Being a firefighter the job of helping others

Published 5:00 pm Monday, August 31, 2009

In the 1991 movie Backdraft, fictional firefighter Ronald Bartel tells his pathologist: “The funny thing about a fireman is, night and day, they are always a fireman.”

While this takes place in an overly dramatic scene of a marginal movie, it holds a lot of truth. It is often fairly easy to tell if people are firefighters without seeing them in action, because their movements are calculated and concise while their natural instinct is to always give a helping hand.

This is the case with Brett Bishop, a firefighter and EMT-Basic with the Astoria Fire Department for the past two years.

“Growing up I went to church with a group of firefighters,” said Bishop. “I always watched the way they acted and the way they worked, and it really reminded me of myself.”

Bishop has known ever since that time that he wanted to be a firefighter. After high school he began an internship with the fire department in North Bend, Ore. During his time there he worked towards getting his associate degree in Fire Science at Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay, Ore.

While an associate degree isn’t required, Bishop noted that it does give individuals a competitive advantage in the job market.

“My time in North Bend was really beneficial because while I was getting the education in the classroom, I was getting a lot of hands-on experience at the actual fire department,” he said.

Since taking the position in Astoria he has had to adjust to a smaller department, which means having to learn a little bit about everything.

“This department is unique in that we do a lot of different things,” he said. “At a fire I could end up in the driver’s seat, on the hose or on the roof, all depending on who is there. Not to mention we respond to a lot of EMT [emergency medical technician] calls.”

Bishop enjoys the variety in his work. He also really likes the people he works with and the camaraderie they share.

“It’s a lot like being on a sports team because you have to rely on everyone else,” he said. “I like that because I have always played sports.”

Although Bishop is willing to respond at a moment’s notice to any situation, he said pediatric EMT calls are his least favorite.

“They are scary situations and there is not a lot you can do,” he said. “It really ups the stress levels.”

For those aspiring to be a firefighter, Bishop warns that respect is a very important part of the profession. Considering lives are on the line, the chain of command is taken very seriously.

“You can’t just come in here and be cocky,” he said. “You need to take what you are told to do seriously, and do it with pride.”