Every once in a while I come across an article so moving, I want to share it with everyone I know. This article is a perfect example of that, and I am so grateful that UniformStories gave us permission to post an excerpt from “I Wish the Public Could Understand the Price We Pay,” a piece written by Detroit firefighter Scott Ziegler, to share with you today. Though some parts are a bit difficult to read, this is an honest account of what these men and women face on a daily basis and should be shared.

Maybe you’ve seen a group of firefighters at the grocery store, or you’ve driven by the
local firehouse and you’ve seen a few of them outside shooting hoops, or washing their
rigs. Doesn’t seem like much work, does it?

Maybe you think our schedule is too easy. Maybe you’re one of those who jokingly says
things like, “Must be nice to be able to sleep at work.” Or maybe you’re even the type
who scoffs at the idea of us taking time out of our day to even be at the grocery store on
your (the taxpayer’s) dime. We have all heard these things before. It’s ok, we can handle it.

However, I wish you could truly know what it’s like to spend a career doing this job, or
even just a 24-hour shift. Only then would you know the price we pay for those small perks.

Then you may know what a child’s hand feels like inside of your own, while you desperately
try to keep him calm, and from looking over at his mother’s lifeless body that is in the front
seat of their mangled car.

And you would feel the anger of the man who is swinging at you after you just brought him
back from the brink of death, because he says you killed his high. You know you’ve probably
postponed the inevitable, and hope to God this man gets help, before his actions and poor
judgment kills another human being. Most likely an innocent one.

You’d understand what it’s like to see the face of a 3-year-old boy after pulling him out of a
lake that he and his father were fishing on and went missing from…3 days before.

You could feel the pain of responding to a friend or family member’s home as you find
them in cardiac arrest after a “successful” suicide. You see, if you work in a small town
you’ll have the “luxury” of knowing most of the folks you run on.

And you’d know the way a body smells after it has been set on fire. Yes, SET on fire. It’s
different than the normal burnt body smell. The hatred and evil it took to commit the act
will linger with the smoke, and stay with you forever.

You’d know the empty feeling that comes after searching a burning house for people
trapped, and not being able to find them. Did you search hard enough? Maybe they’re
outside. Then you’d feel that absolute disappointment in yourself when finding out that
they were in that bedroom upstairs…the room that had fire blowing out the window. Could
you have done a better job? Could you have been faster? Those kids missed out on so much life.

While this is not the entire article, I believe that this excerpt helps us understand what it is that firefighters face head on in their profession. I strongly encourage you to read the article in its entirety on the UniformStories website to truly appreciate how touching it is. We have such an enormous amount of respect and admiration for all of the uniformed men and women who put their lives on the line daily basis to save others, and reading this article really puts things into perspective. To all of the first responders out there, thank you for everything that you do and the sacrifices that you make.

 

 

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