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Calista Holmes
English 4 Honors
Mrs. DeBock
November 20, 2015
Life in the Boots of a Firefighter
For years I have dreaded taking English 4, knowing that with that class would come the
indelible task of the Senior Exploration project. Thankfully, a few weeks into to the course,
Mrs.DeBock delightfully broke down the project step by step, making the process much less
intimidating. After a brief explanation that our project should be something that takes great
interest to us or has relevance to our lives, I knew exactly what my project would be on, work as
an emergency responder. It was a hobby I had not long been involved with, but something that
had majorly impacted who I was as an individual and greatly changed my outlook on life. Being
with Surfside Beach Fire Department merely over a year at the time of the assignment, I had
already responded to numerous emergency scenes acting on behalf of an emergency responder.
Little did I know that with those responses and experiences I had, I would undergo things I never
would have imagined, such as insurmountable amounts of stress, events and faces of patients that
I would never be able to erase from my memory. With that, I decided to complete my senior
exploration on the psychological and physiological effects of firefighting and emergency
medicine and complete my service hours responding on behalf of the fire department as well as
taking part in a 9/11 memorial walk.
Since my project had no true beginning due to my accumulation of service hours prior to,
my real world experience began with my application into the fire service. Putting in an
application made me take on the responsibilities of scheduling many courses, mandatory by the

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state to participate in firefighting responses, in coordination with high school courses already
enrolled in. On top of the hours I spend in classes, I spend countless hours throughout the day
and wee hours of the morning responding to calls. This process was very stressful for me but led
me to become successful in time management. My second step into the real world was the
planning for my participation in a second annual 9/11 Silent Walk across the Arthur Ravenel Jr
Bridge, better known as the Charleston Bridge. This walk was created in regards of having three
hundred thirty-three firefighters don full gear and walk the bridge silently in memory of the three
hundred forty-three firefighters who perished that day, fourteen years ago. I had stumbled across
the memorial walk on my fellow firefighters Facebook page, and took it into my own hands to
sign up. Knowing I would have to miss school that Friday, I collected all makeup work prior to
my departure and completed my work that weekend. I had to sit down and plan the whole trip on
my own, making sure I allotted an appropriate amount of time to get together my gear from the
fire department and make the two hour commute.
I woke up the morning of September 11, 2015 at four-fifty A.M., hurried to braid my
hair, grab some food and quickly dress to get on the road to begin my journey. Registration
opened at seven at the Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. I showed my ticket and
received a lanyard with the image of a fallen FDNY man that I would be representing, in
commemoration of his sacrifice on 9/11, for the duration of the day. His name was Lieutenant
Raymond Murphy of Ladder Company 18. A gorgeous, heart-wrenching ceremony was held just
before the walk began, and at the end of the ceremony, all three hundred and forty-three of us
donned our full personal protective equipment, equivalent to what those who had perished would
have been wearing. Our full gear consists of a bunker jacket, pants, boots, helmet, hood, gloves
and SCBA, all weighing in at anywhere from forty-five to seventy-five pounds. Afterwards, a

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procession of bagpipes playing Amazing Grace, led the group up onto the bridge to start our five
and a half mile journey. Once the song ended, the silence began. The walk was complete silence
other than the background noise of honking passers, with the sight of a line of firefighters in full
gear carrying flags for miles. There were three times in total that we paused during our journey,
once was a break when reaching the other side before turning to back to our starting place, and
the other two were when everyone stopped to take a knee as a large aircraft flew over us at 9:59
A.M. to represent the collapse of the South Tower and 10:28 A.M. to represent the collapse of the
North Tower.
For the remainder of my service I used hours and experiences that I have accumulated
over time responding on behalf of the Surfside Beach Fire Department. With the numerous hours
dedicated to the fire department, I have gained various differing encounters ranging from fatal
motor vehicle accidents to simple lift assists. Due to fear of HIPPA violations, I am limited on
the details I can provide on each of the following events. A few months ago, I was sitting in my
home watching a rerun of Chicago Fire when the pager began to squeal. With that ear piercing
noise I knew it was time for me to move. I jumped up and hauled tail to the firehouse where I
was accompanied by fellow firefighters, we all quickly geared up and hopped into Engine 57,
beginning our response to the scene. Upon arrival we noticed an odd thing, there was only one
moped and an individual lying in the roadway, no other vehicles, and no other witnesses. It was a
hit and run. We jumped out with med bags and supplies in hand ready to work, but we quickly
realized there was absolutely nothing we could do, she had already succumbed to her injuries. I
returned to the engine, retrieved the dreadful white sheet and out of respect we covered her and
waited on scene for hours until the coroner arrived. Upon her arrival, two hours later we cleared
the scene and headed home. A few months prior to this event, I had spent a whole day at the

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firehouse participating in training with the other members on shift. Seven oclock rolled around
and we were starving so we headed to Dennys. Not long into our dinner that same ear piercing
squeal echoed through the restaurant, notifying us of multiple stab victims. The details are too
gruesome to engage in, but the call was life threatening to both individuals involved and by far
the most stressful scenario I have been a part of.
Reminiscing on all of my encounters now, I have come to realize the value behind each
and every one. Without my service to the community through the work I have put in at the fire
department, I would not have the strong understanding of the stressors experienced by these
responders, not only on the scene of the emergency, but the lasting effects from the traumatic
exposures as well. Having these endless hours of experience in the real world as a first responder
and exposure to numerous traumatic events have also helped me realize the value behind life and
realize that each day is a gift and not a given right. My participation in the Silent walk gave me
insight on the worldwide impact of 9/11, along with giving me time to analyze the ultimate
sacrifice those three hundred forty-three individuals gave for the safety of their community.
After spending over a year responding on behalf of the Surfside Beach Fire Department
and participating in the 9/11 Silent walk, I have realized I could not have chosen a better career
to dedicate my life to. Throughout all of the real world experiences, varying encounters and
looking back on the life lessons learned throughout my service, I have concreted my passion to
my community and know that the only field of work for me is in emergency medicine.