Portland Magazine Autumn 2012

Chris McBride ’01, firefighter, Vancouver, Washington Mechanical engineering degree from the University. “Did forest firefighting during school to help pay tuition. Then I worked as a kayaking guide for a couple years while I was testing for fire departments. It’s very, very competitive. I tested all over. When I was testing it wasn’t unusual to go for 20 tests before you got hired. Most departments do a written exam, a physical agility exam, and then interviews with a few chiefs. There’s only so many full time positions and tons of guys want to become firemen. Most guys, this all they ever wanted to do. Side jobs are normal, though. The vast majority of side jobs are trades, construction, carpentry.

Some guys are nurses. Politics and budgets are the biggest problem; our staffing levels are always under attack. It takes a certain number of fire fighters to put out a fire no matter where you are, and to put it out safely. The standard is four guys to an engine; we have three. The fact is that the only people who see clearly what we do are people who have something bad happen to them.

The rest of the population never sees us. They don’t know what they’re paying for, and they don’t know they need us unless something bad happens. The thing is, though, that we love firefighting. There’s no other job you want. It’s the job you want to do on your days off. I wanted to do this since I was a kid. My mom has a photo of my friend Jeromy and me dressed in firefighters’ gear when we were little – he’s a firefighter in Spokane now, and I am here...”