Women of Distinction

Women of Distinction

FIRST RESPONDERS

Honoring the brave, selfless individuals who serve the communities of Sarpy County

A supplement of Suburban Newspapers Inc.

October 19, 2016

WOMEN OF DISTINCTION

First responders have earned recognition Women of Distinction

FIRST Women of Distinction

Often without thanks, first responders — such as police, fire and EMT — serve the public in ways that are selfless and brave.

Women make up a small part of this group, but they are mighty.

Sometimes interacting with us at our worst moments, these individuals put on their uniforms and go to work making our communities a better place.

Women of Distinction is dedicated to honoring the women from across Sarpy County who put themselves out there for all of us. They are standouts among their fellow first responders.

— Suburban Newspapers

RACHEL SPURGEON

MICHELE PATTERSON

SUSIE ENGBERG

JACQUILINE MARQUEZ

What others call going above and beyond is all in a day’s work for Investigator Rachel Spurgeon of the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office, where she has been for 16 years.

Being a police officer is a difficult line of work, but it’s nothing compared to being a girl growing up with five older brothers, said Michele Patterson, a nine-year veteran of the Papillion Police Department

Susie Engberg’s life has been dedicated to helping people in difficult situations. She works as a dispatcher for the Sarpy County 911 Center, making sure first responders can assist people facing emergencies.

Engberg is also a firefighter and emergency medical technician for the Springfield Volunteer Fire Department, where she has worked for the past 24 years.

Jacqueline Marquez is a defender.

She has worked in security forces for 18 years of her military career.

With nearly two decades of experience, Marquez recently was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base working as a flight chief. Now, she serves as the as the NonCommissioned Officer-in-Charge of Installation Security.

CARRIE WAGNER

Some people change their minds countless times about what they want to be when they grow up. Maybe a doctor, lawyer, or teacher? Ralston Volunteer Fire Department’s Fire Chief Carrie Wagner has always known that public service was her calling.

JAMIE BROWN

A career in law enforcement wasn’t always in the works for Jamie Brown. She had a good job in information technology, but something else was pulling at her.

ERIN MCCORMICK

RESPONDERS

A supplement of Suburban Newspapers Inc.

After graduating from Wayne State with a degree in sports medicine, Erin McCormick w determined was to become a paramedic and firefighter. In 2014, She went from part-time to full-time with the Bellevue Fire Department.

October 19, 2016

All in a day’s work for County Sheriff

By Susan Skinner SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS

Investigator Rachel Spurgeon has been with the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office for 16 years.

What others call going above and beyond is all in a day’s work for Investigator Rachel Spurgeon of the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office.

Spurgeon has been with the sheriff’s office for 16 years and currently works in the Investigations Division, where she handles crimes against persons. The majority of her cases involve child abuse, and Spurgeon’s dedication to thoroughly investigating each one helps protect some of the most vulnerable residents of Sarpy County.

“I know it takes more initiative than some other areas,” Spurgeon said. “You have to take the time and fully interview each person to find out what’s happening.”

Through working with children, Spurgeon has learned that taking the time to listen and ask questions makes all the difference. Many of the reports that she investigates turn out to be nothing once she looks into both sides of the case, but by being thorough she has been able to find those that need help.

In one recent case, a child asked her if their talk could be like Vegas, Spurgeon said.

When he explained that he wanted things to stay just between them, she knew something was wrong.

“By taking the time and listening to the kid, I was able to help him. He trusted us that we would help him,” Spurgeon said. “If you don’t take that extra step, a child like that continues to endure a bad situation.”

Congratulations...

Spurgeon’s work starts with referrals from Child Protective Services. She then interviews the child as well as family, friends, neighbors and teachers to find out what’s happening in a situation.

“I enjoy putting in the time to find out what’s going on and help the kid,” Spurgeon said. “It takes time to find out what’s really going on.”

That time sometimes happens late in the evening or early in the morning. Children and others in unsafe situations often require immediate assistance, and Spurgeon works tirelessly to ensure potential victims of abuse or neglect are returned to a safe environment.

Her commitment to investigating each situation can be seen in another recent case.

