Recent national news about California wildfires inspired Micah Moono to research firefighting. After delving deeper into his research, he found the Montgomery County fire chiefs’ website, www.montcofirefighters.org, which answered his questions about volunteering with his local fire company.
“I began reading more local news sources about volunteer firefighters and that made me realize the urgency, especially in Pennsylvania,” said Moono. “My biggest questions were answered on the montco firefighter’s website so I filled out an inquiry form on the website to get connected with my closest fire company.”
A couple months ago Moono was voted in to Perkiomen Fire Company as an official member.
“As a mixed-race individual, I’m not always sure what to expect in a new situation or environment and since the first day of walking into the station the other members have been nothing but warm and welcoming,” said Moono. “Everyone shares bits of advice or feedback, or help me get better training
Since Moono is a new firefighter, he assists with exterior groundwork when responding to emergency calls and participates in weekly training nights at the fire station. When he finishes his courses at the Montgomery County Fire Academy at the end of this year, he will receive his Firefighter I certificate and be able to fight interior fires.
“Although I don’t have my Firefighter I certificate yet, I learn a lot during training nights at the fire station. It’s a refreshing break from my 9-5 desk job and it’s actually fun,” said Moono. He elaborated, “we break things open, spray the hoses and light things on fire. At the same time, we’re learning life-saving skills.”
Many volunte
ers have diverse backgrounds and careers. Fire companies don’t require a certain number of hours and they understand it is a volunteer position. All companies ask is that volunteers give as much time as they can.
Starting out is a larger time commitment because I’m working towards my Firefighter I certificate, which now requires 180 hours of training. On top of that, I regularly attend training at the station, which is usually 2 hours every Monday,” said Moono.
Nonetheless, Moono is incredibly active within his fire company and responds to calls whenever he can. “It’s worth the time commitment. I’ve got to meet new people, reconnect with my community and make an obvious impact,” said Moono. “It’s a meaningful contribution and it’s fun to learn new things.”
Photo cred: Ted Hodgins, Perkiomen Fire Company.