Queen City Burns – Monday Morning Shoutout

This weeks Monday Morning Shoutout goes to Queen City Burns by Taj, a 24 y.o. firefighter in the South (I am not sure if he wants his full name/location posted). Taj is trying to make a difference. He is part of the bloggers trying to make a cultural change in the fire service through writing, training, teaching, and learning. This crowd has actually got me working out half-regularly now and I thank them for the motivation and inspiration!

I see similiarities between Taj and I. I was 24 once. I just hope that his road is a little easier than mine and he makes as much difference as he can in the fire service. We need change…who better to it come from than the younger generation who know what the fire service can be while understanding the foundation that has built the fire service to this point. These are our future leaders.

Taj is inspirational with his posts. He makes you think and he stands by his words.

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Although I might be the enemy.

Taj does not like the bad stories related to the fire service. He doesn’t think they should be shared, talked about, or given credence. I disagree.

My thoughts…if everyone turned a blind eye to the robbery prank in Macon-Bibb, Georgia, what would be next? If firefighters who don’t know the difference between right and wrong didn’t learn that this was a terrible idea, what would be next? I think these incidents need proper coverage showing the damage it can do to the fire service to prevent it from happening again…or worse.

About Taj:

I’m a 24 year old firefighter. My first due is a mix of poverty stricken ghettos, multi-story commercials, and multi-family dwellings. The purpose of this whole project is to both exercise the mind and the body. Through sharing my ideas and activities, I hope to learn as much as I can from others. On the QCB’s facebook, twitter, and main site, I freely support the writings and broadcasted thoughts I find worthy of discussion and, hopefully, worthy of your time. While we openly discuss problems within the fire service, I hope to at least add suggestions to alleviate them. Website hits do not matter to me. I will not cater to the trash-type broadcasting crowd. I have no interest in discussing blatant mistakes of specific departments nor will I partake in the spreading of their dirty laundry. I will not be a part of something I feel is destroying everything I hope to have a piece in building. There are enough places to find the current “viral video” of firefighters doing stupid things, on and off the fireground. This was not, is not, and will never be one of those places. Some may see this as sweeping it under the rug, I find it to be a mature way of staying out of the drama.