I have my EMT-B, which is pretty much only good for helping you get your A-EMT, but I still have wanted to try and find a way to get hours to keep this license up to date. Not to mention I would really like to get some field experience. I was so excited to find out that Springville was taking volunteers. So I turned in an application. The guy told me I would need my Firefighter I, but he would keep it on file. Low and behold they called me a couple of weeks later asking me to come in and take a test for the position I applied for. Boy was I nervous. Worst of all it covered Firefight and EMT stuff. I got a little over 50%. I didn't expect to get called back, but they did. They called me for a physical assessment. I was thrilled! Though I didn't really know what to expect or what to prepare for.
But I have been preparing, in a way, for a while. For reasons hard to elaborate on I wanted to see if I could qualify for the ROTC. So I started the workouts. I did push-ups and sit-ups every night-- almost. And I got better. . .a lot better. I even got the numbers needed to get into the ROTC. I really wanted to do this. I wanted to tackle a field that is male dominated. I wanted to hold my own in that world. I wanted to show them that I was strong and powerful and that I belonged there. It was important to me. It was important to me to feel strong in that way. But I started to feel the ROTC may not be the right path for me. But these preparations still helped.
I went in for the physical assessment. I had never done anything like this before. I watched the other's do the test, and I started to get nervous. They called me over. We had to wear a fireman's jacket, helmet and gloves and the oxygen pack. Can I just tell you. . .IT WAS HARD!!!
There were about 9 stations. These are two of them.
I pulled this hose up with a rope and had to let it down slowly. My gloves were so big, and my arms were so tired that I had a hard time getting a grip. It slid a lot of the way down.
This is where I almost gave up. I couldn't find anymore strength. I had to lift that board up, so there was a space between the board and the platform, 10 times. I lifted it with a long pole that had a point at the end. It was way harder than I anticipated. I honestly thought I was just done for. But I finally made it to ten.
There were other stations too, like hitting a tire with a sledge hammer till it moved one tire length over. I don't know how to describe that, but it was hard. My arms were giving out on me and that was about the 5th station.
Then we had to fireman drag a 200 lb dummy around some cones. I was so wasted. I took several pauses and just searched for all the strength I had left. I finally got it past the last cone. AND I WAS DONE!
My arms were noodles. I couldn't move them. The firemen had cheered me on the whole time, and as soon as I finished they rushed over to help me get the gear off. Boy was I grateful because I could not use my arms anymore. They kept saying the were impressed. Even a kid, who I had visited with before the test, said he was impressed. I brushed it off. I knew I hadn't done well. "I don't know if I did anything impressive," I said.
He looked at me and said, "For your first time, that was impressive."
The other firefighters told me most women don't even finish, along with some men. They say some people pass out, or need IV's to recover.
They told me over and over and over again how impressed they were. I finally started to believe they were being sincere.
And then it hit me. I had done it. I had proven that I belong here. I was a women that walked into a male dominated field and showed them that I could stand on my own two feet. Was I perfect? No! But I showed them enough to prove them that I could belong someday.
Can I tell you how great that felt? Can I even explain? I don't know if I can. All I can say is I needed that. I needed to show myself I was capable of accomplishing things that seemed so out of my reach. It helped to heal a part of me. A part of me that was losing faith in men. A part of me that needed to be strong in case she needed to fight. I saw these men respect me for my strength. I heard them cheer me on. And it was just incredible! It helped me in so many ways.
Well, I got the call that I didn't get a position. But the chief was very encouraging that I apply again. I talked to him later and introduced myself. He told me he applied 19 times before he got a job. I told him I planned to get more experience and apply again, and he was very encouraging towards that.
"Every time you try you learn a little more about what you need to do next time." Those were the words of the chief. Not a perfect quote, but pretty close.
Here's to hoping one day I'll be on a crew.
