I finish Paramedic school April 19th, 2014.... FINALLY!

It has been a long road (becoming a FF-Paramedic) since I took the first step in 2008 in becoming a First Responder to becoming an EMT, then working as an EMT, getting onto two Fire Departments (Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Fire Department and Cal Fire/San Diego County Fire Authority Campo #46, graduating from Cal Fire Academy #14, and to going to Paramedic school at Elkhart General Hospital Education Center in Goshen, Indiana on January 2nd, 2013.  With a wife and three kids, it hasn't been easy to make my career shift from 18 years in Education as a Teacher, Coach, Advisor, and Dean of Students, to applying for jobs as a FF-Paramedic or Program Director of an EMS/Fire Science program at the College/University level.  But the dream is becoming a reality for me.  I am scheduled to graduate from Medic school on April 19th, 2014!  Many thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way!

I finished my EMT-B class a while ago, and I will be done with my EMT-I certification in August...

... Next up is my Paramedic certification which begins in August 2010, and concludes in August 2011. I will also be enrolled in the Hill College and TrainingDivision.com Fire Academy in August of 2011.

By then I should have my CPAT out of the way, and will be applying to Oceanside Fire, Carlsbad Fire, Encinitas Fire, and Orange County Fire Authority.

I was originally going to move back home to raise my kids where I grew up, but Mishawaka Fire has an age limit of 36 years old, which basically just shut me out... so it looks like I'll be putting in at least 20 years out here in good 'ol California!

When it hits close to home.... In Memory of Walt Harris Detroit FD

My sister (Kim) and brother-in-law (Merle Jones - Grand Rapids FD) sent this to me today...

From: Beurkens, Tony
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2008 11:12 AM
To: Stoddard, Dan
Subject: Detroit Firefighter

Chief,

Could you please put this out to the members? I just recieved a call from a Detroit firefighter informing me of this.. Thank you.

I recieved a call this morning that a brother Detroit Firefighter, Walter Harris, was killed in the line of duty this morning. Apparently he was venting a roof, when the building collapsed. Details for funeral and visitation will be coming as soon as I can get them, or when anyone else gets the info, I am sure.

Be safe out there.

Fraternally,

Tony Beurkens Jr

I feel it necessary to give props to my hometown buddies at the Mishawaka Fire Department in Indiana. Here are some of the heros that I grew up with..

I grew up in Mishawaka, Indiana, down Merrifield Avenue from Lt. Eric Norris, Firefighter-EMT, Engineer, Liutenant - MFD.

Eric and I always used to hang out together and even devised a plan to buy an Ice-Cream truck, convert it into the ultimate surf / skate vehicle, and drive it out to California. We even had a theme song that we made up to go right along with it.

Eric made it out there to go to the Guitar Institute in L.A. and eventually moved back to Mishawaka to become one of Mishawaka's finest.

It took me a while longer to get out to California, because I traveled around the world a bit before making my move, but I finally made it, and I still live in California.

I've been teaching since 1995, and decided to make a career shift and become a firefighter out here in California in 2008.  I've since become a First Responder, EMT, Firefighter (Cal Fire Academy #14)and now, 8 weeks from graduating from Paramedic school.

Most of my friends and former team mates on the Mishawaka Football and Wrestling teams went on to become Firefighters or Medics (Bucky Linson, Ian Jerret, Brian Thomas, Derron Hess, Joe Griesenger, Sam Bailey, Jason Brandenburg, Steve Shedd, Eric Hyatt, etc.). Several other fellow "Cavemen" went on to become firefighters.

The city of Mishawaka is steeped in tradition. Our fire history goes back to 1833.

In 1844, the St. Joseph Iron Company purchased "The Tiger" which was a very crude apparatus for fighting fire. Historian David Eisen claims that it had to be repaired after each use. The Mishawaka Mechanics Fire Company No. 1 was established on July 24, 1848, made up of 43 "firefighters" including a captain, foreman, assistant foreman, treasurer, clerk, hose master, and assistant hose master. It wasn't until February of 1857 that a Chief Fire Warden (Harrison Bement) was assigned to the crew. George Milburn and O.T. Niles were dubbed 1st and 2nd Assistant Fire Warden.

The famous "Fire of 1872" was started in S.H. Stevens' barn at 7:45 p.m., on Thursday, September 5, 1872. The fire destroyed 49 buildings and led to 82 businesses (along with several citizens') losses approximating $140, 000.00.

The city had one hand-operated fire engine, which was no match for the breadth and power of that fire... and so the birth of Mishawaka's Fire Department laid the groundwork for "Mishawaka's Finest", and the best city in the midwest!

I just found this movie "Point of Origin" (2002), realated to my original post...

Point Of Origin (2002)

Category:

Drama

Director:

Newton Thomas Sigel

Rated:

NR

Color:

Color

Format:

Widescreen

Cast:

Angela Alvarado, Sophia Bush, Mike Camello, Maree Cheatham, Joe Colligan, Ronny Cox, Cliff Curtis, Illeana Douglas, Colm Feore, Trent Gill, Sandra Gimpel, Shashawnee Hall, Ashly Holloway, Christopher Kriesa, John Leguizamo, Bai Ling, Ray Liotta, Bill Moseley, Gwendolyn Oliver, Danny Pino, Nora Zehetner

Brief Synopsis:
True story of John Orr, an arson investigator in California who was actually setting fires.

