What It's Really Like To Be A Firefighter 

A brave man for being a fire-fighter, but an even braver person for picking himself up after his breakdown. Seriously takes a special kind of person to do this type of work. Salute!

Started the fire academy last week. Couldn't be more excited to start my own story.

I'm retired firefighter. Atlanta Georgia. I loved it and still miss it everyday

This hits me hard. Lost my father (20+ year veteran firefighter) to suicide in 2010. His demons had no mercy on him. Things that could never be unseen. Crushing chest pains that would leave him breathless, sending him to the hospital only to leave with no diagnosed cause... but we all know what it was now. As I head back in the direction I began 10 years ago, I'm scared. Not of the fire. Not of putting my life at risk for others. I'm afraid of the aftermath. Of my daughters faces replacing the deceased pediatric patients I have to see. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it properly, and that I will fall into a darkness that I can't pull myself out of. Hoping I'm not making a mistake in pursuing my dream. My heart goes out to all of our first responders suffering with PTSD. Please don't wait until it's too late to get help. Know that you are loved, and that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Everything has the possibility to get better

I grew up with a father who was a volunteer firefighter. I saw his face when he came home from calls. I remember him trying to hide it so we, his kids didn't see it. To all of you 1st responders, To the ones who rush headlong into the fire when even angels run away. To the ones who watch for smoke, who ignore their own fears to help us that can't help ourselves in our darkest hours. Thank you. It doesn't feel like enough to say, but, thank you.

Never skips leg day, confirmed.

As an Ex-Volunteer Firefighter I can tell you, some of us were emotional. I didn't but I see and understand the pain we felt, for me the work was emotional void but I saw all the pain, joy and sorrow our deeds brought us. I think that I was too young to understand death. I think I still am. I try to share the feelings of others. Without understanding them. I think I was lucky not to feel. But my heart goes out to all those who try to make this world safer. 4 years in Force. Thank you all.

Thank you for speaking out on PTSD. It is far too often swept under the rug in the Fire Services. Hero's speak out.

firefighters ARE superheroes, and they just look like humans

Luv this channel and god bless all the firefighters of the world and all the men and women who bravely serve their respected countries doing whatever job they do best.

it was always one of my dreams to be a firefighter, but here i am failing at EMT school it's so depressing. kinda cried watching this not gonna lie

Another truly inspiring story

dudes got the calves of arnold

Nothing is stronger than the heart of a volunteer! The people in the fire service have huge hearts helping people every day, but this makes them more susceptible to emotional injury...Thank your firefighters and police... Trust me, they deserve it.

This is a great video. It brings a needed dose of reality and appreciation to people who do not put their life on the line every day. I can relate to this video being a former Navy SEAL. Thank you for doing this.

this guy nailed it on the head. people, put on the uniform and see heroes, and the woman in distress, and all the people who are thankful, but the truth is it's not about that, it's about getting your gear on when the tones ring and being there when you're needed for the victims and for your brothers on the job, even if it means the end of your time. Brother, I am more than happy to hear you've overcome the urge to use and drink. Too many other first responders let themselves be defined by what they couldn't do and it takes a toll. It's a lifestyle that many want for the wrong reasons, and few achieve for the right reasons. One day you'll meet all your victims on the other side and they will thank you for caring and for being there when others weren't. That girl may have been lost, but one thing is for sure. While everybody was getting pictures, videos and posting all over social media about it, you were trying. And nobody can be mad at you for that. Keep up the good work brother and God Bless

When I started watching this I thought wow Ive been doing the job for 27 years now and all the stuff Ive been through from line of duty death to close saves but just couldn't get patients through it, I though wow this guy doesn't have what this job is about. But continued watching ptsd is horrible he found a great way to deal with it, I think everyone has a point where its just too much with this job, I didn't find it on duty, my breaking point was finding my wife dead one morning on an off day and doing cpr on her while my 7 year old daughter watched while calling 911.......that was it for me that put me in the spiral, Im still in it because I cant find that fix in life being widowed sucks. Stairs suck even more but tomorrow at work im going to start climbing.

Firefighter Greg Collaco of the SFFD turns to a cathartic stair stepping ritual to cope with PTSI induced by his emotionally taxing job.

this week im taking my initial exam, hope i can become a firefighter for my community !!! thx for the motivation

I remember sitting in the den after a bad call. It was a dark room with recliners at our station. We had just listened to a girl scream for her parents until she died slowly. She was so young. She was trapped in a ball of steel and we worked to free her and others from it. I also worked another person (as a fire medic) in the opposite vehicle. The patient I was working also died, but I just remember listening to the screams throughout the call. It was difficult and distracting. I heard them fade to silence. It was all futile. The scene looked like a warzone. There were 4 dead. Later that night (in the den) I remember my old salty Captain starting to sob in the darkness of the room as we all began to decompress. Nobody said anything. We all sat there together in the silence. I felt my eyes well in tears as I listened to him. He finally spoke after his gentle sobbing subsided after about a minute. He stood up and said " It's like water Chinese water torture, one drip after another until you finally break. He put in his retirement that week. I think he did 27 years. I'm going on 15 years and I've seen some things. I used to count the number of people I have seen dead. Now I count on seeing a number of dead people

I know exactly how that feels and somehow through the wreckage in our minds we have to find peace with the things we see and the lives that we couldn't save and remember we still are human beings and we do feel emotions but in the end we should never forget the choice we made to do this, and that's what makes us unique

I appreciate the coverage...but this is very mellodramatic. I'm a career firefighter. We're not all on the brink. While we do all hurt in different ways from the job.....we're not all on the borderline of sanity and dispair. I don't discount any feelings felt by my brother & sister firefighters.......but this video is aboslutely the extreme.

It's a job that has difficult situations that you must overcome, but that's in the job description; what isn't in the job description is that some of these situations will stay with you.. I find it easier to cope with a life that you just couldn't bring back, or a house that you could not save, if you are able to talk with another firefighter that was on scene or someone else about it and what it is that is giving you an issue.

I have always wanted to become a firefighter since I was 4 or 5 and watching videos makes me so happy, just looking at a station or truck makes me happy and makes me want to rush time to get to 16 to become one. I told somebody all the reasons why I want to be one and they said “ you sound like you would be a great chief.”

Love this vidéo, what a great man ! Truly an inspiration. Been on the job for over 2 years now, revisit this video once in a while to remind me that the next call just might be the one that messes me up. I am gratefull that that call has not surfaced yet. Stay safe brothers

I love the smell of waking into a station and smelling the structure fire in the gear. Everyone's gear tells a story. My helmet... It is like a trophy to me.. new and shiny when new.. not so much now

im a firefighter and i got image that gets to me a lot about bad 10 50 i been on where young kids was killed and that hurt so much we try to save all but there no way to save all. i been a firefighter for 4 years i seen a lot but it well never stop me from doing what i love helping

I’m on the other side of this equation. Firefighters and paramedics saved my life. I will never forget it. They comforted me too. One firefighter held my hand on the way to the ER. That may not sound like much But it meant a lot to me. I was delirious but his hand kept me centered I had lost my wife. Our son was nine. I kept thinking my boy will be alone if I die. I will never forget those guys. When I saw the flashing lights it was like the Marines had landed. I live in San Francisco. This firefighter is brave for filming this. It will help others.

when he mentioned he lost his friend, heartbreaking!

newfound appreciation for a profession I already thought I appreciated! Great video

All of these Ritual videos are absolutely amazing. I love them.

Being a fire fighter is the most rewarding and best job ive ever have had the pleasure of doing i wouldn't trade it for any other job and i even do it for free.

What a great video!! So glad that this brings awareness to this issue. Thanks Greg for being a hero.

Really glad to see this guy going after this problem head on. You don't suffer alone brother, we're all with you.

To the chap with the honesty and part way of a solution ... I hope all those suffering in much the same fashion find their way...

I have been a Firefighter/EMT for 21years now I love my job I love my community. Their is so much that I bottle up inside me that I have to get rid of I just start walking next thing I know I've walked 20 miles just to clear my mind I love it

Amazing man. Firefighters are amazing people, people that run in when everyone else is running out. May not be superheroes, nobody is a superhero, but you are heroes. You have the limitations of being human, yet you still risk life and limb while knowing those limitations to save people you have never met in your life. It's nearly impossible for me to fathom the bravery shown by these great men and women.9/11, these brave men and women of the FDNY ran into the twin towers, each and every one of them knowing they probably won't come back out, but they left everything behind, everything they hold dear to run in and save people they have never met. I hope in my life I can even show a shred of the bravery these amazing men and women show every single day.

Bro, this man is a legend. He may look overweight but looking at the stair climb his legs are made of steel

Volunteer Firefighter. very proud to be apart of the brotherhood. thank you for your service.

Thank you to all the service men and women who put themselves through this emotional grinder so that my family and I may be safe. Namaste :-)

most people dont recover from those kinda of situations. props to him for over coming such a situation and continuing to save lives. SALUTE!

What a beautiful story, told with absolute eloquence! ♥️

I'm an auxiliary firefighter, we rarely have any intense emergencies in our area of responsibility.Those who respond daily to extreme cases are admirable. Bless them!

to some extend, not even close, I can feel what the firefighters had to go through. I grown up with nothing but respect to firefighters who brave all odds to save life and had witness many heroic actions. My experience in UN's Outreach, Protection & Intervention witness some deaths, families cries, delivering the bad news, and having bodyguards to protect me just in case the grieving families get aggressive. I can only guess how much more these Firefighters feel helpless as life flashes before them. They are my hero, please don't blame yourself, we know you did all you could but each of us do what we could. Thank you, Thank you so much for trying your best.

I wasn't ready for this OMG...

I just started taking my Fire Tech classes in hopes to start the academy within this year. I can't wait to be a part of such a special career.

God bless our fire fighters.

Today I got to see a fire truck that went to the 9/11. 12 people went and only 1 came back.

I’m training to be a firefighter and I know there’s gonna be calls that mess me up but I also know that there’ll be calls which show me the joys of life and I know this is my calling because I’ve always felt like it was so yeah there’s gonna be tough times but we always carry the ppl we have saved with us and our fellow brothers and sisters in the force they make us stronger

I'm going to be a firefighter. Today on this date I was suppose to go to work at Amazon, but my laziness made me stay at the apartment because I wanted to workout. So I came up with an excuse and told my Mom and my step dad that they're doing re modeling at Amazon (my step dad takes me to work because my car is in the shop, so it would've been my mom in the apt alone while she's studying) so I stayed on my phone. 30 mins later my mom came out of her room saying she smelled something burning, now I didn't think to much of it I just said "is there something on the stove burning or the dryer or sum?" Not caring that much. She said no. So I got up and once I stood up I got a whiff of something on fire. My step dad came out the bathroom, and we all walked around the apartment to find where it was coming from. My mom opened the dryer one more time, and inside the lint area down in the corner there was a fire that started in the dryer. So she panicked, and me and my step dad were moving swiftly while claiming her down at the same time, and since we're in a apartment you would think the fire extinguisher would be under the sink or somthing right? But it wasn't. Long story short firefighters pulled up after we put out the fire, but the way they pulled up in their gear uniform. But the way they was moving was fascinating to me. Now I know what I want to be on the side.

Wonderful, thank you for sharing this.

god picks certain people to do things like Greg Colloco did I always make sure to thank god for this new day

This one was very moving. I love these videos.

this is the hard part of our job it hits us hard

I am so proud of you dad.

I'm a junior fire fighter and this is so true thank you for making this video

Usually there will be professional counseling to attend traumatizing calls. It WILL help out in these issues. I really hope this station is supporting it to these guys.

I have a friend who was a NYC police officer for 18 years. he walked away one day and never went back. I asked him why and he said he had seen so much for so long that he became numb to the world and the bad people. The one that pushed him over the edge was when he found a baby in a suitcase dead because the parent didn't want it any more. After that he never went back.

Oh I swear he is talking about my career. 15+ years and I remember the smells, what they wore, what was said of all my bad calls.

Today I was sworn in at a volunteer fire department in their jr program until i turn 18 this summer and standing up there with my right hand raised in front of the general body felt kind of unreal. i know its not that big of a deal but i got a feeling of camaraderie that ive never felt before. I was extremely nervous but now im definitely sure that this is what I want to do.

Firefighters have my utmost respect

Dude has boulders for calves. Way to go, man

God bless you brother :) greetings from Iceland. keep your momentum, u totally sparked me

can someone please agree with me that this is without a doubt the best job in the world even considering all the shit we go through?

Seeing this encourages me more to be a fire fighter

I can smell that structure gear from here lol

Great video! It would be awesome to see another urban explorer themed video too if that is possible

This was beautiful!

Let go of fear, let in the courage!