While working on a domestic violence case, Spurgeon discovered the suspect also was suspected of abusing several animals. She obtained search warrants to remove the animals and search the property for evidence of the abuse, an effort that included the participation of the Nebraska Humane Society and Douglas County Crime Lab. Spurgeon’s dedication to the community has shown throughout her 16 years with the sheriff’s office, where early in her career she worked in the Jail Division before moving to the Road Patrol Division where she patrolled in Gretna for some six or seven years. After that, she spent about six years as a narcotics investigator prior to her current position.

Even before being hired by the sheriff’s office, she helped others as a paramedic and

First Responders: A cut above the rest.

Thank you

to the Female First Responders who proudly and valiantly serve to ensure our safety.

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used this training to serve as a first responder while on road patrol with the sheriff’s office.

Throughout her career, Spurgeon has been recognized for her work and investigations.

She has received three Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office commendations, four division commander recognitions and three unit citations. In 2004, she was named the Sarpy County Crimestoppers Deputy of the Year.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Spurgeon said of helping others. “Knowing that I investigated a case as fully as I could, I’ve always had the will to do that.”

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Wagner first female chief in Nebraska

By Katherine Leszczynski SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS

K AT H E R I N E L E S Z C Z Y N S K I / S U B U R B A N N E W S PA P E R S

Ralston Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Carrie Wagner is the first female fire chief in Nebraska.

Wagner has held the position since November 2014.

Some people change their minds countless times about what they want to be when they grow up. Maybe a doctor, or a lawyer, or what about a teacher?

Ralston Volunteer Fire Department’s Fire Chief Carrie Wagner has always known that public service is what she wanted to do.

“Growing up, I either wanted to be an [Emergency Medical Technician], firefighter or police officer,” she said. “As a paramedic and firefighter, I get two out of three.”

Wagner, who attended Ralston Public Schools, including Ralston High School, started taking EMT classes during her senior year. She went onto Creighton University where she graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Emergency Medical Services.

She didn’t get to jump right into firefighting and EMT work though.

“I started as a dispatcher for a private ambulance company,” Wagner said. “I was in dispatch for a couple of years.”

She tested out at a couple fire departments and continued to work as a paramedic at Lakeside Hospital in Omaha.

When Wagner was looking to purchase a house, she found one in Ralston. It was very close to RVFD. “I came down here and I joined,” she said.

Wagner has been a member with RVFD since 2002. She has moved up the ranks, holding a variety of different positions, some

of them multiple times, during her 14 years there.

“You usually always start in the back line office,” Wagner said. “It’s like a secretary. I was on the personnel committee, then Rescue Captain, Rescue Chief, Assistant Chief and then Fire Chief.”

In November 2014, she became the first female fire chief in the state of Nebraska.

Being the chief is a lot of responsibility, Wagner said, even when she’s not in the building.

“Ultimately, the fire chief is responsible for anything, whether they’re here or not,” she said. “Luckily, I have a supportive staff to fill in while I’m gone.”

In addition to RVFD, Wagner has been a firefighter and paramedic for the Lincoln Fire Department for five years.

As well as holding a multitude of positions during her time at RVFD, Wagner has been honored with a variety of awards over the years.

After her first year at RVFD, Wagner was chosen as the Rookie of the Year.

“Every year, it’s voted on,” she said. “They choose the one person who stood out the most. That was my first award. That one I was not expecting. It felt good.”

Wagner has also been named EMT of the Year and Top Responder of the Year.

The biggest honor Wagner received is the L.V. “Pete” Peterson Award in 2013. This award, the RVFD’s most prestigious, is given to firefighters and paramedics who show allaround great work with the department.

“You have to be nominated for it,” Wagner said. “They nominate you and write up a story. A committee, who all know Pete Peterson, chooses. There have been times where they don’t give it out. You can only get it once.”

Wagner loves what she does for many reasons.

“When it comes to the job, it’s helping people in their worst time,” she said. “You might not be able to fix it but you can make their day a little better. You’re just trying to be there at their worst. No day is ever the same.”

Wagner also said that the people she works with at the station make her job great too.

“Day to day, it’s the brotherhood and comradery,” she said. “Everyone has the same focus, or you wouldn’t all be here.”

