Rob Wells doesn’t have a permanent fire station. He has a new team for a day – every day. Monday was his first time at Station 37 in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Wells, a 32-year-old shift-relief firefighter from Miramar, is assigned to different Miami-Dade stations as part of his two years of rooky training. He drives from his home in Miramar to his assigned station. Once there, he talks to his supervisor, checks the engine and makes sure the equipment is ready.
“If a call goes bad and we don’t have something, it’s pretty much my head. I’m the rooky,” he said.
In between calls, they spend time together like a regular family does. They eat together, chat about their day and snicker at each other’s jokes.
“We clean. We cook; we run calls together. It’s a family; there are a lot of jokes and pranks, but that’s important for the fire service because you get to know each other that way,” he said.
This was his first time at station 37 and he was already one of them.
“It’s like being in college or having an extended family. Every time I come to work I meet new people.”
And even though rescuing cats, ducklings and even horses is not uncommon, most of the calls are more complicated. His most impacting call was about a child who had drowned. He arrived at a house where a desperate mother was holding an already dead child.
“It was pretty rough because I walked through the door and the mother took the baby -- the baby was blue, lifeless -- and throws the baby on me,” he said. “It’s very serious. I think a big part of this job is trying to remain calm. That’s what people don’t see, and a lot of people think that firefighters just play around all day and they just sleep all day, but it’s a challenging job, that’s what’s great about the job.”
The best part about his job is being able to make a difference in people’s lives.
“Sometimes it’s as simple as holding someone’s hand,” he said. It’s not always that simple. “It’s a challenging job because you have to be sharp. Seconds count,” he said.
They train on a daily basis to maintain that sharpness and be able to respond to any call.
“You take the good and the bad. You have good calls and bad calls,” Wells said.
Every day brings about a new learning experience for the fireman.
“Every call I run a call I’m learning. Even just spending time with the firefighters, we talk about our calls. We talk about our bad calls. We talk about our good calls,” Wells said.
The station has a set of five pictures hanging from the dinning room wall. These photos show images of 9/11, a recollection to them of what that day meant for their careers and lives.
“After 9/11 America in general is just not the same. We had a lot of brothers and sisters die and we take them with us. We’re a family, so when we run calls safety is always on our minds,” Wells said.
“Terrorism is a big thing. It could be a simple call that can go haywire,” he said.
Wells first decided he wanted to be a firefighter when he was 14 years old. He was surfing, when during a low tide he fell off the board and the fin from the board jabbed into his leg.
“Lifeguards came, they called rescue and they came and took me to the hospital. And I thought it was the coolest thing,” Wells said.
About the cats . . . “You’ve never seen a cat skeleton on a tree,” Wells said. “They come down.”
Wells is originally from Cleveland, Ohio but grew up in Vero Beach, Florida.
Audio of Interview:
SPECIAL SIDEBAR POST BY MICHELLE AREAN:
http://singleandfab.com/blog/2007/09/19/firehouse-experiences/
1 comment:
Wow! I am speechless. What a professional production. I was honored to participate in the interview. The three of you were great. I had lots of fun. I feel different now that I am famous..:0)
Any time you guys want to pay me back......jk, Your friend,Rob
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