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By LOU HATTER
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
“Anybody who puts this equipment on and goes into a burning building and says they're not scared - they don’t belong here. . . Being scared keeps you alive. ”
- Chuck Thompson,
Fire School Instructor
“You don’t have to be paid to be a professional. The only difference between a paid firefighter and a volunteer is that one draws a paycheck.’’
- Stan Mettinger,
Fire School Instructor
The 22nd annual Northern Virginia Regional Fire School, held the past two weekends at the Amissville Fire Department, afforded plenty of opportunities for apprehension, if not full-blown terror. But, even when we were exposed to a fire situation for the first time, the professionalism and experience of our instructors helped quell the fears of even a “greenhorn” firefighter like myself.
When I spoke with Paul Poling, chief of Amissville Company 3 and coordinator of the fire school program, about attending the school, he encouraged my interest - even after hearing that I had never worn turnout gear (the basic firefighting outfit: helmet, coat, bunker pants, rubber boots and gloves), much less been closer to a burning building than the business end of a news camera.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “by the end of the weekend you’ll have an idea of what it’s like to be a firefighter.”
Mr. Poling kept his promise.
Early Saturday morning the first weekend about 80 volunteer firefighters from Rappahannock, Fauquier, Culpeper, Warren, Prince William, Loudoun, Rockingham, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties
93.9%