Thank you to all our First Responders!

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Childhood dream job became a reality

By Eric Taylor SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS

E R I C TAY L O R S U B U R B A N N E W S PA P E R S

Michele Patterson is a nine-year veteran of the Papillion Police Department. Patterson recently took over as the Student Resource Officer at Papillion Middle School.

Being a police officer is a difficult line of work, but it’s nothing compared to being a girl growing up with five older brothers.

It’s just one of the many challenges Michele Patterson, a nine-year veteran of the Papillion Police Department, has tackled in working to reach her childhood dream.

“I grew up with five older brothers, so I knew how to take the mental challenges,” Patterson said. “I didn’t grow up playing with Barbie dolls. I wrestled or always had a baseball or football in my hand.”

It was during those early years that Patterson decided being a police officer was the path she wanted to take.

“As a kid, I wanted to either be a police officer or a firefighter,” she said. “I was very much into sports and once I realized I had taken sports as far as I could, I worked to become a police officer.”

She was in her early 30s when she attended the police academy in Arizona. The first few weeks nearly made her change her mind.

“The academy class I had was brutal,” she said. “I was the only female in the class, and I had instructors telling me I didn’t belong here and this was no place for girls. It inspired me to work even harder and finish at the top of my class.

“But there was a time I almost quit. I was living with my brother, who was in a wheelchair. I would go home crying and wondering what I was doing. I was feeling sorry for

myself, then I looked at him and realized all the obstacles he had overcome. He wouldn’t let me give up.”

Patterson eventually landed a spot on the department at Casa Grande Police Department in Arizona. That’s when she knew she had arrived.

“They made me feel like a real part of a brotherhood,” she said.

A few years later, she decided to make the move to Papillion.

“Papillion has been like a family,” she said.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

“In 2013 I was injured in a car accident, then a month later, I completely ripped up my knee playing softball,” she said. “I went through a period of depression where I gained weight and didn’t take care of myself.

I was still able to do my job, but not at the level I wanted to.

“Then about a year ago, I realized the depression I was having was caused by myself, and if I wanted to change my life, I was going to have to get fit again. I worked very hard, and still do.”

Patterson points to her physical fitness as a reason she is able to do her job well, and to gain respect of fellow officers.

“I come from an athletic background, and I think that helps,” she said. “Females who can carry their own will have an advantage because we have to do all the things that guys can do.

“No one is going to back down on me because I’m a female. I don’t train just to get by, I train like the guys.”

Part of that diligence comes from Pat-

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terson believing she needs to prove herself to those who doubt women can handle the rigors of being a police officer.

“There are people who say this isn’t a place for women,” she said. “But there’s nothing a male officer can do that I don’t believe I can.”

But it goes well beyond the physical aspect of Patterson’s job. She is charitable with her time in helping with the Special Olympics and Fit Girl Camp, a camp for girls ages 8 to 14 that helps them become role models.

“This job allows me to change lives,” she said. “Our job isn’t all about locking people up. It’s about making a difference in society.

My hope is that if I haven’t already changed somebody’s life, I will.”

She now has the opportunity as the Student Resource Officer at Papillion Middle School, which she took over earlier this month.

“I had always been interested in being an SRO, and I’m a firm believer in things are meant to be,” she said. “I like this age, and it gives me a chance to be a role model and a positive influence.”

Whether on the streets or in the classroom, Patterson knows she made the right career choice.

“I love it now more than ever.”

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Something else was pulling at her

By Kelsey Stewart SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS

K E L S E Y S T E WA R T S U B U R B A N N E W S PA P E R S

Jamie Brown has been a member of the La Vista Police Department for 10 years. Brown got into law enforcement after participating in a citizens police academy.

A career in law enforcement wasn’t always in the works for Jamie Brown.

She had a good job in information technology, but something else was pulling at her.

Brown realized just what that pull was after attending a citizens police academy.

“That’s kind of where the lightbulb went off. It made me realize that I think this might be the job, the career I was looking for that fit my desires,” Brown said. “I stepped out on that branch and it’s worked out.”

She took the test and interviewed with several law enforcement agencies before being hired by the La Vista Police Department.

