Please note – we’ve changed the voting requirements this month. In order to vote, you’ll have to create an account and log in to vote. Once you register, you’ll be taken directly to the voting page.
Don’t want to register? You can still see the voting results – just click here.
Name: Jeff B.
Profession: Volunteer Firefighter/EMT
In 2012, Jeff responded to a medical emergency. As the 34-year volunteer Firefighter and EMT loaded his patient into an ambulance, a nearby fire truck popped out of gear and started to roll. As the truck came towards them both, Jeff shoved his patient out of the way- saving her life as he took the entire brunt of the impact. The force of the hit pinned Jeff between the vehicles, breaking both femurs, two bones in one shin and his pelvis in two spots. After several surgeries and months of recovery, Jeff’s surgeon told him his injuries would prevent him from firefighting. He now continues to work full time as a director of sales.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgALcX84IpI
Name: Angela W.
Profession: EMT
Emergency Medical Technician Angela W. was diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer on her birthday last year. Angela faced her diagnosis with bravery and determination, muscling through radiation and chemotherapy with resolve and an upbeat attitude. Angela even returned to work as an EMT while still undergoing treatment. Some days, she would head to work for 12 or 24-hour shifts straight from radiation therapy. Now a breast cancer survivor, Angela thanks her immediate family and her EMS family for their support and encouragement during her recovery.
Name: September S.
Profession: Registered Nurse
September is a registered nurse raising three children while her husband is deployed in Afghanistan. As her husband puts it, “If superwoman did exist on this planet, her alter ego is September.” Watch the video below to hear directly from him what makes this Nurse such a hero:
Name: Steve H.
Profession: Educator
Steve is a Special Ed Behavioral Disorders teacher working with students of all ages. His coworkers describe Steve’s effect on his students as ‘amazing.’ Fellow teachers point out that his students are prepared and confident after his classes. They note the ‘happy changes’ that Steve helps his students make- changes that stay with them long after they have left his classroom. Steve not only teaches his students, he strives to make them feel important and needed. Outside of the classroom, Steve and his wife train guide dogs for the blind. So far, they have trained ten dogs- all of whom graduated on to the next level of training!
Name: Michael D.
Profession: Law Enforcement
In September 2012, San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies were attempting to arrest a suspect when the suspect began shooting a high-powered rifle from a 2nd story window- hitting and wounding two officers. Off-duty SWAT Officer DeWitt, a member of the department’s Gang Suppression Team, happened to be driving by the scene in his SWAT vehicle when he noticed the disturbance. He immediately donned his vest, armed himself, and offered his service. Upon learning that an injured officer was still in the line of fire, DeWitt assembled a team, gave assignments, and proceeded in to retrieve the officer. The team reached the wounded officer, but realizing they were moving too slow, Officer DeWitt slung his weapon over his back–foregoing his own safety– to give full physical assistance and lessen the team’s time in the line of fire. While the team used DeWitt’s first aid kit to attend to the officer’s injuries, DeWitt noticed a woman and two small children running from the apartment complex in panic. Realizing that they were running into the line of fire, DeWitt left his position of safety to run and pick up one child as the woman carried the other to safety. DeWitt then returned to the apartment complex to make sure the second wounded officer was being cared for. He was nominated by his fellow law enforcement officers who note his extreme bravery, leadership, and judgment skills.
In our day-to-day work with Firefighters, we kept hearing more and more about budget cuts. With increasingly smaller budgets, firefighters were putting all their limited resources towards life-saving gear and equipment, and–not surprisingly–their firehouses were not the top priority. So back in 2012, we teamed up with Sherwin Williams, Maytag, and FireRescue TV to put together a $15,000 Firehouse Makeover. It was just one small way for us to say ‘Thank You’ to firefighters and make their homes away from home a little more… ‘home-y.’
