fire

Like a Phoenix rising, there is a part of me that is reborn every time I fight a fire. I am not sure why, but the smell of fire gives me energy, as does the roar of the flames and the sound of my blood as it pounds with that heartbeat staccato in my ears. And the look of a fire... to stand up close to something so powerful is what all firefighters dream of. When facing fire, I feel exhilarated. Rejuvenated. Alive. Yet with each fire I fight, I also know a part of me dies. Whatever toxic smoke I've inhaled is sure to have destroyed cells in my lungs perhaps taking minutes or years off my life, muscle fibres have deteriorated from the strain of exertion, and those really bad calls involving violence chips away at my belief in humanity. But this force of nature called fire is the siren song that keeps me coming back for more.