She accepted the offer and has been with the department for just over 10 years.

“This was my first choice,” Brown said of LVPD. “I really liked the community and the department. This was the one I crossed my fingers on. This was the one I was hoping would be where I ended up.”

Brown, like all new officers, started with the department’s Uniform Patrol Bureau.

Now, she serves as the community affairs and crime prevention officer in the Special Enforcement Bureau. In that role, Brown serves as a DARE officer and teaches law-related education at La Vista Middle School.

She also helps to facilitate the neighborhood watch program and the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council. She also organizes many other community events, including National Night Out and the Cops and Kids holiday shopping event.

We salute all of the First Responders

“I wear a lot of different hats, which really makes my position unique and the department pretty special,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of opportunities for us to branch out beyond the meat-and-potatoes patrol officer.

I’ve been very fortunate to be in this role.”

One of the best parts of the job is being recognized by those in the community, especially students.

“It may not be a student I had directly, but for them to remember me and to feel like I have their trust in some way, that’s a really powerful moment,” she said. “I try to make the effort to attend more than just what I’m assigned to, and I think that shows them it’s more than just a job for me.”

As a mom, Brown has had to miss holidays and birthdays because of the job. It was a hard adjustment for her two children.

“They appreciate what I do now, and they know what my role is and how it plays a big part in the community,” Brown said. “I don’t want them to worry about me. My job is to worry about them.”

Her biggest hurdle is one she’s made herself.

“The job is challenging overall — no matter if you’re male or female,” Brown said.

“The challenge is the personal pressure I’ve put on myself to perform and to prove that I am capable of doing this job. As long as I have the faith of the officers I work with, that’s what matters to me.”

On occasion, some have doubted Brown’s ability because of her gender.

“I can be a role model for girls,” Brown

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said. “They see that I am of smaller stature and my personality is generally very kind and outgoing, but I’m still able to do my job and be successful at it.”

As far as Brown’s own role models, they’re the people she works with on a daily basis from her own department and other agencies.

“My admiration isn’t based on the number of arrests they make or the number of DUIs they’ve gotten in a month,” she said. “To me, it’s based on the kind of person they are and the way they treat others with dignity, no matter the situation.”

At the end of each shift, she knows she’s made an impact on the community, whether through teaching students, helping someone in a weakest moment or solving a crime and bringing someone to justice.

“We truly do help people in so many ways,” Brown said. “There are a lot of very positive things in this job and that has been a defining moment for me in knowing that I did the right thing. I made the right career choice.”

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Fighting fires a family affair for Engberg

By Michael Batchelder SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS

M I C H A E L B AT C H E L D E R S U B U R B A N N E W S PA P E R S

Susie Engberg has been a member of the Springfield Volunteer Fire Department for 24 years.

Susie Engberg’s life has been dedicated to helping people in difficult situations.

She works as a dispatcher for the Sarpy County 911 Center, making sure first responders can assist people facing emergencies. Engberg is also a firefighter and emergency medical technician for the Springfield Volunteer Fire Department, where she has worked for the past 24 years.

She’s not the only firefighter in the family.

Engberg works beside her husband Bob and stepson James at SVFD. Bob also works as a professional firefighter for the Papillion Fire Department.

“It kind of all ties in together,” Engberg said. “We never run out of things to talk about.”

Engberg grew up in Bellevue and was partly motivated to get into firefighting by her brother, David Mann, who now works for the Omaha Fire Department.

When she moved to Springfield from Bellevue, she wanted a chance to serve her community. Joining SVFD seemed like the perfect opportunity for her.

Engberg is now one of two female firefighters on the force. SFVD has a long history of women on the force, so for Engberg to join was nothing new.

“I’m treated the same as the guys,” Engberg said.

As a firefighter and EMT in Springfield, Engberg will respond to any emergency within a 49 mile radius, often in rural loca-

tions. Due to the small population of Springfield, she often gets to help her friends or neighbors.

“A lot of the times they know us,” Engberg said. “That’s kind of nice about a small town.”

However, it can sometimes be difficult to see someone she knows in a dangerous situation.

“Any time it’s someone you know that can make it difficult,” Engberg said.

