I think we all have our own
reasons for joining the fire service, some of us join because one of our
parents did it, or a grandparent, and we grew up hearing the stories of calls
or watching them run out the door when the pager went off. Others join because
friends have joined, or because they have moved to town and thought it would be
a great way to meet people. This list could go on but I think you get what I’m
saying, that we all have a reason we decided to get out of bed, or miss a family
dinner to go help a complete stranger in there darkest hour.
My own story is a simple one really
my father was a fire fighter in Merricksville, Ontario and a member of the Tri
County Rescue Team. He quit both departments not long after I was born and
became an over the road truck driver. I don’t remember him being on the
department, but I heard the stories and saw how his face would light up
whenever he saw a truck. He told me once that he applied to Ottawa for a full
time position but since he didn’t have a grade 12 he couldn’t get on. I do
remember going threw his desk draw when I was a kid and finding newspaper
clippings of fires he’d been on and photos of him in the paper. Now just because my father had been a fire
fighter didn’t install a want or need for me to join up or grow up wanting to
be a fire fighter. I remember watching the movie Backdraft and being scared of
fire after that. But I grew up wanting to help people I just didn’t know how I
wanted to do it.
In high school I decided I wanted
to join the Army, and did so as soon as I met the minimum age requirement in my
last year. In December of 1999 I was sworn into the Army Reserve and served
with the Governor General Foot Guard. My best friend at the time wanted to be a
cop and was in college taking Police Foundations, since we did pretty much
everything alike I followed suit. It wasn’t long after starting school I
decided being a Police Officer wasn’t for me. I dropped out of school and for a
year or so wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I decided to try the Army full
time, but in the end it’s not really where I wanted to be. I loved my time in
the Army and made some amazing friends and did some pretty cool things.
So after getting out of the Army
I saw an ad in the paper for extras for a movie, they needed soldiers and I
figured well I was just one in real life I’m sure I can fake it. So I answered
the ad and went to set. Well answering that ad set in motion a career in film
and television that lasted 4 years. While doing the film thing I applied to the
Smiths Falls Fire Department, I never heard back from them, which was upsetting
but I moved on from it. After one film I was working on I really didn’t like
myself and who I was at that point in time. So I moved west and started a new
career in Telecom.
So I was living in Calgary when I
met Thomas Blasetti. Thomas and I worked together on the line crew and him and
I got to talking he was a Volunteer with Rocky View County. After talking to
him and telling him how I felt and about wanting to help people he told me that
Rocky View had a Paid On Call program. Now being a POC in that department was
different from most POC’s. In Rocky View you sign up and do 24 hour or 12 Hour
shifts with the full time guys at one of the 3 full time stations. Since I
didn’t live near one of the volunteer halls I figured why not give it a
try. So I applied in the Spring and
never heard a thing, so I figured well maybe this just isn’t meant to be. In
August of 2009 I got an email asking me to come in for an interview for a POC
position. Needless to say I was very excited, so had my interview and was told
that I’d hear ether way if I got on or not. The next couple of weeks every time
I checked my email I was hoping to see a welcome aboard you’re now a fire
fighter. It was September 11th 1pm in the afternoon Thomas and I
were putting up cable in trailer park. I heard my Blackberry go off telling me
I had an email. I pulled my phone out and sure enough there was an email from
Rocky View. Nervously I opened the email and started to read. Congratulations
Christopher you’ve been chosen to be a Paid On Call Fire Fighter with the
County of Rocky View! I radioed Thomas who was working in the bucket, he came
down and walked over and shock my hand. He was the first to welcome me to the
brotherhood, he then remarked on how it was interesting to find out I had
gotten on the department on 9/11.
In October I had my first shift
at Station 72, that morning we had a massive snowstorm I was so nervous
figuring we would be getting a ton of calls that day. Turns out we didn’t get a
single call the whole day, we did some training and bonded with the guys I was
on shift with. It wasn’t till my next shift at the same Station that I got my
first call which was a medical call at the mall in our area. When we got back
from the call I had the biggest smile on my face. One of the full time guys
asked me why I was smiling, I never told him the real reason but it was because
I knew exactly where I belonged, it had just taken me sometime to get there.
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