So Savvy

Something my Chief at the Fire Department mentioned, still rings in my head like some annoying bell. He told me not to think too seriously about it, and I'm not, but it makes like seem just that much more real.
He said that I could go on a call, and never come back.
It's not so much a scary thought, at all. I had thought the exact same thing when first joining the department. Then I thought that if I didn't die trying, then I didn't try hard enough. Now, all I can think about is being burned alive because I fell through a roof. Something about the crackling of the fire burning my flesh haunts me every waking minute.
He told me that people stink when they're burned, that it's a smell you will never forget. I know I plan on joining a bigger, city department when I eventually turn 18 and complete fire one, but that just isn't one of the things I am looking forward to about the job, the smell of burning flesh. I will need to be able to handle it. I will need to be able to handle watching people die, whether they are being burned or jumping from the top floor of a three story building to the harsh ground below, and everything in between. I will need to handle making tough decisions, coming from a call with one less brother or sister.

The two things I love about this job, though, is one, the guys, who immediately accepted me as one of the family.
And two, racing to a call lights and sirens. It's better than any drug.