DURHAM, N.C. — People from all walks of life have that one thing that ignites a spark. For Angelo Rogers, it’s seeing the smoke in the distance of the fire call he’s responding to.
What You Need To Know
- Applications for the City of Durham Fire Department close April 30
- The department currently has 403 active firefighters
- The fire academy training is nine months long
“Everyone has their own story and their own journey on how they got here, and I think what’s most important is that when we do get here, we band together,” Rogers said.
Rogers is in his rookie year for the City of Durham Fire Department.
“When I was in the second grade, my mom got sick and the Norfolk Fire Department responded and took care of her. From that moment forward, I thought firefighters were pretty cool, so it stuck with me,” Rogers said.
Rogers moved from Virginia to North Carolina, specifically to join the Durham fire service.
“Durham had a lot of African American firefighters. Growing up, I didn’t see a lot of that," Rogers said. "I wanted to be a part of that, especially in the communities for kids to see they too could do.”
The fire academy training period runs for nine months, but training doesn’t stop after the academy.
“Getting reps in that way when we do get a call, it’s like second nature. You don’t really think about it, you know what to do, your body knows what to do, you’re just that much quicker,” Rogers said.
On their worst days, firefighters are always expected to be on their best.
“There is people we don’t know personally that are counting on us. They don’t know who we are, they may never see us again, but they expect us to show up and do our very best job every time,” Rodgers said.
Rogers says working as a first responder, they see things the average person typically would never see.
“If there is a rough call that I may struggle with or anyone else on my crew may struggle with, we can come back here at the dinner table and talk about it. I can talk to the captain, or any of the other firefighters, if something really bothers me," Rogers said. "The city has different programs if you struggle with anything, like peer support systems and groups. The important thing is to feel like you don’t have to hold the stuff in and you have people you can lean on, and I think that's the bulk of what the fire service is.”