Not too long ago I came across an old, dusty box here at The Post-Journal that contained newspaper clips of fire-related stories from June/July 1990. I dug through the stories, now more than 25 years old, and was fascinated by the sheer number of fires that broke out in such a short amount of time. There were devastating house fires that displaced numerous families; fires that officials said started due to “spontaneous combustion” or faulty wiring; and then there were barn fires, which occurred far more often than all the others.

Certainly more often than we see today.

That’s the thing with barns. Once they burn for one reason or another, they’re gone. Sometimes they are rebuilt, but those that are old and abandoned in the first place won’t be replaced.

Reading through these old clips reminded me of my time as a volunteer fire fighter. I was a member of the Alden Hook and Ladder Fire Department in Erie County for just about five years. I left upon graduating college in 2011, and though it’s only been five years, it feels like decades have passed. In fact, it feels like that part of my life has all but faded away. Funny how some memories can stick with you for a lifetime and others don’t.

My father and mother were both volunteer firefighters, as were relatives on both sides of my family. I joined in 2007 pretty much as a way to keep busy and have a little bit of fun while I was at it. I knew some of the members, and though some calls were tough they said, it was a great group of men and women who enjoyed helping the community.

I should mention the village of Alden still uses a siren that sits atop the fire department and could be heard for miles when in operation. I lived a quarter-mile from the department so I heard that thing going off my entire life.

It took about two months from the time I applied to the time I was voted into the fire department – certainly longer than I expected, but with background checks, interviews and the necessary approval by the village board I understood it was a process.

Right from the get-go I realized simply becoming a volunteer firefighter didn’t mean a whole lot until you went through all the training. You needed to take a Firefighter 1 class, also known back in the day as Essentials, that trains you on a little of everything. I took the six-hour class every Saturday for five months. I learned to climb ladders, roll fire hose, escape burning structures and how to put on every piece of equipment (breathing mask and all) in under two minutes.

Once you graduate the class you are considered an interior firemen, basically meaning you have the training necessary to go inside burning buildings. Without the class, there wasn’t much you were allowed to do in my fire department. We already had more than enough volunteers who drove the trucks and operated the pumps.

While taking Firefighter 1 I realized most of our dispatches were for EMS calls, as is the case in most departments. I ended up becoming an emergency medical technician at that time in order to help out in most situations. Whether a structure fire or crash or anything in between I had the training.

Looking back I’m not sure how I pulled it off. I took the fire classes on one weekend, the EMS classes three times a week at night, while also going to college full-time during the day for journalism. I had a part-time job at Tops Markets as well.

Passing the classes, including college, and being able to use the training effectively are two very different things. In the end, though, I think I was a pretty decent firefighter, New York State certified EMT and college grad. I rarely ever pat myself on the back for my accomplishments so pardon the egotism here.

In the five years I was active I went on hundreds of calls, seeing everything from broken bones to pregnancies. Today, everything is mostly is distant blur, but I do recall that I enjoyed every second of it. It was an easier time in my life; virtually no bills to speak of and not a whole lot of responsibility. I tend to live in the past, so shouldn’t be a surprise when I say I’d do anything to go back and re-live that part of my life.