Hell yeah.....we crossed the finish line! And boy what a wild ride! The experience of a lifetime. The sense of accomplishment is overwhelming (and a relief) that it literally brought me to tears. Sixteen strangers lined up in squares, into four squads for eight long weeks of intense para-military type training. Sixteen potential and hopeful interior firefighters quickly became a family, a strong and united system of support of endless encouragement. When the going got tough, when we were hot and exhausted, we looked out for each other. One went down, we all went down. And trust me, there were a couple of days that this group, especially C-Squad refused to let me quit. This was hard. A really dig deep kinda pull it outta somewhere hard. As my Firefighter sister Audra said, "If it was easy, everyone would to it."
So now that we are on the other side, it's time to thank some people.
First let me start with the CFFD Chiefs, 2071, 2072, 2073. Thanks for my GEAR! No seriously, thank you for giving me the tools and the resources to get here.
To my CFFD Firefighter brothers and sisters. I am so proud to be a part of this family. To the regulars that answered the call for help or came to class: Ex-Chief Dreyer, Ex-Chief Weber, Ex-Chief (s) Blauvelt, Firefighter Hirshberg, Firefighter Sandor, Firefighter-Chief Sandor, Firefighter Petroff, Firefighter "Junior", Firefighter Nezaj, and Captain Astarita. Whether you showed up to train with me, set up obstacles, took photos or videos for my blog or sent me a "you got this" text or followed up with a phone call......... Thank you.
To the 2024 IFO class, especially C-Squad. Firefighter Maass, Casey and Poux. We felt it. We breathed it, we crushed it. We are badass. Thank you for pushing me, for refusing to let me quit...I will forever treasure this bond, and the experience of a lifetime. We lived it and survived it together.
To my instructors,-especially the regulars and in no particular order: Boddie, Ruggiero, Scagnelli, Miller, Kinash (s), Gagliardo, and Roberto. Thank you for seeing the potential in me. You never gave up on me, you followed up with me via text after a bad day and helped me get out of my head. I am here because of you.
To our EMT's that looked out for us, especially the Queen, our personal critical care nurse, Cathy Lewis. Thanks for reminding us to say hydrated and keeping an eye on us!
It takes a special kind of person to wrangle this group. My friend, my mentor, the master of ceremonies, Instructor Lewis. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with me, for never giving up on me, encouraging me, and for making me laugh when I wanted to cry. Oh and I will never put my face piece on the ground AGAIN! Anyone can be an instructor, but you are a true leader. Thank you! You and Cathy are stuck with me!
Then there are my girls. CA's! Firefighter Sichler and Brooks. Where do I begin? We met a year ago in BEFO and we hit the ground running. Don't know where ya'll have been all my life but I am glad that you are here! You are strong, brave badass firefighters and I am so blessed and thankful to have you ride this journey with me.
To my ride or die bestie, four years to last a lifetime and my firefighter brothers wife bestie, Debbie Marie and Keri Dreyer. You called and you messaged me DAILY without fail. Keri, you were my personal fitness coach! The support from the both of you was inspirational not only for seeing me through IFO but my personal weight loss, and healthy lifestyle challenge. Thank you and love you both.
To Ex-Chief Eidam, who finally read my blog! No seriously, thanks for my lucky radio strap, for showing me how to put the liner in my gear (in the parking lot) and how to don the face piece and the SCBA using the overhead method. I think we are the only two people that don the SCBA that way! Thank you for always believing in me when I cannot seem to believe in myself.
Last but not least, my family. My two wonderful children Caitlyn and John who probably think that there mother is crazy for doing this but were so supportive of my decision. Thank you for coming to family day, thank you for following my journey, thank you for believing in me. I love you both.
To my Guardian Angel, my beloved Aunt Mela. Not a day goes by that I don't think about you. Thank you for talking me through TOAC, Confined Space and Mask Confidence. I don't care if people think I am crazy, I know you were there with me, every step of the way.
What's next?? Survival Self Rescue in December.... But for now, I am going to catch up with my brothers and sisters and enjoy another drill night! Gosh, I missed these guys!
YES THAT IS ME ON THE NOZZLE!
FAILURE WAS NEVER AN OPTION!
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