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How to Love Your Career

When you see the glow of joy on the face of children when they get to go to a fire hall, get into one of the shiny red trucks, and enjoy watching them respond to calls, you do not always think that these children will end up making this their life goal and their lifelong love.

Captain Scott Sedore was just such a child.  He grew up just north of Newmarket in small town Queensville, and he became a volunteer firefighter as soon as he turned 18 years old.

He said, “I never wanted to do anything other than to be a firefighter!  All through high school I knew what I wanted to do.  All my friends were taking courses to prepare for university or college and I was taking subjects like scuba diving and rock climbing.

It drove my mother crazy.  She was of the mindset that I should attend university and get a degree.”

He enjoyed the fact that the fire department was a paramilitary organization;  respect for this structure is the cornerstone of the culture of a fire department.  The fire department was what he wanted in a career.  He wanted to work as a team member, be one of a brotherhood and he wanted a career where not one day would be the same as the preceding one.  Scott loved the challenge of not being sure what the next day would hold, what it would ask of him.  It could be as varied as rescuing a cat from a tree or extricating a person from a vehicle.

Scott said, “People ask all the time what a typical day is for us at the fire hall?  There is no typical day.  That is what I love about the “job”.  It never gets dull or boring.  We work the 24-hour shift, which mean we report on duty at 7 a.m. and for the next 24 hours, who knows!  The station I work out of runs 40% of the calls.  Plus, we back up a number of stations if emergency dictates.  There never seems to be enough hours in a day to get everything done.  Our morning coffee meeting is very important.  That is where the crew sits down and discusses what we did on off days.  It is important to have a laugh or to commiserate with a crewmate if there has been a mishap.  We decide on what training we will embark on next and also discuss who is cooking supper.  Then the tones go off and off we go.  Where that will be, we never know ahead.”

All an applicant needed when he started was to have a grade 12 Diploma, a D license, first aid and CPR.  Anything else was considered icing on the cake.  He had been a volunteer firefighter, a certified diver, a rock climber and had a few college courses related to firefighting.  Twenty-one years later, the learning is still going on.  He is currently enrolled at Dalhousie University, halfway through

The Company Officer Program at the Ontario Fire College and working on a certificateat George Brown College for Emergency Preparedness.  He has never stopped learning or training.  The fire department spends countless hours training on new equipment and maintaining skills.

“I’m living my dream.” He reminisced.  “I remember walking in the door at Station 81,

our headquarters for six weeks of training before being assigned to a crew.”

He was twenty years old.  He was so excited he arrived an hour early and that excitement and that habit has stayed with him all these years.  “If I’m not walking through the door

thirty minutes early for my shift, I think I’m late.”

He was assigned to Station 83 under Captain Blair Robson, a rough looking stocky pipe-smoking guy.  He found that looks were very deceiving.  Captain Robson taught him how to relax and breath.

Scott said, “I can remember him being so calm at calls and around the station.  He would tell me that cooler heads prevail and will always get the job done right.  I hold that

thought close today.  When I look back I can’t believe how long ago that was and how much I enjoy this job!  I have seen a lot of change from our turnout gear to the response vehicles we use.  I find it hard to believe I used to ride on a tail board engine wearing the old pull up boots and long coat!”

When Scott Sedore became Captain, he wanted to do more for the community and the people he served.  He was fortunate to work with a like-minded crew and a Platoon Chief who supported them all the way.  One Halloween they carved pumpkins, then distributed candies at a street corner to the trick or treaters.  This led the crew to read to school kids at Christmas, wearing elf hats and giving out candy canes.  Later the crew got involved with L’Arche Daybreak, a home for challenged adults.  They found it to be a very heart-warming place to visit.

“We go by to say hello and see what their friends are making at the craft studio get involved in their bowl-a-thon and have hosted BBQ’s for the families and friends of Daybreak.” Scott said.  His crew has entered two floats in the Richmond Hill Santa Claus Parade for the past four years.  They have won the Optimist Award twice and this year they won the Best Theme Float.

Scott continues, “Any time that my crew has the opportunity to get involved in the community we jump at the chance because we see the excitement in not only the children, but in their parents as well.  It is also a great time to get a safety message across.”

He became Captain of Company One, Richmond Hill Fire Department in 2002.  He said,

“My crew members are exceptional and perform diligently, taking seriously their responsibilities as firefighters, and also the community involvement I ask of them.  They are eager to be involved and be the helping hands in the community.  Behind every Captain is a responsive, adaptable and hard working crew.”

He is quick to say that his Acting Captain and the crew embody the same determination, the community involvement and the dedication, not only to the job but to the public that he has.

Captain Scott Sedore has recently been presented the “Fire Chief’s Award” at the annual Firefighters Awards Dinner by Commissioner Shane Baker for his excellent performance of duty and his dedication to effecting customer service, continuously promoting the Richmond Hill Fire department within the community and leading others to improve public service in an exemplary manner.

What makes him an outstanding Captain are his leadership skills, his ability to stay calm in all situations, his compassion when it is needed most, such as when the call becomes a recovery rather than a rescue.  He exhibits a love for people, his community and most of all, for his career choice.  He says unequivocally, “I just love my job.  It is still my dream job.  The best job I could ever have had!”

About the Author

Valerie Kent, B.F.A., B.Ed.,M.F.A. writes articles for www.OnRichmondHill.com,other on line magazines and also hard copy magazines and publications. She is a practising artist as well.
www.valeriekent.com
artistvalerie@yahoo.ca

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