Well, after months of talking about our Firehouse Makeover, we finally picked a winner! Firefighter Tameka “Ron” Cody of the Thomson, Georgia FD was our first Firehouse Makeover winner. Members of our team–along with Fire Chief Rick Sewell, Thomson mayor Kenneth Usry, members of the City Council and just about every city employee in town–gathered to surprise Ron with the news of his win. From there, the real work got started. Just a few short weeks later, we headed back out to Thomson to reveal the results with the Thomson Community and the famous Maytag Repairman.
We had such a great time working with the Thomson Fire Department renovating their firehouse. We are so grateful to the community for helping us thank these firefighters.
Now it’s time for our SECOND Firehouse Makeover! Next time, it could be YOUR station! To enter to win the next Firehouse Makeover, click here. Our next drawing will be in October 2013. Good luck!
This Guest Blog post is by blogger Michael Morse. Rescue Captain Morse, the blogger behind Rescuing Providence, is the featured article in our Firefighter & EMT News Resource: Flashpoint. To sign up to receive Flashpoint in your inbox once a month, click here!
Spring Cleaning
Everything she owned was in that house-everything she had ever owned. Nearly eighty years is a lot of time to acquire things, magazines stacked from floor to ceiling, boxes stacked on boxes, filled with things she owned. Furniture covered every inch of the three-bedroom place, mostly old, but a few new pieces scattered here and there. Most people consider their space in square feet, Mildred counted hers in cubic feet, and every inch needed to be filled.
The overflow spilled out of the entry door into the vestibule, where more “things” were stacked. From there, a path of stuff led to the driveway, where two mini-vans sat, idle for years, crammed with more things. One of the vans had a three cubic foot space where a driver might be able sit, if she crammed herself in, but visibility would be impossible, except perhaps for straight ahead. I don’t thing there has been much forward sight here, every inch of the premises reeked of life already lived.
She held on to the doorframe, digging her fingers into the greasy wood, refusing to leave. “I can’t leave my babies,” she said, frantic, panic setting into her eyes, eyes that had seen a lot, and had let go of little. Cats prowled through the clutter, seemingly everywhere, then nowhere, and then everywhere again. The stench making our eyes water and stomachs churn, bile rising in our throats as we tried to pry Mildred away from everything she had. Had ever had. There would be dead cats under her things, of that I was certain. The live ones didn’t have long to go either, and would be collected by Animal Control, quarantined, evaluated and most likely euthanised.
Then, Mildred’s things would be put into dumpsters by workers dressed in white de-con suits, with artificial respirators to keep the diseased air out of their lungs, the very air that I breathed into mine every second that we lingered in the doorway. I knew she was ill, and living in absolute squalor and disease, yet I simply could not drag her away from her world, the only one she understood, and take her to the hospital where she would be stripped, and showered, and given clean clothes, and put in a sterile room where air flow and empty space would suffocate her. Intelligence burned brightly in her vivid blue eyes, eyes as clear as my own, and I knew she was far from legally incompetent. She could not, and never would understand how these strangers entered her world and dragged her away, never to see it or her “babies” again.
“Mildred, we have to go. Your neighbors complained about all of the stuff and the cats. We have a court order that says we have to take you to the hospital for an evaluation before you can come back. It will only take a few hours.”
She looked me in the eye, and I saw defeat and resignation in hers.
“Promise I’ll be home again?” she begged, the loosened her grasp, letting go of the doorframe.
I gained her trust only to betray her. It was the only way to get her to leave without physically dragging her, kicking and screaming away from her home. The crowd grew, and the spectacle grew along with it, so I did my best to restore a sense of normalcy, and made promises that I knew were empty, and took her hand and led her away, past the nosy neighbors, some of whom shook their heads and tsk tsk’d as we marched past them. There were no goodbyes, no see you when you get back, no get well soons, just a little old lady holding a stranger’s hand and walking to an ambulance and into a new, frightening life.
A person needs space to grow, using past experiences as a guide while forging ahead. The weight of decades of living must be shed as the years progress lest the weight of our accumulations make moving forward impossible. We need to let go in order to flourish, make room for new things and experiences, and learn to give up what once held importance, but with time became nothing more than a burden. There is a lot to be said about starting fresh, and getting a new start. Every day is a new beginning, memories that we cherish, lessons we have learned, mistakes made and overcome all take their place in the forging of what that beginning will become. Mildred was lost in the accumulation of what was, never letting go, and never moving forward. We rode to the Emergency Room quietly, her on the stretcher, lost in a world of her own thoughts, me behind her, writing my report, and trying to be objective with my words.
I have faith in most of the people I work with, and the folks at Elderly Affairs do a remarkable job with the limited resources at their disposal, but I couldn’t lose the sinking feeling that Mildred would be lost in the shuffle, and the people who took her “case” would miss the connection to the woman who tried desperately to hold on to the only thing she knew. Perhaps it is better that they did not see the squalor, be immersed in the odors, see the poor little kitty cats as they scurried through the debris. Maybe they would see this as a fresh case, an opportunity to show a woman who needed their help how to let go, and start anew.
I certainly hope so.
I heard on the news that there were over forty cats in her home, which had been condemned and scheduled for demolition. Some of them were suitable for adoption.
I spent my days off cleaning my basement. It was time to let go of some things, and make room for something new.
Captain Michael Morse is a Rescue Captain in the Providence Fire Department’s rescue unit and author of two books: “Rescuing Providence” and “Responding.” His blog was voted the winner of the 2012 CalCas Battle of the Blogs ‘Top Firefighter & EMT Blog.’ Cpt. Morses’s books & blog are great resources for EMTs and Firefighters- full of advice, news briefs, and day-to-day insider stories. To learn more about Captain Morse, check out our interview with him!
Name: Jody W. Profession: Registered Nurse (Home Health Nurse) Nominated by: Stephen N.
In December 2011, Jody W. saved a complete stranger’s life. As a Nurse, this wasn’t really something new; saving lives is in the job description. But this time was different; this time Jody saved a man’s life by giving him her kidney. Growing up, Jody saw the struggle of kidney disease and the life-saving power of organ donation first hand. Her close family members battled kidney disease, and several were given a new lease on life through organ donations. In July 2011, Jody put herself on a donation transplant list as a non-directed donor. Not even 5 months later, she was cleared to donate and matched with a recipient. In December, moments before her surgery, Jody got to meet the recipient of her kidney and his family. He is now doing well and on December 8th, 2012, Jody and the recipient celebrated their 1-year transplant anniversary! Jody is also very dedicated to international health and has been on 13 mission trips in Central America. She says she plans to use any prize money from Nominate a Hero on her next trip to Honduras!
Jody, the recipient of her kidney, and their families on the day of the operation.
Jody and the recipient looking GREAT 6-months post-surgery!
Name: Keven R. Profession: Sheriff’s Deputy Nominated by: Joel H.
Deputy Keven R. was on patrol in Dallas when he happened to notice something peculiar: a car’s brake lights sticking out of a lake. He immediately drove down to the reservoir, pointed his patrol car’s headlights across the water’s surface and got out of his car. That’s when he realized that the car was slowly sinking- with two young women trapped inside. Deputy Keven R. immediately took off his utility belt and waded into the freezing water. He then swam to the car and shattered the car window’s glass. Inside, the two women were beating on the window, begging for help and telling him that they could not swim. He pulled both women out of the vehicle, ‘bear-hugging’ them as he swam them back to safety. Rowan barely got both women to shore before the car was completely submerged. Amazingly, the entire ordeal was captured on the Deputy’s patrol car dash cam. Check it out below:
Deputy Keven Rowan
Name: Bradley H. Profession: Volunteer Firefighter & EMT, Full-time EMT Nominated by: Joyce H.
