Alpine Fire Department

I joined my local fire department in 2018, and what started as something I thought would simply be interesting has grown into one of the most important parts of my life. Firefighting, for me, is genuinely fun — not because of the danger or the excitement, but because it gives me a direct way to help people when they need it most. There’s something incredibly grounding about showing up for strangers on what is often one of the hardest days of their lives.

My hometown is small, so the types of calls we get are very different from those in big urban departments. Most of our responses involve car fires, vehicle accidents, and cliff, which means we’ve developed a strong focus on technical rescue, scene safety, and fast, coordinated teamwork. Through training and real-world calls, I’ve learned how to stay calm under pressure, make decisions quickly, and rely on the people around me the same way they rely on me.

Volunteering has given me a deeper sense of responsibility and community than anything else I’ve done. It’s shaped how I approach challenges, how I communicate, and how I work in high-stakes environments — skills that carry over into every part of my life.