Welcome To Brandon Justice's Blog
Blog #1
Hello whom ever may be reading, my name is Brandon Justice and I am a 11th grader at Impact Academy. For my internship I am working with the Fremont Fire Department. The fire department is a government organisation set up to care to the citizens and help protect our society by keeping our environment safe. Their are a lot of workers in the fire department, but Fremont Fire department is divided into smaller sub-departments (you can visualize it like a pyramid). In recent years the qualifications to join the department have become more strict and it is unlikely to see them hire anybody with out a college degree. Even though a person is on the force does not mean they are done with schooling, in order to keep up with the current standards or qualify for a certain job title a person may have to take classes. My workplace is very structured, which is beneficial to me because it allows me the chance to see what individuals do on a daily basis. I am honored to work along side such heroic figures and blessed for the chance to be apart of this organization.
Hello whom ever may be reading, my name is Brandon Justice and I am a 11th grader at Impact Academy. For my internship I am working with the Fremont Fire Department. The fire department is a government organisation set up to care to the citizens and help protect our society by keeping our environment safe. Their are a lot of workers in the fire department, but Fremont Fire department is divided into smaller sub-departments (you can visualize it like a pyramid). In recent years the qualifications to join the department have become more strict and it is unlikely to see them hire anybody with out a college degree. Even though a person is on the force does not mean they are done with schooling, in order to keep up with the current standards or qualify for a certain job title a person may have to take classes. My workplace is very structured, which is beneficial to me because it allows me the chance to see what individuals do on a daily basis. I am honored to work along side such heroic figures and blessed for the chance to be apart of this organization.
Blog #2
My main mentor is Deputy Fire Marshal Amiel Thurston. He has assigned me to multiple other advisers, giving me the chance to see the different fields in the fire department. My first week I got to work with code enforcement officer Dan Skubal, his job usually is to inspect different buildings in his district to make sure that they are keeping up with current codes. In my latest weeks I have been given the chance to work with Captain Silva, he is the leader on the engine out station 7. Him and his team are responsible for going out on emergency calls, whether it is a medical response or another drastic situation where assistance is needed. In my up coming weeks I will hopefully get the chance to work with other people and get the chance to explore what their responsibilities are.
My main mentor is Deputy Fire Marshal Amiel Thurston. He has assigned me to multiple other advisers, giving me the chance to see the different fields in the fire department. My first week I got to work with code enforcement officer Dan Skubal, his job usually is to inspect different buildings in his district to make sure that they are keeping up with current codes. In my latest weeks I have been given the chance to work with Captain Silva, he is the leader on the engine out station 7. Him and his team are responsible for going out on emergency calls, whether it is a medical response or another drastic situation where assistance is needed. In my up coming weeks I will hopefully get the chance to work with other people and get the chance to explore what their responsibilities are.
Blog #3
My responsibilities are to do what ever the captain or another firefighter wants me to do. I do not have a specific job title so I usually try to learn all the different job requirements. It helps me gain a better understanding for what the job requires and with that in mind I know what I can start working towards in college. I also try to help out with the basic chores of the fire house like sweeping, refilling the paper towels, and folding the dish towels. The firefighters were nice enough to bring me into their house, helping out is the least I could do. At the fire house there is no regular day, the calls come in at any time and they vary from medical responses to residential fire. Usually I try to help grab the equipment from the engine or truck apparatus, to help make the firefighters job easier. Recently I have learned alot about the different medical bags so in an emergency I know which bag to grab, unfortunately the last two work days have been slow so I haven't got to put that knowledge into practice. For know I am learning all I can so I am as well prepared as possible.