SFVD is made up of people of many different occupations, including professional firefighters from other departments, nurses, Realtors and mechanics, but everyone still goes through the same training and gets the same certification. Many of the firefighters on the force have a different skill set or talent that contributes to the department.

Drills are held every Wednesday, and training is required every month. There is are also certifications that need to be kept current. For instance, EMT certifications are updated every two years.

The amount of daily calls varies. Some days its busy for SVFD, while it can be very quiet on others.

“We’re a small town. It can go anywhere from none to three in a day,” Engberg said.

Although Engberg still responds to emergencies, her priorities at the fire department have shifted in recent years.

Many of the younger firefighters are excited to get out and respond to emergencies, while Engberg has begun to focus more on the outreach aspect of the job.

“Through the years you just kind of

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evolve, and I still like it all,” Engberg said.

“As time evolved I’ve just been more into the outreach stuff.”

In the past five years, Engberg has taken on more of a leadership role when it comes to community events, and now works as SVFD’s outreach coordinator. Engberg organizes events throughout the year, including Fire Prevention Week throughout Springfield Platteview Community Schools, SVFD’s annual open house, and Bike Safety Day, among others. Engberg brings the holiday spirit to SFVD by dressing up as Santa Claus at the station every Christmas.

“The outreach is a good thing too, it’s just giving them different resources,” Engberg said. “We’ve got lots of stuff to give out to the community.”

No matter her capacity, Engberg knows that as long as there are emergencies firefighters and emergency medical technicians can find jobs.

“There’s always a need for it,” Engberg said. “If it’s something somebody is interested in, it’s very much needed. You’re helping somebody.”

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Security is focus of her Air Force career

By Rachel George SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS

RACHEL GEORGE S U B U R B A N N E W S PA P E R S

Master Sgt. Jacqueline Marquez stands in front of the 55th Security Forces Squadron building at Offutt Air Force Base. Marquez, who has spent 18 years in the Air Force, is currently the non-commissioned officer in charge of installation security.

Jacqueline Marquez is a defender, working in security forces all 18 years of her military career.

With nearly two decades of experience under her belt, Marquez was recently stationed at Offutt Air Force Base as a flight chief.

Now, she serves as the Non-Commissioned Officer-in-Charge of Installation Security.

“Our biggest thing is developing and monitoring the security standards,” Marquez said.

As part of the 55th Security Forces Squadron, Marquez oversees a number of facets of security forces at Offutt, tasked with keeping the installation — Offutt Air Force Base — safe and secure. The 55th Security Forces Squadron is tasked with protecting and defending Offutt personnel and resources. Duties of security forces, the largest military career field, include providing physical security, alarm systems checks, detaining those with wants/warrants, apprehending shoplifters and enforcing traffic violations.

Many who work in security forces are police officers for the base community.

Lt. Col. Ian Dinesen, Commander of the 55th Security Forces Squadron who assigned Marquez both her previous and current role, said that as airmen are assigned to a base and come through processing, choosing where to assign them is a different process than a civilian job.

“We don’t have job interviews in the Air Force, but we sort of get to take a look at

what they’ve done,” Dinesen said. “We get to learn about their past. I was able to take a glimpse into [Marquez’s] past and what I saw was, straight up, she’s a hero. Her drive and the positive effects she brought to her duty section were immediately apparent.

Her ability to empower people to succeed and excel were phenomenal.”

Those qualities prompted Dinesen to promote her from leading a flight crew of roughly 80 airmen to her current role which has more responsibility.

“I look forward to seeing her grow in the Air Force,” Dinesen said.

Marquez has enjoyed settling in to her role, which she said allows her a bigger and better picture of how her office makes a difference for the base and its mission.

“We’re always there,” she said. “While most people run in the other direction we’re running to it. I’m a big believer in that if we take care of the people, they will take care of the mission.”

Marquez has deployed six or seven times throughout her Air Force career, each time a different place with a different mission.

She received a Purple Heart following a deployment for a year in Iraq.

“It was one of my biggest accomplishments but I like to focus on being there as a team,” Marquez said. “We were all working to teach our tactics and policing to them [the Iraqi people].”

Though each place Marquez travels may have a different goal, she said they are all, at heart, similar.

