Hundreds of hours of training go into being a volunteer fireman, but you learn the most on calls, Costa said. Training physically prepares a beginning volunteer, he explained, but emergency calls test another side of volunteers as well. After an emotional or stressful call, firefighters are encouraged to talk about their experiences and feelings. Costa said fire companies lose many volunteers who suffer from critical stress, a disorder involving flashbacks, insomnia, lack of appetite and refusal to discuss a difficult incident. Some people think you're supposed to have a macho attitude.
Firefighters are human.
Mike Ripple, a junior consumer economics major, stressed the importance of concentrating on the job. Volunteers who put their lives on the line together develop a brotherhood, he said. The uncertainty of the 17,000 calls yearly attracts Ripple to firefighting. You never know what you're going to get into. It's different every time.