Is this survivable? If the answer is ‘Yes’ then you have to go in and do your job.

Chief Mike Long joined the fire service at age 16 as a volunteer firefighter in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. He followed in both his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps when he joined the prestigious volunteer fire service.

Mike took a break from firefighting to fight for his country in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader. He served from 1966-1969, ending his military career as a Green Beret. 

He’s been fighting fires ever since. Mike has done it all: both structural and wildland firefighting, as a career and a volunteer firefighter. His illustrious firefighting career is highlighted by his Silver Smokey Bear Award for fire prevention and Florida Fire Chief of the Year Award (’85) from his peers.

While those awards recognize Mike for his work as a firefighter, he is most proud of his work as a humanitarian. In 2019, Mike received recognition for this too as the recipient of the Winuk Humanitarian Service Award.

Mike provides three main points of wisdom for new firefighters:

1. Understand the relationship between smoke and fire
2. Follow chain of command during a fire
3. Talk to your colleagues and learn from experiences

Even after all these years and such a successful career, Mike has had to grapple with the grief of difficult calls.

Each person deals with the aftermath of a traumatic call in different ways.

He stated the importance of recognizing this fact and respecting your own coping methods and those of others. 

“Turning to drugs or alcohol is not a solution. The trauma will stay with you forever if you choose those alternatives as a coping method — it’s not worth it.”

Mike finds peace in knowing that he does the best he can do during each call. Some things are simply out of his control, and he recognizes that. He believes that it is critical to acknowledge that the traumatic event happened before one can move on.

“It’s all about having accountability and making sure you train well enough to feel confident being accountable during a call. When you’ve done this, you can rest easy knowing that you did all you could and not everything is in your control.”

Mike wants the general population to understand that the dangers associated with the job take a toll on a firefighter’s family every time they report to duty. He hears it from his wife every time he goes to work:

‘Don’t you get hurt. Remember, I’m here.’

Nevertheless, firefighters have to do their job.

When you get to the scene of an emergency, you look at the situation and determine: Is this survivable? If the answer is yes, you have to go into the burning building and take care of your job. Mike knows that any time you make a save, you take a risk.

Mike shared a story of the risk that comes along with his job.

The Monticello Volunteer Fire Department responded to a structure fire just outside of the city limits. When they arrived on scene, Mike entered the building with one of his colleagues, Brian.

Brian had recently earned his firefighting certificate, and this was his first serious fire.

They walked in through the kitchen and Mike noticed a double sink and a T.V. which was still on — an eerie reminder that a fire happens quickly and when you least expect it.

Continuing into the living room, Mike and Brian found that the fire was in the back bedroom and the ceiling above. 

They were pushing it back successfully from the ground level while a third firefighter fought the fire from above on the porch balcony. The three were suppressing the fire with success until the third firefighter ran out of air in his tank — he had to step outside. 

Mike and Brian kept fighting the fire, pushing it back into the far corner of the house. What they didn’t realize is that the ceiling had three layers and the fire was burning strong in the middle where they hadn’t been able to hit it with water.

Without the third firefighter putting water on the fire from above, the fire was rolling over their heads and coming down behind them.

In an instant, they had zero visibility.

Mike laid the hose down to pull some ceiling when he noticed the hose starting to slide away from him. Another firefighter was pulling the hose out because he didn’t know that Mike and Brian were still inside.

Just before their lifeline slid out of reach, Mike was able to jump on the hose. That would prove to be critical in the difference between life and death for Mike and Brian.

With no visibility, Mike and Brian had to find a way out before it was too late.

Brian clenched Mike’s air pack, knowing that he would likely not make it out alive if he let go and he pounded along the wall as they searched for a window to escape.

Nothing.

Mike thought to himself, ‘We bought the farm’ — a phrase that originated in WWII referring to a pilot who crashed, buying himself a plot of land for his final resting place. That’s when he felt the double sink. He remembered the sink in the kitchen and knew exactly where the exit was. Mike continued to hold the fire off until he knew that he and Brian could make a break for the door. 

Brian asked, “Is it time to be scared, Mr. Long?” 

To which, Mike replied,

“If you’re not scared now, you’ll never be scared.”

As Mike came out of the house, his first question was “Where’s Brian?”

Somehow, Brian had found his way over the top of Mike and to safety just in time. They both lived to tell the tale.