I am a wife of a US Forest Service (not Forestry Service) and I feel so sad for my husband and his coworkers when all the media attention or public appreciation goes to only certain agencies. In my mind it's like talking about a war and only saying the Navy is there, when the Marines and Air Force are there, too. They are all important and all working hard. The color of the engine doesn't make one department superior over the other. Unfortunately the USFS firefighters are extremely underpaid compared to other departments. They work long hours, usually sleep on the ground, can be gone for 14+ days before getting 2 days off, and usually work in areas of the fire that the public doesn't see. My husband works hard and loves his job!! It's not for the paycheck, the glory or the uniform. But as a wife who stands by and supports my husband. It saddens me when all these fires are burning and the news only mentions certain departments, not giving recognition to those other departments. I've tried contacting some of our local news stations in hopes of educating them on the different agencies, but they just don't get it. Then on Facebook, I get irritated when I constantly see people post words of appreciation for only certain departments. I hope you understand my viewpoint and don't take this personal. To me, they are all important whether paid or volunteer, large departments or small, and the color of engine doesn't matter!!
I am not saying that other departments don't work some of those conditions either. Just felt like this needed to be shared.
Praying for safety for all our guys as the conditions are hot, dry and fires are burning all over!!
1 comment:
I just found your blog and love it! I couldn't agree more with your post. I am a fire wife (usfs) and struggle almost daily with this concept. I find a lot of the difficulty comes from the lack of understanding or appreciation from others in regards to the fire world and the realities of their jobs. My husband absolutely loves what he does but yes his career makes many things hard for us but I would never trade his happiness and work satisfaction for an easier route. That said, I find myself having a hard time responding kindly to all the ignorant comments I recieve from friends and family. "Do you get to go stay with him on fires", "what day does he get back?", "I totally understand my husband has been gone for three days, I miss him so much", "the poor firefighters (structure guys) have been on the fire for two days and only got one day off and had to go back to the fire for two more (still sleeping at the station while on the fire), pray for the structure fire fighters". Just a few off the top of my head...
I understand these people usually are just uneducated about the field and usually don't mean to be insensitive- yet when asked these types of questions daily I have a hard time not snapping or being rude sometimes. My end goal is educate others about wildland fire to ultimately help them to respect the very difficult and under appreciated job they do, but it definitely can test ones patience. Unfortunately the answers to many questions are too long winded and would loose people's attention while explaining the complex answers. I'm always looking for go to phrases as answers to these questions if anyone has a good one?
I hope everyone stays safe out there and all those supporting a fire fighter keep your head up :)
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