NASHVILLE – Young people from all over the country, with aspirations of becoming career firefighters, converged on Nashville’s fire academy to learn how to land a job, fulfill lifelong dreams, to advance and most of all to stay safe.
Firefighter applicants, recruits, and fire college students from as far away as California, Idaho and Illinois and as close as nearby Montgomery County, TN, participated in Firehouse’s Ambassador Program. In doing so, they received complimentary conference passes to Firehouse Expo this week in Nashville and got to participate in the Fire Alumni Future Firefighter Experience seminar, an eight-hour program designed to teach the participants what it takes to be a firefighter and, more importantly, how to land a job in their chosen profession.
In his welcoming speech, Tim Sendelbach, Firehouse’s editor-in-chief, told the ambassadors to fully take advantage of the opportunity they have to network and get as much out of the experience as they can. He framed the ambassadors’ program as one way of passing a torch from one group of leaders to the next.
“I would encourage you to participate in the legends and icons program,” Sendelbach said, noting that people upon which the Firehouse brand was build will be attending. Fire service leaders like Alan Brunacini, former fire chief of the Phoenix Fire Department, whom Sendelbach referred to as “the Boss” will be attending and would be pleased to speak with people just starting in their firefighting career.
“He’s not Bruce Springsteen, but he is ‘the boss’ of the fire service,” Sendelbach said.
Sendelbach also said the ambassadors are now part of the Firehouse family and he encouraged them to follow in great leaders’ footsteps and become not only readers and subscribers of Firehouse, but become contributors and leaders, offering the fire service their experiences and knowledge they are soaking up as they learn the trade.
Each ambassador committed to help the staff at Firehouse Expo during the show which begins tomorrow and will continue through Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Music City Center in Nashville.
In exchange the participants were given full conference passes, Firehouse Ambassador logo attire, and the opportunity to meet and interact with active firefighters and some of the nation’s foremost instructors.
Firehouse is planning to expand the ambassador program at future conferences and will be looking for additional recruits.