Brad got his start in firefighting as volunteer at only 18-years-old. Now, he serves as a full-time EMT while still volunteering his time as both an EMT and Firefighter. In March of 2011, Brad was called to a residential fire. When he arrived, there was already heavy smoke coming from the home. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Brad and his team bravely entered the home–without gear–to rescue a bed-ridden woman trapped on the second floor. Within minutes, Brad and crew had the patient secured in an ambulance and on her way to the hospital. For his heroic action and quick-thinking, Brad was awarded the Medal of Valor.
Brad H. receiving a Medal of Valor and Lifesaving from his Fire Chief.
Name: Mrs. Ridge Profession: Educator Nominated by: Vicky P., Debra P., Ginny B., and Zena B. (Parents of current and previous students)
Parents of Mrs. Ridge’s students simply cannot say enough about the impact this inspiring educator has on their children, both academically and personally. They note her ‘incredible spirit, kindness, generosity and excellence as a teacher and citizen.’ Comparing her teaching abilities to being ‘able to leap tall building in a single bound,’ they shared all the ways her dedication and innovation has inspired their children to develop a love for learning. Mrs. Ridge is known for the family-like atmosphere she fosters in her classroom and unique ability to tailor a lesson plan to a diverse group of students by truly getting to know each of her students. She has also been known to dip into her own pocket to make sure she can give her students the very best despite budget cuts in her school district, even going so far as to provide lunches for students that would otherwise go without and donating used clothes from her own home to her students’ families. This educator is truly viewed as a ‘hero’ and ‘angel’ by her students and their families.
This Guest Blog post by blogger Firefighter Wife is the featured article in our Firefighters’ News Resource: Flashpoint. To sign up to receive Flashpoint in your inbox once a month, click here!
Why is my Fire Wife such a Grinch?: A Guest Blog post by Firefighter Wife blogger Lori Mercer
I’ve been married to my firefighter for over 10 years now. He’s been a firefighter for all that time. It’s all I know. And when we were young with infants in our arms and toddlers constantly underfoot, I was a hot mess of a young fire wife. I would stand at the front door at 6 am with an already fussy baby in my arms praying the 3-year-old would sleep another hour. And I’d cry as he walked out with his evil gear bag. I’d cry about why he was leaving to go have breakfast at the fire house instead of spending 10 more minutes with me. Later that day, I would imagine the wildest rescue accident possible, starring my firefighter as the victim. And when I couldn’t reach anyone at the station phone, I’d turn on the local news to confirm it wasn’t really happening. I’d fall asleep before he’d call at night and wake up angry. Convinced some toxic malice overtakes him at the firehouse and he falls out of love with me while there, refusing to call and say good night.
Yes, these are real life thoughts in the head of a young fire wife. You can chalk it up to postpartum hormones or 29-year-old learning-to-be-married selfishness. But now, only 11 blink-of-an-eye years later, my 40-year-old wisdom has finally got a grip.
Oh how I wish I could bottle my lessons up in magic fairy dust and send one to every new fire wife out there.
Maybe, just maybe, some of you can relate to these crazy fire family dynamics. And nothing makes the fire wife grinch come out on attack like the holiday season. Oh how can the holidays frustrate a fire wife. Let me count the ways.
12 Hours of Overtime
11times being asked where your husband is while single-mom-ing the church Christmas party
10 gifts still left to wrap by yourself on Christmas Eve
9 -to-5ers bragging about 14 days off work with their family
8 little gifts to find for the guys on his crew
7 dozen cookies to bake for the neighborhood cookie exchange
6 text message photos from the store to figure out which gift is best for the father-in-law
5 upset family members because you can’t attend family Christmas on the day planned because he’s on shift
4 different plans to explain why Santa is arriving the morning of the 24th instead of the 25th
3 hour drive, by yourself, with kids in tow and car packed to the hilt, to celebrate Christmas without him at your parents
2 bickering kids who are missing their Daddy
1 tired firefighter who took a very hurt baby girl out of a mangled car at 1 am and doesn’t want to hear you whine about any of these minor annoyances
You’re a mean one, Mrs. Grinch! Is that really all I can think about? Does my firefighter really want to hear the replay AGAIN of how we’re going to pull off Santa’s arrival on the 23rd? Or another play-by-play of the conversation with the sister-in-law? Is this ringing any angelic bells for you?
