Mark W Lamplugh Jr's Blog (23)

Firefighters represent a lot of things in the public imagination.  Words like “courage,” “selflessness,” “integrity” and “reliability” spring to mind.  But there is a darker side to fire culture as well - a system of thought that can sometimes shatter families and lead promising firefighters to an early grave. 

 …

As a firefighter, we face death in a million forms every day.  It could be the crash of a falling roof beam, entrapment in a quick-moving blaze, or the slow poison of the toxins we’ve accumulated in our lungs.  But there’s one that seems to make some people especially uncomfortable: suicide. 

For those of us who have never felt the urge, it can be incomprehensible that anybody would want to…

Among the well wishes that you will undoubtedly receive as a newlywed couple, friends and family are bound to ask you questions about your future life together. Where will you live? Will you have children? When? How many? What are your occupations? Upon learning that your spouse is a firefighter, you’re bound to feel a sense of pride when you receive accolades about your spouse having a career that is inherently…