SAN ANTONIO – For San Antonio Firefighter Eddie Douglas IV, every day is a blessing to not only put on the SAFD uniform but also to represent minorities in public safety as an African-American male.
“I thank God every day that I am able to do this (firefighter) and live my dream because that’s all I ever wanted to do was serve and help people,” Douglas said.
Douglas, a five-year SAFD veteran, is assigned to a unique fire station in San Antonio that requires specific training in time-limited situations.
“With this (fire station), everything we do is at the terminal and we handle every base that’s on here or hangars … if you want to say our district is just inside of a gate,” Douglas said.
“The real big difference resides in the apparatus and here, the big difference is that these units (trucks) can pump and roll. So, if a plane comes down and crashes, I can take this unit and get at an angle that I need to be at because it can go off-road, and I can try and put it out,” Douglas said.
The Aircraft Rescue Firefighting, also known as ARFF, is a special operations team at the San Antonio International Airport and specializes in aircraft crash fire suppression and passenger rescue.
According to SAFD’s website, “The team’s rescue vehicles are crucial pieces of equipment that are used not only to extinguish a fire, but to establish a safe escape path.”
The vehicles are equipped with different extinguishing agents that are exclusive to Fire Station No. 23 and typically not seen on traditional fire trucks.
Oshkosh Striker 3000 is the newest unit to the station’s fleet with the capability of holding up to 3,000 gallons of water, equipped with both a bumper and roof turret, and a piercing nozzle that allows the firefighters to pierce into an aircraft and extinguish flames from the inside.
Once working for a telephone company, Douglas said the blessing to wake up, ready to serve was guided by his father, Eddie Douglas III, who himself is an engineer -- a class level above a firefighter -- with the department and is going on his 32nd year with SAFD.
Douglas said he was lucky to have his father’s knowledge that helped him succeed in becoming a firefighter.
However, he's calling on others who wish to join the department to take advantage of Saturday’s “Diversity in Public Safety” event.
“You want to represent your city and if you have, 50 percent African-American and 50 percent Hispanic, your department should show that,” Douglas said.
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“I’m glad we’re doing our diversity event because now people can come in, they can learn and say, ‘Oh, OK, let me look into that and let me try a little bit and that might be a career path for me.’ Just that alone is really good, because we all have a different story,” Douglas said.
Mark your calendars! We are just a few days away! Find out if a career in public safety is the right destination for you... Have any questions ? Call SAPD Careers at 207-5050
Posted by San Antonio Police Department on Wednesday, August 9, 2017
The purpose of Saturday’s “Diversity in Public Safety” event is to showcase the cultural diversity within San Antonio's public safety departments -- SAPD, SAFD, and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office -- and formatted to inspire and encourage people from all cultures to pursue a career in public safety.
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To learn more about the upcoming and what to expect at this year’s event, follow the link.
agarcia@ksat.com
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