I.F. High graduate hooked on fighting fires
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AMMON — A woman who recently graduated from Idaho Falls High School says her dream was to go to medical school, but she caught the firefighting bug. Now she is one of four female paid-call firefighters for the Ammon Fire Department.
“I signed up for an EMT class in high school, through that I became a part of the Idaho Falls Fire Department’s explorer program,” Brianna Thompson said. “Capt. Bill Hicks showed us what is like to be a part of a fire department, and I fell in love with the idea.”
Thompson says she made the decision to change her path before graduating and started the application process for the Ammon Fire Department. After passing the written and physical tests, Thompson was interviewed by a panel consisting of the current chief, captain, lieutenant and a firefighter. She was ranked as one of the top applicants and invited on as a paid-call firefighter.
Thompson, a cadet for the Ammon Fire Department, is preparing to complete the National Firefighter 1 certification.
“Everyone at the fire department is very supportive, more so than I ever thought they would,” Thompson said. “It feels like I have been welcomed into a new family.”
Thompson trained on one skill at a time, once she became proficient on tasks like connecting a hose to a fire hydrant or handling a fire hose nozzle, she would move on to mastering other firefighting skills.
“You practice it so much it just becomes natural and later on, it’s a relief to be able to rely on your training,” she said.
“I saw the flames, I could feel the heat, and I kept saying to myself, ‘This is actually real, this is actually real.'”
Thompson’s first fire was near the end of June, when she and other firefighters responded to the 5400 block of Clearfield Lane in Ammon. She could hear on her radio that a recycling truck was fully engulfed.
“As we drove toward the fire, I could see the smoke and got a huge boost of adrenaline,” Thompson recalls. “When we pulled up on the scene, I saw the flames, I could feel the heat, and I kept saying to myself, ‘This is actually real, this is actually real.'”
Thompson said for a brief moment she thought she might not know what to do.
“But right away I fell back onto my training, it was like I was always one step ahead of myself,” Thompson said “It really made me appreciate training a lot more.”
Her first fire confirmed her choice of career.
“It was great, I loved every minute of it, not only helping people and keeping their homes safe but to be a part of a team I know I can rely on,” she said.
“Sometimes it felt like we were trapped (while fighting the Henry’s Creek Fire), and I would say to myself, ‘What am I doing?’ But then I would get right back out there and do my job.”
The second time Thompson got called out was to the Henry’s Creek Fire, this time, she spent three days battling the fire, which grew to more than 50,000 acres.
“There were several times that we were down in a canyon and it looked like everything was OK, but seconds later, we would be covered in thick smoke, and all of us would have run back to our trucks,” Thompson said. “Sometimes it felt like we were trapped, and I would say to myself, ‘What am I doing?’ But then I would get right back out there and do my job. My mind would just fall back on my training.”
In late August, Thompson started school at Idaho State University in the paramedic science program.
“I’m excited about school, I really enjoy the classes and learning about the human body.” Thompson said. “I’m only in my first year but I’m already looking forward to some of the classes I need to take.”
While in school Thompson continues to train as a cadet with the Ammon Fire Department and recently responded to the late-night fire in Ucon that destroyed Eagle Rock Fur & Leather’s processing building.
Thompson will test for her National Firefighter 1 certification in October.
“I’m very excited about this career — I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” Thompson said. “I plan on sticking around the Idaho Falls area. I love this community and the new family I have with the Ammon Fire Department.”