Fear of Fire

"Courage is the resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear."
~Mark Twain

Mark Twain was born on Nov. 30, 1835; his birth name was Samuel Clemens. The name “Mark Twain” means that it is safe to navigate and he became Mark Twain during his days as a river pilot in 1858. As a young child Samuel was kept indoors because of poor health. By age nine he seemed to be recovered from his ailments and was able to go outside to play with the rest of the children. When Samuel was 12 his father died of pneumonia and at 13 he left school to become a printer’s apprentice. At the age of 15 he was an editorial assistant for his older bothers newspaper. Mark Twain developed a love for writing; he wrote 28 books and numerous short stories, letters and sketches. It took a lot of courage for Mark to leave school after his father passed away at age 13; He became one of America’s most famous literary icons.


I see this quote on courage almost everyday because it is hanging up in my fire department. It has been there since 1972 when the fire department was dedicated into service for the town of Monongah. People call firefighters heroes, and some are. But the majority of us have never saved anyone or brought anyone back to life. I am afraid of what I am going to face on each call, I am afraid of the dangers and the unknown but I rely on my training and the men and women around me to help keep me safe. It can be very easy to think about yourself and the dangers that lie ahead and not want to be involved and do nothing. Being a firefighter you realize that the problem is not about you, there is no need for selfish thinking. Love of neighbor and love of your community should be the motivation to serve others. There is another quote by Gregory Widen that I like, “The funny thing about firemen, is that day or night they are always firemen.” As firemen we control our fear and we do the job day or night, in hot or cold, we are always courageous firemen.