Based on a true story, this scorching drama focuses on the hunt for a serial arsonist in 1980s Southern California. Among the chief suspects are expert fire investigator Ray Liotta and former partner John Leguizamo. When a task force closes in on the pyromaniac, one of the men's shocking double life is revealed. Illeana Douglas, Colm Feore, Ronny Cox co-star. 86 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; audio commentary.

If you haven't seen "Hunt for the Serial Arsonist" from NOVA, go rent it today! I taught a 3 day course with it at the Army and Navy Academy.

Here are some pictures from one of the five classes I taught at the Army and Navy Academy combining Fire Science, Fire Safety / Prevention, and Writing Short Stories.

First we watched the NOVA DVD: "Hunt for the Serial Arsonist".

Then I gave a lecture on Fire Safety and Prevention relating it to a large fire that we had on campus quite a few years back, which burned down Anderson Hall.

I explained that cadet had been cooking with a Sterno Fuel Canister (which was considered contraband), when his TAC officer knocked on the door for a room inspection. The cadet got scared, tossed the Sterno Canister into his footlocker, shut the lid, and stood at attention as his TAC entered the room. The Sterno fuel ignited the contents of his footlocker, and despite attempts by the cadet and TAC to put the fire out, it took over the room, flashed over, and eventually burned down the entire wing of the cadet dormitory that we now know as Anderson Hall.

Anderson has since been rebuilt from the ground up from what used to be the old single story dormitory to what is now a massive two story structure.

Since we have dominant number of Asian cadets who smoke on a regular basis, since it is legal for them to do so back home, the smoking problem on campus is astronomical. Despite known penalties and the possibility of dismissal from the Academy for smoking, many of our 350 cadets do it anyway. I decided to target that majority while teaching ALL of my cadets how quickly their dorm room can go up in less than 4 minutes from a simple cigarette accidentally dropped into a piece of furniture.

I explained that air + fuel = fire (flame) and taught them how a candle that has been lit, can reignite after it has been blown out, without another fire source even touching the wick. I explained that the smoke that they would see rising from the candle is actually a gaseous vapor which acts as a fuel. Then I explained that most pillows, internal stuffing material, and padding found in modern furniture, mattresses, and pillows are petroleum based products which can act as an accelerant fuel very similar to the wax from a candle when ignited. I showed them how their room can go from normal to reaching 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, leading to flash-over from the chemical break down of the contents of the room from the extreme heat, to an eventual back-draft in less than 4 minutes, from only one accidentally dropped lit-cigarette.

This blew their minds.

I moved on to explain how a team of victims, witnesses, firefighters, a fire-marshal / investigator(s), and even ATF agents combine their expertise with forensic science to catch an arsonist.

I tried to discourage them from arson activity by explaining that IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for ANYONE to get away with ANY crime in today's day and age with the presence of forensic science. Eventually the criminal is going to get caught, no matter what.

We covered the use of forensic graphs which can break down the chemical structure of a known fuel, and showed its relation to an identical fuel found at the scene of an investigation.

I explained that typically, a human lives three lives (social, home, and private/secret). I also explained how a person can lose control of their secret life and commit such a crime as arson.

I explained the six categories of arson (vandalism, excitement, revenge, profit, extremists, crime concealment) and the subcategory of "serial arsonist".

I explained the psychological profile of a Serial Arsonist (loner, possible alcoholic, history of failed relationships, physical deformities or defects, a spotty work history, feeling / seeking a sense of power, etc.)

We covered the construction and breakdown of an arsonist's incendiary device made simply from a cigarette, 3 matches, and a rubber-band. I explained that this is used by the arsonist as a time-delay device, which can be used to buy them the time they need to get away from the scene of the fire / investigation (from two minutes up to an hour in some cases).

We went on to finish the "Hunt for the Serial Arsonist" DVD and discussed the ironic twist behind the story of the arsonist apprehended for all of the California fires being a firefighter/fire investigator himself.

We discussed the feeling of betrayal that the other firefighters, investigators, law enforcement officers and other professionals must have felt after knowing that the main suspect and actual serial arsonist was right there among them sifting through the wreckage of each fire as if he were just doing his normal duty. What a traitor John Orr was. He was responsible for millions of dollars in structural damage and property loss, as well as the loss of several human lives. It is sad to know that a type of human being exists with the capability and drive to deliberately seek a heroic job in the field of saving lives, to feed his warped and morbid obsession with power and pyro.

As a final assignment, I assigned each class to brainstorm everything they learned from the DVD and my instruction. I told them to organize their thoughts and notes into a model for a fictional short story similar to the Novel that John Orr was writing from the point of view of his character "Aaron". I instructed them to "get into the mind of their main character" and "think like the main character" and tell the story from the vantage point or point of view of that character. I told them that the story can be as far out and creative as they want to make it. However, they had to choose their main character from the following: the arsonist, victim, witness, firefighter (any rank that might be on the scene: Firefighter I, II, EMT, Paramedic, EMT-Paramedic, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Chief, fire marshal, fire investigator), or ATF Agent.

The assignment will be due on Friday of next week.

I'll post the best of the best, with cadet permission of course.