Part of it is the wide range of calls we face interior fire attack is intense, bad car accidents are intense medicals can be intense ,and that there's no let up we don't get a break really its one intense life threatening situation to the next after a years of it you judt become numb. Its hard to explain but a numbness , it makes it hard being a family man where your kids and wife have challenges that are a big deal to them but nothing to you. A good book for anyone who's changed alot and needs grounded is firefighter zen by hersch Wilson. Highly recommend it you can get it on Amazon too.

This is my new favorite series!

Very educational thank you for the warning

i’m 13 after watching this I still want to be a firefighter

I relate to this guy.

God Bless you guys. I hope to become a firefighter someday

It almost made me cry!

Firefighters are true hero's. That and emergency medical technicians as well. When they get a call they show up to do one thing and one thing only and that's save someone. I can't say the same about cops on the other hand. Not to say all cops are bad but they seem to be plagued with a bad reputation. I haven't had good experiences with them. They have arrested me a few times over some stupid shit I don't have time to get into. The times I called them and needed them though they always offered little to no help. When my friend got shot and after what seemed like hours I heard a knock on the door I was a bit disappointed when I found it was the cops instead of the ambulance. The shooter was already long gone and when they did catch him he turned himself in. The cops didn't offer any first aid, help, or anything. They literally just stood there while I kept pressure on my best friends gunshot wound with ;one of his work t shirts. Then they had the nerve to put me in cuffs on the way to the station where I was going to make a statement. Then the cop that took the statement that "hesitantly" gave me a ride home asked me "I bet you never seen some shit like that before have you?". The firefighters that showed up along with the EMT's though were very consoling and one of the firefighters assured me he would be ok. I found out later through the doctor he very well could have died (he had a 10 percent chance of survival) but this firefighter (Fred Mathews) was able to keep me from losing it. My dream was to become a firefighter but unfortunately once I hit ten years old I developed an extreme fear of heights. Like I said though I'm not bashing all cops I just haven't had the best experiences with them.

I'm like not crying

Can you guys do an interview with an army vet to see his experiences and what he went through during his tours?

In my county they are doing a massive hiring for firefighters. Can you be overweight and still be a firefighter or emt?

Thank you so much

please keep doing rituals!!!

You are not alone my brother

This is such a massive problem in the fire service, and we never talk about it. It's normally not dealt with - we have a "it's part of the job you signed up for, deal with it" sort of approach. Most career departments have their own chaplains and systems in place to manage the mental health of their guys, but they're rarely used. People are dissuaded from being open about depression etc. because of the culture of the fire service. (Which can be a good thing, sometimes.) The statistics on depression in the fire service are so astounding, but we pretend they don't exist. 1/3 firefighters suffer from PTSD. 1/3 of those firefighters self-medicate with alcohol. Firefighters are *10 times* more likely to attempt/commit suicide than the general public. The average life expectancy of a firefighter is 57. At the end of the day - it's a job. And everyone has a job. It's a trade. Nobody's trade is easy, every job has its own risks and stresses associated with it. But at the risk of sounding immodest - the job of a firefighter is like very few other jobs. In what other line of work would you be expected to scour the highway looking for the motorcyclists missing limbs, picking up fingers off of the shoulder of the road? Or experience the feeling of being told that someone is trapped in a structure fire - and knowing that you and the folks you rode out with are the only people in the world that can fix the problem, and that if you don't do your job well, people will die because of you. The culture of the fire service is great - but we _have_ to do a better job in assisting the guys with mental health issues. It's great that some people find a way to cope themselves, and I'm sure a lot of guys prefer it, but that shouldn't be the only option. (And a lot of the time, it is.) We always take care of our own, mental health shouldn't be an exception!

True heroes.

Stay strong..

In this together!

those calves are goals!

what piano piece is this!!!!???? please help!? I want to play it for my percussion director for my final exam.

Firefighting is not for people like this man, but he is a brave man for doing it no matter what.

LOOOK AT HIS CALF MUSCLES DAMMM

I love my job with passion and respect.

That was deep

I like these.

he was talking about a stair climb. look up FDIC stair climb. its In Indianapolis. I've done it. it was an experience of a lifetime.

Holy fuck, you can tell he does stairs, look at this mans fucking quads.

motivational 👍🏼😉

Greg im right there with you im the same way as a firefighter.

Thank you for this! Bear

The first city to hold memorial stair climbs was Denver. www.denverstairclimb.com/ It has been my honor to participate three times. In 2014, I did the 110 flights with full gear, including an SCBA tank. Afterward, I found out I was the oldest of the 343.