Under Fire: A Lifetime of Service

My career in the fire service spanned 40 years. This book is my story of the harsh realities I and other first responders dealt with daily. When I entered the fire service, I was twenty years old.

When I left, I was sixty. My career included tours of duty with four different fire departments. Some were small and some were large. Some were busy and some were slow. As for the victims I was called upon to help, they were all the same. Scared, confused, and in severe pain. I started as a Firefighter and climbed my way through the ranks to Fire Chief. During my journey I served twenty years as a Paramedic as well.

My customers were the public. And the public calls 911 when their problems escalate beyond their ability to manage them. It was a career that demanded never-ending training, testing and the stress that goes with it. Combine this with the fact Firefighters, Paramedics, and Police Officers are exposed to and witness some of the most graphic and horrific scenes imaginable.

The toxic mixture of career stress and mutilated bodies sometimes unknowingly leave deep scars. The kind of scars that over the years go undetected until something triggers the buried emotion. Most people are rarely allowed to look behind the curtain. The stories in this book are all true, they capture just some of those horrific events and the people who put their lives in my hands.

When our customers call 911, it's their worst day. For us? It's every day. - Thomas Wills