Firefighter Engineer

What a great day for Engineers Promotions. I thought this day would not be here for at least another few years, but it came a few years early. Over the last year I have been working hard to become an Engineer for my department. When I first heard the department dropped the years to test to 2 years and 4 years to promote, I was excited but nervous. It was a hard decision to make at first because I liked where I was in my career and I was learning a lot. I liked being in the back of the engine and fighting fires. I had some long conversations with some great guys on my department. My Captain at the time told me I would be a fool if I did not test. He told me this kind of opportunity would never come again. This is a first for Logan Fire Department to test like this. I studied hard and worked hard for this and it paid off.  

Part of the promotion is a swearing in and pinning to make the position official. After the swearing in, I had Tiffany came up and pinned my badge on. It was a great experience. While we were up there, Emily had fun taking pictures, she felt so cool doing this. 

We also had to sign our names to the oath we took during the swearing in.  This made it official, I was now an Engineer Firefighter.  After the swearing in and pinning, Chief Hannig spoke for a bit and gave some great advice. One thing he said stuck with me. He said, "If you want to succeed know the position below you and the position above you."  You are never too good to serve others.

The night was fun. I had the whole family there supporting me. I have always thought of this day when I became a firefighter. 

Along with the Engineer promotions, we also witnessed the swearing in and pinning of the new guys.  These guys have been in the department for one year and are finally off probation.  As you can tell, there were a lot of them there for one year of service awards and only three of us for engineers promotions.

This guy, Chief Doug Fullmer, is an amazing guy. He had a lot of faith in me in getting promoted. He helped me get to this position by doing a pump chart and little projects to help me get to where I am at. It was cool to hear him tell Tiffany, "Out of all of the guys, your husband deserves this promotion more than anything and I am not just saying this. It is true and he has worked hard to get this promotion."  It was awesome to hear. I am so glad that I was led to the best Fire Department. I have learned a lot in the last four years and I will continue to learn a lot more and keep moving forward. 

When all is said and done, I need to thank this cute family of mine and thank them for their help in getting me here. They were truly a support to me and encouraged me to keep going. I was gone quite a bit for classes and studying and they were very patient with me. I could not have done it with out them.

 Look these two cool boys and maybe future firefighters. They look good in the helmet!  We'll have to see...