I've been out of the fire service for a while and you can leave the fire service, but the fire service never leaves you. Some recent news stories got me thinking about those days and I thought I'd share some information that people outside the fire service probably never thought of.

Like all the other volunteers, I'm just a regular guy, or gal. I've received all sorts of training for fighting fire and cutting up cars to free trapped occupants, but I never got any training on how to deal with the human side of things. It's not just firefighting. I served a time on the ambulance as well. I remember a gentleman that used some sort of flammable liquid to start his kitchen wood stove early one morning and it blew up in his face. He was certainly in distress when we dropped him off at the hospital, but when he died a few days later, it brought up lots of questions about whether we could have done more.

Before I was am assistant fire chief, I just responded to the fires and did what I was expected to do as a firefighter, but after I assumed that title, things changed. When we had big fires, I struggled with the end result. Most of the time, when you see news coverage of a big fire, the end was determined before the fire department ever knew there was a fire, but it's tough when your job is to save lives and property and you don't do it.

One cold winter night a fire broke out in an empty barn. The crews did an awesome job and made a great stop. There was not a lot of value in the building before the fire and after the fire the building was torn down. Great save. Building torn down. The toughest part of the job by far, was taking homeowners into their home after a fire. They are completely devastated. Their whole lives have been destroyed and they get to view the evidence. Even though your department stopped the fire, it's still a very uncomfortable experience.

One fire occurred in a neighboring town and the chief was out of town and I happened to be working in the town. Our department was called for mutual aid. The fire was in the attack and it was ripping pretty good. I had a couple of eager, young firefighters who went up in the attic and knocked the fire down with a super effort. The house ended up being torn down. However, when the homeowners rebuilt, many things that they saved went into the new house and the chief and I were invited to their housewarming. I can't describe the feeling as they led us to item after item that was saved from the fire that now had a prominent place in their new home.

Then, there were the big ones. The Common Market. The Masonic Hall. When the Masonic Hall burned, I was in Cleveland. The chief's sister called me and I told her that if he needed me, I'd be there in 14 hours. Of course he was fine because we had gone over that scenario night after night and day after day since the Common Market fire. We talked about every possible thing we thought could go wrong and how we would deal with it. Night after night. Call after call. You see. When you're the chief or assistant chief, if it's your fire, it's your responsibility. You always question yourself. There's not a lot of time to have discussions about what might be a good idea and what might be a bad one when there's a fire going on, but there's always a lot of looking back and questioning. So we had a plan that had developed from previous fires and lots of discussion.

One of my former firefighters is a chief in a nearby town and his town has been plagued by several large fires. I private messaged him with something that I always had to remind myself. "You didn't start any of those fires." This deal is tough on volunteers. The higher up the ladder you are, the harder it is.

While I've seen my share of bodies, I never saw one in one of my fires. Thank God for that. But it happens and it's tragic. It's tragic for the family and the community. It's also tragic for the firefighters and especially the chief officers. If you see one in your community, shake their hand. Better yet, give them a hug. They could use it.

Bill Packard lives in Union and is the founder of BPackard.com. He is a speaker, author, small business coach and consultant.

More Bill Packard

• Adulting
• Trying to get organized, I become disorganized
• How not to break into a safe
• Blue Colony
• Summer in Maine
• Parker loved a good time
• The Moving Wall and the Vietnam era
• Done? No. Just getting started again
• The finer points of occupying a public space (Tip: Bring snacks)
• The Zumwalt: Built in Maine
• Mainers and their most happily miserable Thanksgiving
• Sam, I'll miss your smile
• Troubles with the fridge
• Where the weirdness comes in
• Boycotting the Oreo and why I won't
• Parenting can be tough, it you work at it too much
• Choose wisely, graduates
• Beware the June 30 leap second
• Don't get too stuck on yourself, or what you offer
• WRKD's Easter Egg hunt in Camden — back in the day
• On being serious
• Don't wish them dead. Vote them out of office
• Think twice before you sue
• An Act to Increase the Effectiveness of the Legislature
• Driving trucks in the Blizzard of '78
• I am not making this stuff up
• Don't buy into the stress of the holidays
• Lighten Up
• A troubling election season
• Laundry time
• Midcoast is where we live, charity is what it's all about
• Jim Laurita was a doer, not just a talker
• Miracles
• Minimum wage and personal responsibility
• Pause before criticizing first responders
• About the movers and shakers
• Tactical Urbanism in Camden
• Break the rules now and then
• Studying
• With Rockport Fire Chief Bruce Woodward and the Learning Chair
• About Elimination Communication
• I didn't intend to offend any mothers. Obviously, I did
• At Union’s Applewood Farm, a lesson in listening
• Let's go to court instead
• Plowing
• People having fun is a good thing
• Out of the box and into the zone
• Making things personal and individual
• Letting go of the old clock
• A friend of God on Faccebook
• It’s a different life out on the road
• If your school got a C or a D or, God forbid, an F, get over it
• Tell your dad how much he means to you
• Event planning, corn boil picnic and buses
• Life goes on, but a piece of the community goes away
• Talk of weather brings up another aspect of Maine living... suffering
• Guilt is a useless emotion
• What's with all this greening of Camden?
• About reinventing ourselves
• Intolerance
• Say what?
• Need a little help finding the value of x
• I guess I feel guilty
• Video does not represent Maine lobster industry
• Every Saturday should be 'Shop Local Saturday,' whatever that is
• I don't get it
• SpongeBob, cops and the use of allegedly
• The stupid things big business does
• Legislature could vote it made a mistake about school union mergers
• Just let go
• Traveling with the Trekkers
• Here's why I like plowing
• Bath Iron Works builds best ships in the world
• Aboard the USS Zumwalt in Bath
• Working for Snapper at Marriners’
• Doing better than the bare minimum
• Thinking about obituaries
• Women are from Venus, but most men are from down the street somewhere