Every firefighter who has served a career in a professional department has stories. These stories are personal to me. The first 12 are those stories that changed me. They have forever affected me emotionally. Some were successful rescues while others were failure, all left a lasting impression. There are many more than just these 12 but these come to mind quickly and have the ability to leave me emotionally drained as I remember them detail by detail. The next eight incidents are those that were fun, funny, or had an important lesson learned. These are incident that I chose not to forget. All should give you a window into the life of a dedicated firefighter, paramedic, and ER nurse. These stories are not in a chronological order as they were written in the order that they came to mind. Some involved my response as a firefighter, while others occurred while I served as a lieutenant or a chief officer. They are not made up or embellished. These are "My Stories".