Fire Prevention Month Means More Than Preventing Fires To One Retired Fire Chief

Fire Prevention Month means more than preventing fires to one retired Fire Chief

October is Fire Prevention month, “don’t forget to change the batteries in your smoke detectors and take time to review your escape routes in case of fire in the home.” As a Fire Chief, I sent this message out every year in an effort to better prepare my community and provide the opportunity for them to come and see what the fire service is all about.

Today, please allow me to discuss another form of prevention that needs to be addressed. This involves our men and women who have given of their time to serve in our military. I believe that these individuals make outstanding firefighters and because of their experience are well suited to transition into our fire departments.  Please help me in preventing them from leaving our great state because they can’t find suitable career’s that would allow them to stay.

Military in Transition Firefighter for a Day (MITFFAD) is a non-profit that was started in Oceanside, California by a group of people who desire to keep our servicemen and women in California while they transition from their service in the military.  It is our desire to introduce these incredible individuals to the fire service and assist them in obtaining careers with fire departments throughout California.

Our Military men and women are well equipped for these positions, but lack some of the specialized training required for the career. It can take up to four years to obtain a career in the fire service. This specialized training can be difficult to access without the proper guidance and information about the career itself. MITFFAD provides the opportunity for these folks to experience what firefighters do and how-to best approach obtaining a career within the fire service.

Our Team consist of Fire Chiefs, Education specialist, Retired Military and Business Professionals, all who have a heart to assist and promote our transitioning veterans in obtaining a career here in the California Fire Service.

How can you help? We need to get the word out and let our transitioning personnel in all branches know that we exist. We need more fire personnel to assist during our one-day events. We need financial assistance to purchase equipment and supplies for our events. Our goal is simple, we want our military personnel to stay in California.

I’m very proud to be a part of this team. The work we invest doesn’t always have immediate results and sometimes it can’t be measured. Recently, I received a call from one of our MIT’s and he informed me that he received a letter from a large department offering him a firefighter position. This individual gave our program credit for his success. I was humbled, but not surprised because I have had the pleasure of spending time with many of these MIT graduates and they are some of the most incredible people I’ve met.

Please help us prevent our future fire department members from leaving our great State. Take a look at our Facebook and Linked In pages and see how you can make a difference in one military service person’s life.

Thanks for your support,

Darryl Hebert