I Dunno If I Can Handle Being A Forest Firefighter.
Got home a little while ago from the Vernon area. Yesterday and today a wildfire fighting outfit from Alberta has let me tag along. Yesterday was mostly job shadowing,though I did participate ine lesson on identifying hazards. (Combustible materials, tree spacing, undergrowth, stuff like that.) helping out in setting up the sprinklers and hoses in the afternoon for protecting structures. Wasn't too bad. Stopped in Falkland for super. (I think the place is called the Ranch Cafe. Good food, though the beer could have been colder.) Decided to go back today. Only a half day for everyone, but it took a lot out of me. Same scenario, Today was a joint exercise between the local fire department and the wildfire crew. Protect a house, (Which was next door to the home of Vernon's mayor.)Go through the briefing, and away we go down to the supply trailer. Get everything we need and off we go. Get up there and get everything set up. For me, it was surprisingly physical. It took a lot out of me to get the tasks done, but done they got. Ended up having to swap out a faulty sprinkler. What "fun",since I ended up getting thoroughly soaked from one of the heavy duty sprinklers. I did appreciate the cool down though. It was all done within the allotted time which I think was two hours. The instructor was happy with how things went, though there were a couple of things he needed to point out. One was the aim of one sprinkler which was aimed at the house instead of being aimed at the roof to allow the water "rain down" on the house. The other was just about the placement of a couple of others. Hop in the truck and bomb back to the fire hall to drop me off.
Now alone with peace and quiet (Damn, these young guys like the stereo way up loud. It was actually painful.) I headed into Vernon for gas and some Timbits. Coming home, I thought about the pros and cons of this job.
PROS:
1: Good pay. Starts at 16 dollars CDN per Hr.
2: Guaranteed employment.
3: Actually find the job interesting.
CONS:
1: Physically demanding.
2: Am not (as in nowhere near) in sufficient shape.
3: Potential for having to spend long periods from home.
4: Most likely have a camp for accommodation. (I'm not a camp person. Not super social either.)
5: Potential for extensive travel. (Don't travel well at times due to unidentified medical problem/condition.)
On the one hand, I'm sorely tempted to take on the job, while at the same time, I don't want to end up as miserable as I was at Convergys. I really do appreciate shewolf1 for telling me about the job, but am far from certain about actually accepting the offer. I don't know what to do. Comments would be appreciated. L8R.
Now alone with peace and quiet (Damn, these young guys like the stereo way up loud. It was actually painful.) I headed into Vernon for gas and some Timbits. Coming home, I thought about the pros and cons of this job.
PROS:
1: Good pay. Starts at 16 dollars CDN per Hr.
2: Guaranteed employment.
3: Actually find the job interesting.
CONS:
1: Physically demanding.
2: Am not (as in nowhere near) in sufficient shape.
3: Potential for having to spend long periods from home.
4: Most likely have a camp for accommodation. (I'm not a camp person. Not super social either.)
5: Potential for extensive travel. (Don't travel well at times due to unidentified medical problem/condition.)
On the one hand, I'm sorely tempted to take on the job, while at the same time, I don't want to end up as miserable as I was at Convergys. I really do appreciate shewolf1 for telling me about the job, but am far from certain about actually accepting the offer. I don't know what to do. Comments would be appreciated. L8R.