September 21, 1998
Tiffin firefighter earns honors
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
Despite missing the course's finale, a Tiffin firefighter/EMT was named honor graduate of his Ohio Fire Academy class.
Ken Majors started the training June 8 at the Ohio Fire Academy in Columbus and graduated in the middle of July. He was selected by his instructors as honor graduate of his class for test scores, leadership, personal performance and dedication. He was also selected as class speaker.
Unfortunately, the day before the class's final burn-building exercise, Majors broke his ankle. He said he was very disappointed to miss the class finale.
The exercise involves the largest burn-building in the state, in which firefighters practice for situations they may face in a real-world house fire. It is thought of as the crowning event of the class, Majors said.
''The six weeks we were down there, we worked to get to that burn,'' Majors said. It was difficult to stand back and watch while his classmates got to practice all they had learned, he said.
But Thursday, Majors was to return to the Ohio Fire Academy and participate in the exercise with the current class. Firefighters said he was unable to attend.
Majors said he did not have to go back, but wanted the training.
''It's excellent training,'' Majors said. ''There's no place else like that to get hands-on firefighting experience.''
Trainees fight fires, run search and rescue missions and practice many other tasks in the environment controlled by instructors, he said.
''There are usually 20 or 25 in a class and they all get a chance to do each job at the scene,'' he said.
Although Majors has been a paramedic for 12 years, he had no firefighting experience.
''It was an all-new thing,'' Majors said. ''I had never done anything in firefighting before.''
He was a member of Tiffin EMS when that department combined with the Tiffin Fire Division. When that happened, Majors had to cross-train to become a firefighter/EMT.
Majors also graduated recently from Owens Tech in Findlay with a degree in nursing. He is the first and only RN in the Tiffin Fire/Rescue Division. He said the role of a paramedic is to treat a patient in a field situation, and his training as a nurse gives him a different perspective.
''It teaches you to focus on the whole patient and not just the person,'' he said. ''I think it changes your outlook and how you assess the situation.''
While he considers his job at the Tiffin Fire/Rescue Division his career, Majors also works part-time in the emergency room at The Bellevue Hospital.