Don’t Read This…Share it with your Firefighter Wife or Girlfriend

See what I did there…you are now reading it. That is ok, you are supposed to. Then, share it with your wife, fiance, or girlfriend (but not all three) JUST KIDDING! Seriously, share this post on FB and Twitter! This community is a huge resource for our firefighting families and more firefighters and their wives need to know about it!

Occasionally I travel to fire service events. I consider myself knowledgeable on what is out there, what is going on, and what each event is known for. I just got back from the FirefighterWife.com Flamefest 2014 and I had a blast. Read on to find out what the event is and who it benefits. It is an event you should definitely plan on attending if you haven’t already.

First, a little explanation of what the Firefighter Wife community is:

Firefighter Wife is a community for the wives (fiancees & girlfriends) of firefighters whose mission is to:

Strengthen, ignite and rescue firefighter marriages

Nurture our Fire Wife community with encouragement, support and friendship

To Build Up our Fire Wives in mind, body and spirit to be wise, strong and enduring

To bring an even deeper sense of community to the entire Fire Family

Firefighter Wife is a community created by Lori Mercer. Lori and her husband Dan worked hard to make the weekend perfect. They didn’t do it alone. They have an advisory board and planning committee which planned and facilitated the entire weekend. It was flawless.

FirefighterWife.com – Firefighter Wife on FB – @WifeonFire on Twitter

In 2013, they had their first “meetup” in Atlanta. I wanted to attend with my wife, but it was the same weekend as another event I had already planned on being at. This year, they planned accordingly and I took my wife. Yes, you heard that right…I asked my wife if she would attend with me…I couldn’t go alone. My wife was familiar with the community, but wasn’t involved.

The 2014 event was held in Chicago at the campus of Hamburger University…where they train McDonald’s managers on the finer points of making Big Mac’s (or something like that).

The event was held Thursday night – Saturday night and included sessions for couples as well as break-out sessions that separated the firefighters and firefighter wives. The men heard from Battalion Chief John Salka (FDNY ret.), David Soler of FirefighterToolbox.com, and Jeff Dill of the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. The women heard from Crystal Paine of MoneySavingMom.com, and Alisa DiLorenzo of One Extraordinary Marriage. The collective group got to hear from Tony and Alisa DiLorenzo of One Extraordinary Marriage, a panel of couples who got to share the secrets to their marriage, and some of the sponsors which included physical and financial health topics.

Flamefest was a perfect getaway for my wife and me. After 12 years of marriage and two children, we needed this weekend and it was very beneficial for our relationship.

The great thing about it is that no one was judging anyone’s relationship. There were no comparisons. You get out of it what you want and learn things to build your relationship. I highly recommend getting your wife involved in the private community within FirefighterWife.com. There, your wife will meet and build relationships with others who are married to firefighters and enable them to share experiences, learn from, and get to know other firefighter wives.

The weekend wasn’t all business though. We attended the Flamefest Ball – a formal event including dinner where we got to mingle with other couples. The wives got to put on firefighter PPE and do an evolution including flowing water. The weekend ended with a social at a dueling piano bar.

What did I get out of the weekend? My wife and I got to reconnect. We learned from others who shared their tips on making our marriage extraordinary. We got to hang out…together…while the kids were safe at home…and we didn’t have a care in the World. We got to do all this while hanging out with couples who are similar to ours. Firefighters and the wives who put up with us having the best job in the world.

We got to meet dozens of great couples. Firefighters and their exceptional wives from across the Country (although I don’t think there are any boundries for joining the community)…from Florida to California, New Mexico to Minnesota. We got to hang out with great people and learn about them, get to know them, and get lost in Chicago with them. I met great firefighters and got to learn about their departments. There might have even been a few bromances created.

We have created friendships with couples that will last a lifetime.

We had a blast and learned a bunch…AND…

And Chicago style pizza…

And team T-bone…

And a few firehouses…

And drinks on the deck…

And we learned a little about McDonald’s…

And Mike the cab driver…

And pineapple…

And hashtags…

And John Salka is hilarious…

And “Bringing Sexy Back”…

And California Girls…

And so much more…

The best part…the ones who were there will understand…was baking cookies.

– Rhett Fleitz “The Fire Critic”

Below are some more photos from the weekend that I took. Kim Fitzsimmons was there to take photos, but it will probably be a couple of weeks before they are ready. So you will have to deal with my cellphone pics!