Want to know some secrets that will melt your ice queen’s heart this holiday season?
Maybe not but I’m going to tell you anyhow. Here’s a little background info on what might be running around her pretty little head:
The first few years of our marriage, I spent fighting and resisting the firefighter family system. I literally grieved the holiday traditions I shared growing up with my family. I struggled to find a rhythm when one year it was Christmas on the 23rd and another on the 26th and every 3rd year we could actually travel together. I craved our own set of family traditions for the holidays and took the control freak approach to planning perfect family memories for those 12-hour periods he was home and awake on a December weekend. Putting up the tree. Driving around to see the lights at night. Baking and decorating cut out cookies with the kids.
It became forceful and stressed as I tried to fit my family traditions into the new firefighter lifestyle.
Here’s the clue. She is GRIEVING. Not rejoicing and fa-la-la-ing.
She might know only her family life traditions and yearns for sharing that with you. But like everything else in marriage, it’s new and different, and especially really weird with this wacky fire service schedule. And you only get one chance a year to test it out. Then next year, it’s different again. And some crappy years, she loses you for Thanksgiving AND Christmas AND New Year’s. And some really, really crappy years it’s Leap Year and happens twice in a row.
Here’s what NOT to say to a wife in this delicate state:
“You know I have to go to the station. Why is this different than any other day?”
“It’s no big deal. I’ll be home tomorrow and we’ll celebrate then.”
“Go on and enjoy yourself at my family’s Christmas without me.”
“Don’t wait for me. You can put the tree up with the kids.”
“I’ll call/text you a lot.” (And then don’t. Because firefighters have busy days. But broken promises do more damage than the hope they hold.)
“When you visit me at the fire house, it will be just like we’re all together for Christmas.” (No. It’s not just like that. It’s like celebrating with you and 8 other prankster boys. )
“Why don’t you cook up a nice dinner for you and the kids at home on Christmas day?”
“The kids won’t even notice what day we open gifts.”
So what *should* you do and say?
You’ve got to be on her team. To join in the cause. Simply recognize her efforts. Be understanding of those feelings. Help her grieve. Ask her how she’s feeling and brainstorm ideas for how to make it all work. If you really want to wow her, surprise her with thoughtful new traditions specially designed for your little fire family. Special ornaments. A firehouse recipe you make at home. Be present with her on your off days and enjoy some holiday cheer together.
Basically, remember the Who’s in Whoville who loved Christmas a lot. The truth is, it’s not about when or where or how you celebrate. Because Mrs. Grinch, Christmas, means a little bit more. You’ve already got the keys to heart and only you know best how to make it grow.
(PS – If she’s still a hot mess, you might want to hook her up with a bunch of other understanding fire wives in our private community at FirefighterWife.com. It’s been said multiple times that this group has helped many women understand their firefighters better and improve their marriages!)
Lori Mercer is a fire wife and mother of 4 running the Firefighter Wife community with a goal to strengthen fire marriages and be an encouragement to fire wives. She owns Picture Your Life, her Consulting Business for Internet Marketing and Web Development. Currently she cannot wait until July 25, 2013 for the first annual “Flame Fest” Fire Wife Gathering where she will finally meet in person so many amazing fire wives from the online community. Basically, she’s on fire for fire families and long over the Fire Wife Grinch stage.
Read more at the Firefighter Wife Blog! Click here! To find her on Facebook, click here! To follow the Firefighter Wife on Twitter, click here!
Congrats to Mark R – our Hero of the Month for December. You can read every finalist’s story below!
Name: Scott D. Profession: Registered Nurse Nominated by: Barbara S.
