Time for an update!

Yup, its true - I am officially a Probie and this past Saturday was my first 12 hour shift. It required that I drive 2 hours in bad weather each way (heavy fog, ice, light snow) to get there and started at 8:00 a.m.....but I loved every second of it!

Arrived with doughnuts for my new brothers. We ate quickly then headed right outside to take a look at our new fire engine. We were the first shift to get to meet her. Took her out twice to see what she could do. She's a sweet ride. We shined her up good and spent a good deal of time getting familiar with all the gear - ladders, axes, nozzles, saws, medical equipment, generator, etc.

Next came formal breakfast. The guys did a trash run and I made breakfast. After breakfast we took the fire engine out to go scout hydrants so us newbies would know where they were.

Spent the hours after that drilling with ladders - the single 14 foot roof ladder and the 24 foot extension ladders, because that's a huge part of being a firefighter. Spent the time going all the way from taking a ladder off the engine, to putting it up, to climbing onto roofs, to coming back down and replacing the ladder on the engine....for hours. The 24 foot ladder weighs about 150 pounds, by the way - that's more than I weigh! My time at the gym is paying off in spades!! ;)

Station cleaning (another mandatory part of firehouse life) came next. Swept the apparatus bay, refueled the Engine, then the Chief made us dinner and we had a fabulous talk about firefighting now and 20 years ago, and what kind of firefighters we wanted to be while we ate tacos and sat by the fireplace.

Yup, I'm in the right place. This feels good. This feels right.

I will continue to be a Probie for the next year. During that time I have to complete a number of things - including wildland firefighter training, an EMT/Paramedic program, and basically prove to my Chiefs, my fellow firefighters, and the County of San Bernardino that I have a talent for firefighting.

I will keep you all posted.

With love,

Jennie Cesario
Probationary Firefighter/Firefighter Trainee
Station 97
Mountain Division
Baldwin Lake, CA