Not many of us go into our profession having a game plan of how our career will play out. Most of the time, it’s a matter of chance that we end up where we are.
When I first met my husband, he was a proud firefighter. About a year after we met, he had the opportunity to test to promote to Captain. This had always been a goal of his. He worked really hard and was promoted in 2003.
It took a while, working out of one of the busiest stations, training countless newly hired firefighters, before he ended up with a crew that he really enjoyed. They trained every day. They supported each other with personal goals. They became a second family.
Recently, the opportunity came to test for the next level, a promotion to Battalion Chief. The last time a Battalion Chief test was held was over a dozen years ago. This opportunity may come literally once in your career. After a lot of soul-searching, and countless conversations, Scott had the backing of both his family at home and his family at the Fire District. He threw himself into studying for the test. For a full month, he was consumed with studying. If he was going to test, he was going to give it his all.
Four men went into the first day of testing, a one-hundred question written test. Three would come out still standing. The next full day of testing would consist of an oral interview, writing an essay, and running various scenarios. It would take almost two days to get the final results.
All of the hard work paid off and Scott placed #1 on the promotion list. It only took about a day for the excitement to wear off and the nervousness to take over. Instead of being in charge of a crew of five, Scott will now be in charge of a shift of 17. He also leaves the Union that he has belonged to for 23 years. He becomes part of the management team, which brings more meetings and paperwork, and a lot less time playing in his turnouts. And, if the promotion isn’t a big enough change, he is required to change shifts so that he is not supervising the people he has been working with for the last nine years.
To show their support, all of B-Shift came together to send Scott off to the wolves (otherwise known as A-Shift)
I think Scott was surprised that his crew was planning a little sneakiness behind his back.
For one last time, his red Captain’s passport would hang on the passenger door of 3111. With the promotion, comes the switch to driving the Battalion Chief’s vehicle instead of riding shotgun in a fire engine.
Scott’s official promotion date was Sunday, April 15th, but because of the change in shifts, he actually reported for duty on Monday, April 16th. There is always a small promotional ceremony the first morning.
First up is being sworn-in by the Fire Chief.
Then Scott’s previous Battalion Chief pins his new gold badge on him.
As Scott’s “member of the family” in attendance, I had the honor of pinning on his new nametag.
The number of bugles shown on your collar is an easy was to signify what rank you are. Here, the Operations Chief pins Scott’s new color brass on.
The last step of the ceremony is receiving your new white helmet from the Training Chief.
I think that just about makes it final.
Oh wait, for the guy who takes everyone else’s picture on their first day, it was time to take his first day picture.
After a few shots, he loosened up and started having some fun.
I am really proud of Scott and how hard he worked for this. He deserves it, and I am not just saying that because I am his wife.
I say it because I know how much he loves this job and how much he believes in what he is doing.
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