B Shifter A Firefighter S Memoir

Brunacini makes the observation that fire departments more closely resemble cults or severely dysfunctional families than a regular workforce. He brings the reader into the closed world of fire station life and the wide range of personalities that a fire station houses.

In 1990, seeking an escape from city life, John Wiznuk moved to Saturna Island in British Columbia’s Southern Gulf Islands. Two years later, a friend invited him to one of the regular practices of the volunteer fire department. What began as a volunteer, part-time hobby soon became his life, launching a twenty-year involvement with the Saturna Island Volunteer Fire Department. He resigned as fire chief in 2012. Most people’s understanding of what volunteer firefighters do extends no further than childhood notions of big red trucks with flashing lights and screaming sirens zooming somewhere to save the day. The reality is more complex. Firefighters never know what the next call will be, or what they will find when they reach the site. The challenges extend beyond the physical ones of extinguishing flames, rescuing individuals, and dealing with disaster. People in stressful situations are unpredictable. Even those being helped may lash out. And within the fire department itself, as there are wherever there are human beings, there are squabbles, politics, and personality conflicts. Yet through it all, volunteer firefighters persevere, thinking quickly, adapting, dealing with the inevitable problems, focusing on solutions—making it happen, somehow, someway. In this heartfelt, fascinating, and deeply felt memoir, Wiznuk recounts the struggles and achievements, failures and successes, of his two decades as an emergency responder. It’s the story of one small rural volunteer fire service—but it’s also the universal story of similar services across Canada and around the world, wherever ordinary citizens voluntarily join forces to protect their homes and community...and in the process, become extraordinary.

In a 33-year career with the New York City Fire Department, Tom Dunne fought hundreds of fires, survived near death incidents, crawled down burning hallways, met unforgettable characters, and witnessed the 9/11 terrorist attack. From working in glittering mid-Manhattan high-rises to squalid ghetto tenements, he saw how people in crisis lived and survived and how the firefighters who served them worked and bonded. Exploring both the positive and controversial aspects of being a firefighter, this no-holds barred memoir provides an honest account of an unusual occupation that outsiders seldom get to see.

A powerful account of the hazards, challenges, and dangers faced by America's first-responders.

A former City of Milwaukee firefighter, the author writes his memoir with candor, depth, spice and emotional insight. He lays out the tumultuous events that led him as a youth into the profession, and the wealth of eye-opening experiences along the way. He plumbs the character of the firefighters and paramedics who answer the call for rescue--but also the character of those who make the call, the rescuer and the rescued. The author keeps the reader close with vivid details of fighting fire and dealing with the anguish of loss and destruction. He pulls no punches; he also describes the promotion process, the politics in stations and in the service as a whole, the struggle of teaching young firefighters, and the heavy price of dedication. The book fully displays the humanity of members of the fire service and the flavor of fire service tradition.

Follow retired fire chief George DeVault into a burning house. A woman's trapped inside. Enter the little-known world of volunteer firefighters. Where daily life -- work, family, meals or sleep -- stops the second there's a fire call. "A terrific read. Full of exciting stories. Gut-twisting." -- Bill White, The Morning Call. Award-winning memoir.

This book has more than twenty years of real-life incidents and was written for two reasons. I want those who are just starting in this profession and also those who have many years' experience, both paid and volunteers, to understand the roller coaster of emotions they will experience. The other reason for writing this book is to try to explain to the general public what emergency responders go through and the many different emotions we experience. We are not robots- we are just like you. We are your neighbors, your teachers, and your friends. Every one of us has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and energy in preparing to be there in your time of need. It is our privilege and we love to do it. Everything I talk about in the book is real; there are no fabricated stories or sensationalizing to make the incidents sound more dramatic. They are written truthfully, as they happened, and the emotions are genuine. I hope this book sheds some light on the courageous and extraordinary people that work and volunteer in these professions and the challenges they face.

Bobbie Scopa spent close to five decades working through nearly every challenge a firefighter can face. Scopa was a strike team leader for the Dude Fire in 1990, where six firefighters were tragically killed, and she served at Ground Zero immediately after 9/11. She's worked mountain rescues, city fires, mega-wildfires, and everything in between. While battling conditions and harsh flames on the outside, she also found herself waging a tougher battle on the inside. Scopa was torn between how to maintain the faÇade everyone expected of her and whether to live as her true self. "A hero firefighter can't possibly be transgender, right?" she thought. Both Sides of the Fire Line is Bobbie Scopa's uplifting memoir of bravely facing the heat of fierce challenges, professionally and personally.