Firefighter AND Olympian - Jimmy Watkins

The 2012 London Olympics are here!  Go Team USA!!

One amazing aspect of the Olympics is that these athletes have the patience to train for 4 long years before competing on this famous international stage.  And because the Games occur every 4 years, most Olympians will only compete in them a couple times.  Maybe this is extraordinary to me because I'm (personally) impatient.  But the enduring stories of Olympic athletes are truly inspiring!

So here's a great Olympic story.  Jimmy Watkins competes for the USA Cycling team as a sprinter.  Most Olympians dedicate their full-time attention to training.  But not Jimmy.  He's a husband, a father, a firefighter... and then an athlete.

Jimmy is a firefighter in Bakersfield, CA (Kern County, Station 55).  His experience is primarily as a hotshot (wildland firefighter), so he'll be missed during this active wildfire season.  And incidentally, he went to Colorado Springs last month to train with his team in the altitude.  But due to smoke from the very wildfires he would normally be fighting his cycling team had to relocate to Los Angeles.

Jimmy starting cycling when he was 21 years old to train for his firefighting job, but he quickly realized there might be more.  And his competitive drive now has competing in the 2012 London Olympics!!

Go Team USA!

Click here for a great video clip...  Jimmy Watkins on Bakersfield News17

MLB Star to Become an EMT-Firefighter

UPDATE:  Bryce Harper was added to the 2012 MLB All Star Team!!

If you haven't heard of Bryce Harper, then you must not care about baseball.  Bryce Harper is a rising (19 year-old) star for the Washington Nationals.  So much so that he narrowly missed a roster spot on the All Star Team this year!

But he's not getting ahead of himself.  When asked this week what he would do if he weren't playing baseball, he stated his desire to be a Firefighter.  And in case his job in baseball doesn't work out, Bryce plans to spend the offseason getting his EMT training - so he can "do the firefighting thing."  He said its to give him something to fall back on :-)

Well, its an honorable profession.  Doesn't pay as much as the MLB.  And firefighting is more stressful.    But it's rewarding, which is why a huge majority of the 1.2 million US firefighters are volunteers!  And Bryce knows what he's talking about when he says he'll focus on getting his EMT, since 70% of the calls to fire departments are for medical reasons.

Hats off to Bryce Harper, and the heroes who "do the firefighting thing."

Current Wildfire Info - There's an App For That

Want the most up-to-date info about a current wildfire?  There's an iPhone/iPad app for that, called Wildfire Pro.

It provides detailed information about a wildfire, including:

• Incident data from FireWhat.com
• Active fire perimeter mapping
• Fire calculators with Weather and FDFM/PIG
• Quick reference guides for Safety, Weather, Operations and Size Up reports
• Fire maps with Custom overlays, Severe weather warnings and NEXRAD radar

Until now most of this data was not available until you arrived on scene.  But this app gives you vital information prior to arriving on scene.  That way you have more time to think through firefighting strategies and consider what wildland fire gear you'll need.

It has been (and is likely be) an active wildfire season.  Prepare now!

This app costs $4.99.

For Free, you can check out Wildfire Info

For $1.99, you can check out Wildfire Home.

All three pull data from FireWhat.com.

Fire Chief of the Year

Have you submitted your nomination for Fire Chief of the Year?  The deadline is June 15th!!

This 17-year tradition (dating back to 1995) is publicized by Fire Chief magazine.  And the 2012 award will be presented at the Fire-Rescue International Show in Denver this August.

Your Fire Chief is likely a brave individual who takes on many responsibilities - like Firefighting, EMS, managing your Department and purchasing your Fire and EMS supplies.  Its no wonder being a Firefighter is one of the most stressful jobs of 2012!

Take this opportunity to show your Fire Chief your support!  Click here for more information, and check out this video...

A little Firefighting, a lot more Doctoring

As you know, Fire Departments respond to far more EMS calls than actual Firefighting calls.  In fact, an EMS event occurs literally every second in the US!  60-70% of all calls to a Fire Department are for "medical" reasons, not "fire" reasons.

But most firefighters joined the Fire Department not for the gentleness of doctoring ... they joined for the action of firefighting!!

So, to rub a little salt in the wound, firefighters often grow weary of medical patients who become "frequent flyers."  These are medical patients who call on the Department so many times they might as well get a loyalty card and a frequent flyer number!

Firefighters get frustrated that this takes away from their first love - firefighting.  But sometimes their loud complaining can have unintended consequences - by leading Politicians and the Public to believe the EMS function should be privatized.  And perhaps parts of it should, but keep in mind the EMS work brings in quite a lot of money to a Fire Department.  It would be a tremendous loss of resources, and potentially jobs, if Fire Departments began to loose out on the EMS side.

Marc Scrivener wrote a terrific article about this in the Fire Chief Blog.

For now, Fire Departments offer both excellent EMS and firefighting services.  And the complexity of being superb at both is one of the reasons being a firefighter is ranked among the most stressful jobs of 2012.

So to firefighters everywhere ... you do a great job, keep it up!!