Volunteer risks life for the sake of others

    When full-time student David Weissman gets up in the morning, he has the normal worries of class and possible tests coming up on his mind. But with Weissman, it’s a little different. He also has to worry about possible fires, car accidents and gas spills.
    Weissman is a volunteer firefighter for the Baldwin County Fire Rescue Services. He worries so that we don’t have to.
    “When my pager goes off I get a rush of adrenaline,” to be at the scene as fast as he can to possibly save somebody’s life and mostly for Weissman, not to miss any action.
    After graduating, Weissman plans on moving out west to become a “smoke jumper.” He wants to be one of the guys who jumps out of planes over state-sized forest fires to fight the awesome force of flames provided by Mother Nature.
    The job might seem crazy, but not for Weissman.  Action is what he is all about. Anybody who knows Weissman knows how important it is for him to be a part of the action.             “It’s all just extremely rewarding,” Weissman said.
    His stature allows him to have a unique position on the force.
    “I’m kind of the little guy in our department,” Weissman said. “I get to go into the smaller spaces like attics and under houses to look for fire. I’m usually in a tight space filled with smoke, or on top of possibly fire -damaged rafters. I’ve got my forced entry tool in one hand and the thermal imaging camera in the other. It can get tricky,” Weissman said.
    And this is where Weissman is at his best. This is his element, when it gets tricky He will do what ever he can to help out.
    As it takes a special type of person to volunteer for such a thing, Weissman is no exception.     “It’s a job that has to be done, we don’t look at ourselves like hero’s or anything, we just do it,” Weissman said modestly.
    And it’s not surprising that this hero has such a modest attitude.
    “It’s fun and the people are great because we are surrounded by people who want to help others. We’re a team,” Weissman said.
    Weissman was inspired by a former teacher to become a volunteer firefighter.
    “I joined over a year ago because I had a lacrosse coach in high school that was a volunteer fireman, and also because I was bored,” Weissman said.
    And why does he voluntarily run into burning buildings?
    “It’s fulfilling and it’s the least I can do,” Weissman said.
    Weissman, besides being a volunteer spending countless hours a week on call and being a business management major, is also the co-president of the GCSU Lacrosse team. He also enjoys fly-fishing and snow-skiing in his spare time. Weissman hales from Roswell where he was a four year starter on the Roswell Varsity Lacrosse team. 

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 13 2007. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry