on trips like these that I would grab some extra so he and I could eat together. Granted these grocery trips were only required when we weren’t indulging at the Roy Rogers that used to be nearby. On Friday nights, Mike and I would go to the NCO club on post to perform safety inspections and ensure that the fire doors were not locked. We always took the time to grab a bite to eat, drink a few sodas, sit back, relax and listen to some music. It is when I remember moments like these that I can’t help but smile.

When Mike made Captain I knew right away that I wanted to be part of his crew. I worked with Mike both at the main station and at Forest Glen. Our crew was the first to complete a shift in our new station at Forest Glen. That first shift was bittersweet… It was nice to have something new but at the same time it was hard to leave the old station. That crew consisted of Hawse, Pope, Shrub, Elkins, Mike & I…. We were and will FOREVER be known as The Outlaws!

Work was important to Mike but his family was as well. Mike would always update me and let me know how his daughter, Angela was doing in tennis and where the next tournament would be. Mike always tried to make sure he could be there; I know it meant a lot to him.

Mike was a great mentor & Captain but most of all a great person. He will surely be missed by his fellow brothers and sisters in the Fire Department. I want thank Mike’s family for sharing one of the most wonderful people in the world with us!

Never Forget!

2010-03-25T10:59:00.003-04:00

It is with deep regret and sadness that I must inform you all the Passing of Captain Michael Pittinger.

Mike was my Captain at Walter Reed for many years and had been battling cancer since June of 2009. In those 20 years I worked with Mike a friendship was built and today I feel as if Ive lost an older brother. The pain in my heart is undescribable but I know he is not suffering anymore and is with our savior Jesus Christ.

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers in this trying time.

God Speed Mike!

Grandmother

2010-03-10T15:39:00.003-05:00

3 Years ago today I lost one of the most Important women in my life. It has been a rough 3 years with the ups and downs and I miss being able to call and get that advice. MeMa You are missed very much! I love you!!

Missing You!

2010-03-07T22:32:00.000-05:00

Thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and a picture in a frame. Your memory is a keepsake, with which I'll never part. God has you in his keeping, I have you in my heart....

Re-post if you have a loved one in Heaven

Walter Reed Day

2009-08-13T09:25:00.000-04:00

People Die - Firefighting Stories

2009-07-08T14:17:00.000-04:00

There are so many things that go un-said or un-talked about on our job from day to day. We see things that the normal person doesn't see. Sometimes we bring this stress home and it effects our personal life. We don't ever want to talk about the things that we see. What we have witnessed. I never said anything to anyone before because I always thought that they would think that I was a weak person. Not strong enough mentally to handle the situations that we encounter.

I for one have changed that! I do talk about the things I have seen and witnessed. I hadn't done that before 2006. Why you ask.. Its because I learned many things about myself that year and into 2007. I would like to say Ive seen it all, But I know deep down inside of me that there is always going to be something more horrific that may or may not bother me. It may even be little things that bring back memories of something that has happen in the past. All I can do is turn to the people who love me and talk with them about what Ive seen. How I feel. Do they understand, Not always but they do have that shoulder to lean to and cry on if need be.

There are very few people who understand the job of a Firefighter, Paramedic, Police Officer or EMT. Sometimes I always think to myself if they could only walk in my shoes for 24hrs and see what I have seen over the last 20 years. But I don't wish that on anyone. Is this job a calling? I think so! I went through a period where I didn't even want to be a firefighter. I wanted to be a Truck Driver. Then I wanted to become a Police Officer. I was then hired as a police officer but they didn't have the money to start the class that year. I look back now and I'm thankful I didn't become a police officer. I think I would be a totally different person. I can now say I would not want to do any other job than what I am doing today and That is a Firefighter. Stress or Not, I love my job!

If you know me personally, You know the one thing that bothered me the most. That was the Amtrak/Marc crash in February of 1996. There have been others but that is the one which sticks in my head the most. From doing CPR on a baby to cutting someone out of a mangled car. All of those incidents play a roll in how or what we become. Its makes us a stronger willed person in the end. Yes we all cry about the things we see but I always think about the people that we were able to help save. Its not all us that have that control in saving someone. It is our god who decides when our time has come. I'm just happy that I can help him save people! Make a difference in the way that they live. I know its changed me! It has made me a stronger person and When my time is called, I will be ready!

I was looking online earlier and I found this. Not the regular Psalm 23 but this one was written for Firefighters by Dr. George O. Wood. I wanted to share this and my feelings. :)

Psalm 23 for Firefighters

The LORD is my firefighter, he spares no effort to rescue me.

He runs to me when I am trapped by flames,
he finds me when I have lost all hope,
he carries me in his arms to safety.

He finds a path through smoke and fire,
unselfishly concerned for my salvation only.

When all exits are blocked and gone,
remains at my side unto death.

I will fear no evil
for you are with me.

Your presence and courage,
they comfort me.

You give me a chance to live again, to sit at table
with family, friends, and even my enemies.

You provide me a fresh start on life,
my joy knows no limits.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Maryland Firefighters Memorial

2009-07-04T01:12:00.000-04:00