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Isaac
Today I am fuckingexhausted. It’s only been five hours since I was last on the job. Why? Well, because that’s the life of being a firefighter. And also, because I have this bad habit of always picking up extra shifts.
I worked my normal twenty-four-hour shift, and then decided to stay for the B shift as well. Thankfully, I got to sleep for a solid five hours before the A shift started again. Which means that today I am going to be completely dead. Let’s just hope there aren’t any huge fires for us to put out today.
I roll out of bed as A shift arrives and begin getting ready with them.
“Hey man, heard you were doin another double. Have you gone insane? This is your third one this month!” Luke says, slapping me on the back.
Luke is my best friend and coworker. We’re both lieutenants here at the Miami fire department. I got promoted a year before him, so he’s been a Lieutenant for two years and I’ve been one for three.
Luke and I have been friends since right before we got hired here at Station 11. We originally met when we got CPR certified- we were in the same class. But we then met again because we enrolled in the same fitness training program.
It was in that program that we started hanging out and found out that we were both training for the same thing- to become a firefighter. We were just nineteen years old at the time.
Next, we became EMTs together. It might sound like a lot, but becoming a firefighter is no easy feat. You have to be extremely fit and trained for everything the job entails. It’s a ton of work, but so incredibly worth it.
I’m so thankful and so lucky that I had Luke that whole time. Having a buddy through it all made the whole thing a lot easier.
“I sure did- and I haven’t gone insane- I’ve always been insane.”
“I feel like it should be illegal for you to work this much. The people should be worried that it’s you that shows up when there’s a fire.”
“Oh shut up. I’ve been a firefighter for eight years now and a lieutenant for two of those. I know what I’m doing.”
“Good morning men,” Captain William greets us.
William is- you guessed it- the captain of Station 11. He’s an absolute legend and I’ve never looked up to anyone more than I do him.
“Good morning Captain!” the station greets him.
“Burrows and Watson can y’all step into my office please?” he asks us.
“Be right there!”
We shoot each other a questioning look- it isn’t often the Captain pulls anyone into his office. We walk in and take a seat in front of his desk while he shuts the door behind us.
“What’s goin on Captain?”
“Well, I’ve got some news for the both of you. First off- I wanted to tell you both personally that I will be retiring in the next couple of months.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Wow- I was not expecting that.”
“I know, I think everyone will definitely be shocked. I’ve been the Captain of this station for forty years now. I’ve seen this place through the good and the bad. Hell, I’ve been the Captain here since before either of you were even born! It will definitely be quite the change.”
“What made you decide to do this??”
“Honestly boys? Let’s just say it- I’m getting old. And it’s about time for me to step down and let someone else take my place. It’s just time. When you get to where I am- you’ll understand.”
“Are you retiring completely? Or just retiring from being Captain?”
“Glad you asked- I’m going to be working a little higher up, just not actually working in the field. I’ll probably be doing a lot of inspections and training and things like that. Gotta do something with all this knowledge. You’ll definitely still be seeing me around.”
“That’s good to know, Captain.”
“Yes, but that isn’t the only reason I called you in here. With me leaving- I’d like for both of you to apply for my job.”
