— Submitted by San Juan Island Fire & Rescue
Fernando is a self-employed tile setter and stone mason. Presently he is classified as FireFighter I and will soon be going for FireFighter II, the next step up the ladder of command. He drove his first big truck at the age of 7 when visiting his grandfather’s wheat farm in Oregon.
Fernando is assigned to Station 36 in the Eagle Crest neighborhood but will answer calls from the station he is closest to at the time and, since we have the new engines, which are all alike, it makes this much simpler to do. His area of expertise is with Engine 361 which he drove in the Fourth of July parade. He spent several hours of his own time washing and polishing 361 so it would glisten in the parade. His 7 year old daughter, Virginia, rode with him – when she grows up, she wants to be a firefighter just like her dad.
Fernando had a hand in rewriting the firefighting training manuals, along with several other volunteers, and is proud of helping keep this fire department up to date. Being afraid of heights and having claustrophobia are not prerequisites for firefighting, but when a friend talked him into taking the training, Fernando wanted to do it so much that he decided it was just mind over matter and conquered his fears. He wishes he had known earlier on in life (he’s 40) that volunteer firefighting was available, he would have jumped in years ago! He says that being a firefighter is not easy but well worth it.
He cited a call for me that dealt with another, not as well known part, of the job. All firefighters are trained in CPR. One day a call was sent out as an “all agency response. CPR in progress.” In this case, because it is very difficult for one person to continue CPR for very long, responders rotate every few minutes in resuscitating a patient. Fernando was one of those doing the rotating. He said that no one gave up and after a while the patient was flown off the island where she recovered. How great is that?! What a feeling of satisfaction! Fernando is very proud of his station, his engine and of being a volunteer firefighter.
Fire & Rescue welcomes all interested men and women, ages 16 years and above to drop by the Mullis Street Station and make an appointment to see what we are all about. For info, visit www.sjifire.org, the San Juan Island Fire & Rescue Facebook page or call 360-378-5534.