Blog #4
For my project I was planning on showing what it takes to become a firefighter, but recently I was talking with another employee in code enforcement who gave me the great idea in creating an exit plan for a school in case of an emergency. He said that I could create a plan for the teachers and the students so during an emergency everyone is prepared. I plan on creating a strategy to inform the students what to do in certain situaitions. I was brainstorming and came up with the idea to create a short class where students would be taught what to do in an emergency, then after you would do a practice drill, and finally take a small quiz on the procedures. It would give the kids multiple ways of remembering what to do and only take an extra 10 minutes. My plan is to gather enough knowledge on the fire regulations, so when I create a plan I could have a clear explanation for why I put what I did into the plan.
Blog #5
This past tuesday on Novemeber 8, I helped inspect Washington Highschool with the Fremont code enforcement officers. While I was there I came up with a new project idea to inspect my highschool for code violations. I have not yet talked with my mentor or supervisor about the project, but I feel this project would show what I have learned from my WLE so far and would have a bigger effect on the people around me. I have been briefly looking for code violations between classes and noticed that a majority of classes had fire extinguishers that have been expired, I have also noticed some other violations such as storage to close to the roof, and fire extinguishers not posted on the wall. This up coming tuesday I will ask my mentor and supervisor about their oppinion on my project, and if they like it I will start gathering the tools I need to complete my project.
Blog #6
At our school we focus on four leadership skills that make us become better students. They are Think Critically, Complete Projects Effectively, Collaborate Productively, and Communicate Powerfully. At my WLE I utilize Think Critically and Collaborate Productively. When working with the code enforcement officers I do allot of investigations where I have to look at a scene and try to figure out what is wrong. In that process I collaborate with my leader and he helps me learn knew regulations along the way. I feel I use Thinking Critically very well but I need to improve on Collaborating Productively by asking more questions. The more questions I ask the more I will learn, which will help me understand the rules and regulations inside of code enforcement. My supervisor Mr. Pham, uses Collaborating Productively the most because he is in constant interaction with business owners and managers. He has to translate the rules in a way that everyone can understand, so the owners or managers know how to fix the problem.
Blog #7
I have always wanted to work with the fire department ever since I was a little kid. This experience showed me the true atmosphere of the fire department, and that has just motivated me to work even harder toward my goal. I was in a completely new environment when I was at the accident. It seemed hectic with people running back and forth, and I learned fast that you can't just stand and wait for instructions. You have to get everything prepared and ready to go before others ask for it. I think I can use that mind set toward school to because I should't wait to be asked to start doing my work, and I can be productive and get it done. My WLE affected allot of people, obviously the people we worked with and the people we assisted, but I think my grandfather got the most out of it. He was very proud that I got to work with his old colleagues, and see what he got to do all his life; I think it brought us closer together. I learned from this experience that if I want to become a firefighter, I need to start working toward it now. Through this experience I got the chance to see what everyone's specific job requirements are and now I can work toward completing the job requirements right away, and hopefully get a job with the fire department in the future.
Blog #8
When I was trying to secure my position at the fire department, I had to go back and forth with insurance policies. The whole time I was in the process of getting the internship, I had to remain professional. I still do have to remain professional at my workplace, not only to make a good impression, but to show respect to the others workers. It is their home that they invited me into and it is only right that I treat it with the respect that they deserve. I believe that professionalism is the key to getting anything in life.
Blog #9
Today I got the chance to work with the engine from department 6. We inspected the equipment and made sure the batteries were charged. We inspected the fire engine, to make sure it was ready to go in case of a call. It was a fairly slow day, we went out on only about three calls. The only actions we took though were for a ems call, we help checkout an older male and made sure he was doing all right. The other call was for a broken fire hydrant but they were just doing a flow check on it. I offered to try and help out with some of the simple house duties.
Blog #10
I loved this expierence. I have always wanted to work with the fire department and now I got the chance to do so. I loved it so much I allready Put In around 85 in and had fun every moment of it. I hope this is only the start of me working with the firedepartment. Next year I will try to plan ahead again some where wth friendly people and where I coulde learn alot, like I did here. I have allready been looking and I might try to get a internship with a motorcycle shop. That is another passion of mine and I hope to persue that as well. I also learned how to be a prosfessional in the work place.
