Before joining the Fire Department, I didn’t have a clue as to what it entailed. I knew that committing to the department wasn’t going to be casual; still I was surprised as to how much it demanded from me. In order to learn how to act during emergency situations, there were monthly company drills (training exercises) that we were required to attend. Sometimes the training was very intense, although they were highly controlled, it was always dangerous. A common exercise was entering a multi-storied building with fires at various locations, which we had to find and put out. The drill was highly teamwork oriented and required concise communication in making our way around. Other drills ranged from practicing force-entry into buildings to getting into full turnout gear with an SCBA ready to use. We had even purchased a junkyard car to set on fire in order to practice putting out car fires. Many of the fire related calls were minor or false alarms. Although there were some actual fire crises, many of the emergencies were medical. Some people are surprised to find out that the local fire department runs many of the ambulances. Some calls I responded to were: overdoses, heart attacks, and the elderly falling in their home. Usually an EMT on scene would check the patient and decide whether or not they needed hospitalization. If they did need medical attention, we would get them on the stretcher and bring them to the local hospital. I’d say being a volunteer at the CPFD had a positive impact on me. It’s a real eye opening experience seeing how fragile life is and how easily mistakes are made.