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“I’ve always been a defender, and I’ve made it my goal to retire a defender,” Marquez said. “Every place I go has a different mission but we always go back to the basics.

We’re defenders, we defend our resources, our personnel and our mission.”

Throughout Marquez’s career, she has enjoyed being a leader the most.

“My favorite part is just leading the airmen,” she said. “I like working hands on with them, giving them that knowledge and sharing that experience that I have.”

Originally from Chicago, Marquez enjoys participating in charitable walks/runs in her free time. Most recently, she was in the annual Race For the Cure. Before that, she dedicated time to the March of Dimes’ March for Babies.

“I like to get involved with things that make a difference not only in the local community but on a wider scale,” Marquez said.

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She set out to be proud of what she does

By Eugene Curtin SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS

After graduating from Wayne State with a degree in sports medicine Erin McCormick became determined to become a paramedic and firefighter. In 2014, she went from part- to full-time with the Bellevue Fire Department.

Erin McCormick had freshly graduated from Wayne State College with a degree in sports medicine.

She had spent her years at the northeast Nebraska college playing Division II basketball and wondering what she would do after graduation.

One thing she knew for sure: She wanted to be proud of whatever she chose to do, and she wanted to make her family proud.

It took a little while, but seven years ago at the age of 24, the Grant, Nebraska, native settled on becoming a paramedic and a firefighter.

A few more years of study stretched before her — at Southeast Community College in Lincoln and Metropolitan Community College in Omaha — but it all took shape in 2012 when she read that the Bellevue Fire Department was looking for part-time firefighters and paramedics. It was the ideal next step: She could hone her firefighter and paramedic skills in real-life scenarios under real-life conditions while continuing to acquire the paper credentials necessary for full-time fire and rescue employment.

It took only two years as a part-timer before the department welcomed her to its full-time ranks in 2014.

Since then McCormick has adapted fully to the brutal schedule endured by firefighters.

They work only every other day, but a shift lasts 24 hours.

Twenty-four bleary hours.

“It can be tiring,” McCormick said. “Especially in the later part of the shift, but we try to grab a little sleep in between calls. For sure, when the shift ends you go home and sleep.”

There are a lot of in betweens.

McCormick said she races out of the station — a crew has 60 seconds to hit the road from the moment the bell sounds — five or six times a shift, which effectively sinks the popular image of firefighters lounging around a fire station playing cards.

And then there are the incidents that prove that paramedics, much like doctors, are never really off the clock.

It was July 2 and McCormick sat with family members at a restaurant in Breckenridge, Colorado, when a 60-year-old patron began choking. McCormick moved quickly to perform the Heimlich maneuver, saving the man’s life and earning her family a free meal as the man’s grateful family picked up their tab.

It was her second Heimlich rescue, the other occurring in Bellevue.

There are also the fires.

The bell announcing the first of two July fires at the Gateway Apartments on Fort Crook Road rang as McCormick walked through the door at the beginning of her shift.

Sixty seconds and out the door.

It was the lesser of the two fires that would strike that apartment complex in July, but it was fire enough as McCormick and a partner trained a hose on the flames.

Between rescue calls and fires, McCormick estimated she responds to more than 2,000 calls every year.

The department as a whole, she said, handles about 5,000 calls a year.

Eighty-five percent of the time they are rescue calls, she said, and they range from something as basic as an elderly person who has fallen, to heart attacks, seizures and mishaps that turn tragic.

“We definitely have our tough calls,” she

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said. “Pediatric calls, babies. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Suicides, hangings, overdoses, a guy who tried to shoot himself in the head but was still alive because the bullet went around his skull instead of penetrating it, the 14-year-old with an internal bleeding problem who died while we were there, with his parents watching.

“These are not easy things to deal with, but that’s what we’re here for. It’s our job, and people need help in those tragic times.”

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First R Responders espond ders ffor or al allll tthat hat you o d do!!! o Pierce’s Dairy Queen 345 S. Washington St. Papillion, NE 68046 www thi www.thinkbeardmore.com thinkbeardmore kb d com

Firefighting is a rewarding career Firefighting can be a rewarding career and exciting opportunity to serve one’s community. Firefighters protect homes and businesses when fires unexpectedly break out, saving millions of dollars in potential property loss. These invaluable workers also make emergency medical calls and may help preserve lives until paramedics or other medical services can respond.