Described as an inspiration to all who know him, Scott is a Registered Nurse working as a home visitor with a hospice unit. Before going into nursing, Scott saved lives as a combat engineer & infantryman with the US Army, jump master, parachute trainer, rescue scuba diver and former Fire Chief. Scott also frequently volunteers to work with the homeless, buying them food and helping them find services and resources. He has also worked with the Veterans Association, attending military funerals and visiting homebound veterans. In his role as a hospice nurse, Scott often brings his beloved dogs with him on home visits. He even volunteered to adopt a veteran’s dog when the owner moved into an assisted living facility. Scott’s nominator, Barbara, describes him as ‘a true hero to his neighbors and friends’ who ‘has been there to help when no one else stepped up.’
Scott D. and his nominator, Barbara
Name: Mark R. Profession: Firefighter & EMT Nominated by: Jessica M., a former patient
Mark and Jessica met under the worst of circumstances. A driver crashed into a car carrying Jessica and her daughter, Kendra, on a backwoods rural road. Mark and his team responded to the scene. As responders worked on freeing Jessica from the vehicle, she remembers Mark crawling into the car beside her, assessing her medical state and updating her on Kendra’s condition. “He not only took care of me that day, he held my hand, made me human not just a patient,” remembers Jessica. Following the accident, Mark traveled to check on Jessica’s daughter after she underwent brain surgery. Even now, Mark continues to keep tabs on Kendra, responding whenever she has a medical emergency, even if he’s off-duty, and organizing fellow firefighters to help build a wheelchair ramp for her home. Seven years after their fateful meeting, the three remain close friends.
From Left to Right: Kendra, Mark, Jessica, Willy and Bill. Mark, Willy and Bill all responded to the accident.
Name: Marilyn M. Profession: Educator Nominated by: Kendra N.
Marilyn has dedicated more than 40 years of her life to Education. She got her start in the early 70’s, teaching deaf and blind students in one of the first programs developed specifically for these children. Marilyn then moved to a small Alaskan village to teach Special Education. For years, she traveled around Alaska evaluating and writing programs for severely handicapped children and teaching Special Education and Kindergarten. After 30 years of teaching, Marilyn retired to Oregon and began working as a Reading Teacher. Motivated by her own struggles as a young student, she has a passion for helping students learn to read and write. Her successful reading program has helped countless young students over the course of her career. Marilyn retired from teaching in 2002, but continued to pursue her passion for education by working as a teacher’s aide, reading assistant and librarian. She is still actively working and volunteering in the Oregon school system, where ‘her excellence in teaching and working with young kids has always been apparent to the kids, the parents, other staff, and administration.’
Marilyn and one of her students in Alaska in the 1980’s
Name: John B. Profession: Firefighter & Paramedic Nominated by: Lori B., his wife
The son of a Chief of Police and Registered Nurse, John knew he wanted to be a Fireman at age 2. John started his Firefighting career roughly 38 years ago and launched his nonprofit, Firefighters for Fun, just 8 years later. He now travels the country educating children with his fire truck and ambulance classrooms, passing out extensive resources and spreading his ‘If you can be Heard, you can be Rescued’ motto. The life-saving potential of John’s mission was proved just a few weeks ago, when a wheelchair-bound man was saved from a dangerous house fire after his neighbors were able to find and rescue him thanks to a whistle John had given the man just months earlier. John uses all his spare time, including vacations, raising money for Firefighters for Fun, even converting another old fire truck into a mobile restaurant serving up food and fire knowledge at state fairs to help raise funds.
John teaching children CPR using his HOTS (Helping Others to Survive) Ambulance Classroom
In 2012, Jeff responded to a medical emergency. As the 34-year volunteer Firefighter and EMT loaded his patient into an ambulance, a nearby fire truck popped out of gear and started to roll. As the truck came towards them both, Jeff shoved his patient out of the way- saving her life as he took the entire brunt of the impact. The force of the hit pinned Jeff between the vehicles, breaking both femurs, two bones in one shin and his pelvis in two spots. After several surgeries and months of recovery, Jeff’s surgeon told him his injuries would prevent him from firefighting. He now continues to work full time as a director of sales.
