Fire Line Journal
February 28, 2026
This journal is where I gather the moments, fragments, and discoveries that shape my work—notes from the road, reflections from museums and archives, and the quiet stories that reveal themselves when you listen closely. It is a living record of the journey behind Fire Line, and a place to honor the people and histories that deserve to be remembered.
March 2, 2026
This journal is a place to pause, reflect, and honor the stories that shape Fire Line.
Some entries will be field notes from my research, others will be quiet moments of memory, and some will simply be the thoughts that rise while walking through the work of legacy and service.
I’m grateful for every person who finds their way here.
This space will grow slowly, intentionally, and with the same care I bring to each tribute.
Thank you for walking with me as this archive continues to take shape.
March 11, 2026
A House Full of Love — and the Beginning of My EMS Life
Long before I ever held my first CPR card, long before the Navy, long before I ever stepped into a uniform, there were two people who quietly set my life on its course: Dave and Janet Simpson.
My dream, even as a kid, was to be a firefighter/Paramedic. I didn’t know how I’d get there — I just knew that’s where my heart lived. And then, when I was just 14 years old, Janet opened a door that changed everything.
She let me sit in the dispatch room.
She let me listen.
She let me learn.
And eventually, she let me ride along.
That was the moment my world shifted.
That was the moment EMS stopped being a dream and became a calling.
Dave and Janet didn’t just influence me — they claimed me. They treated me like one of their own, folded me into their family, and showed me what service really looks like: compassion, community, and showing up for people when they need you most.
Their son Gary carried that same spirit into his own EMS and military service, and soon I’ll be interviewing him to help preserve their family’s legacy — a legacy that shaped mine.
Everything I became in EMS started in that house full of love.
And today, I honor them.
March 20, 2026
Carrying Michael Altman’s Name
This week has been shaped by the weight of one name: Firefighter/EMT Michael Altman. Writing his tribute pulled me into that familiar space where the work becomes both an honor and a heaviness — the quiet responsibility of holding someone’s story with care. Line‑of‑duty deaths always land hard, but something about Altman’s fall, his young family, and the generations of service behind him stayed with me long after the page was finished. Today, I’m sitting with that. With the courage it takes to walk into a burning building. With the families who wait. With the way a single loss ripples through a department and a city. Some names stay with you longer than others. His is one of them.