The United States Department of Labor reports that there are more than 300,000 professional firefighters across the country. More than 90 percent of all those firefighters are employed by local governments.

Despite the risk involved in firefighting, many find it to be a very satisfying career. The requirements to become a firefighter vary depending on the locality, but people willing to put in the time and effort can likely find a department that will give them a chance. The application process can be competitive, and the training is physically demanding. The following are a few tips for men and women mulling a career in firefighting.

• Meet the basic requirements.

Confirm the schooling and age requirements for the job. Depending on where they apply, firefighters may need to have high school diplomas or some college credits. Age requirements are common as well, as many departments mandate that applicants are at least 18 or 21 upon submitting their applications.

• Refrain from drug use and illegal activity. Firefighters must be physically fit and undergo a criminal background checks and drug screenings.

• Undergo CPR and EMT training.

Firefighters may be called upon in emergency medical situations. As a result, many firefighters are required to have an Emergency Medical Technician, or EMT, license. Even if

a license is not a requirement, it is a helpful to have and may increase your odds of being hired.

• Take fire technology courses.

According to FireRescue1, a resource that features the most current news and analysis from some of the top experts in fire service, taking a semester of building construction and fire behavior can be helpful. Such coursework can educate prospective firefighters about how buildings are built and may make them more attractive candidates.

• Speak to current firefighters. Visit a local firehouse to speak to current firefighters. Ask questions of the firefighters and get their impressions on training and testing. They may offer some job leads, and some may even offer some first-hand advice from their time in the field.

• Become a volunteer firefighter.

Volunteering while enrolled in training or while studying can provide an accurate idea of what the job entails.

Gaining hands-on experience prior to applying for a permanent position — or even if the decision is made to keep volunteering — can be quite handy.

• Take the tests. Firefighting tests vary depending on the agency, but many include a written examination, oral interview and physical aptitude/ agility exam. A person may not pass the first time around, but he or she will gain experience and understand which areas to work on for future examinations.

Becoming a firefighter takes commitment, physical and emotional strength and a willingness to help one’s community.

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R E A L ES T AT E

How to show support for community police Police officers put their lives on the line every day they show up for work. But in spite of the sacrifices officers routinely make, their contributions often go unnoticed.

Police officers’ jobs might be thankless, but that does not mean people cannot express their gratitude to the men and women in blue who keep their communities safe. The following are a handful of ways to show support for the police officers who work hard to protect and serve your community.

• Pick up a police officer’s tab. Police officers work in your community and, therefore, they likely break bread in your community as well. When you see police officers ordering meals at a local restaurant or sitting down to lunch at a neighborhood diner, offer to pay for their meals or arrange payment with their waiter or waitress without letting the police officers know.

Picking up police officers’ tabs is a simple gesture, but it’s one they will appreciate and it will let them know they’re supported in the community they’re working hard to protect.

• Support police fundraisers.

Police departments fundraisers support various causes. Some might aim to raise funds for sports programs designed to help local youth, while others might hope to raise money for the families of fallen officers.

Whatever the motivation for the fundraiser, by supporting the event you are donating to a good cause and showing the police

they and their efforts are being supported.

• Teach kids to respect police officers. Police officers have come under considerable scrutiny in recent years, and youngsters may not know how to respond to news stories that do not paint police officers in a positive light. Parents can show their support for police officers by teaching their kids to respect police at all times. Encourage children to come to you if they read or hear stories that depict police officers negatively so you can help them process the story and encourage them to maintain the respect they have for police officers.

• Thank a police officer when given the opportunity. Though it seems simple, saying “Thank you” to police officers can reassure them that the communities they work so hard to protect support and appreciate their efforts. Thanking police officers may only take a few seconds, but such a gesture can help police officers better cope with the stress of their jobs.

Police officers have difficult jobs that require them to make considerable sacrifices to protect the communities where they work. But it doesn’t take much to show your support for local police officers and express your gratitude for the sacrifices they make every day.

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