Meet The Firefighter: Robert Rodriguez

Hello readers and supporters!

We’re introducing a new series called Meet The Firefighter through which we will share with the community firefighter profiles. We thought this would be a fun way for y’all to get to know your local volunteer firefighters! Every other week we’ll be sharing their stories on our blog and on social media. Without further ado, here’s our first firefighter, kickstarting this series…

 

Robert Rodriguez

Joined BVFD:
2019

Main role:
Firefighter

Other responsibilities:

Robert keeps track of “Lessons Learned”, experiences firefighters went through that taught them new skills, as well as skills we need to work on and perfect.

Firefighter certifications:

Robert is currently working on completing his Firefighter I and Firefighter II certification at Belmont Fire Academy.

Favorite part about being a Firefighter:

Helping people in times of crisis and seeing a smile on the faces of citizens when they see the firefighters arrive on the scene.

Funny anecdote or “uh ho” moment:

During a fire call in the middle of the night at 3 AM, Robert was once caught taking the wrong end of the fire hose all the way down a hill to reach a fire. Realizing his mistake, he then had to run all the way back up the slippery hill in order to get the correct hose ending! He never made that mistake again.

Dark side of the job:

When you’re already halfway to the scene in the middle of the night and a call is cancelled! Dealing with death is also an unfortunate part of the job, but we pull through together as a family.

Words of wisdom for new recruits before they join:

You have to be committed to helping others, show love and compassion. There is a lot more to being a firefighter than just fighting fires!

Where does he see himself in 5-10 years:

Robert still sees himself working with Belmont VFD, learning new skills. He believes that anyone who claims to know everything about firefighting is wrong. There is always something new to learn, even when you have been a firefighter for years!

His message for the world:

At Belmont VFD, we are a family. Every member in our department are brothers and sisters. We sometimes argue and disagree, but we will all lay down our lives for one another.