The Burning Desire

Captain Ronnie Beaulieu, my dad, has been a New Orleans Fireman for over 38 years.  Throughout those years he has been assigned to several different fire stations and units and has served on all three of the shifts they call platoons. Although he has been around the department, Engine 29 on Decatur Street in the French Quarter has been a second home to him for 34 of his 38 years on the job. In the early 1980’s Captain Beaulieu along with his best friend Stephen Pagart who both had family serving the New Orleans Fire Department witnessed those members' love for the job.  The two friends decided to apply and go through the testing process. They sat for the firefighter entry test in 1983, both passed and went through the four additional tests required to be appointed to the academy. Captain Beaulieu was appointed to the academy’s second class of 1985 class R-2-85 on June 9, 1985.  He has been in love with the job ever since. My entire life, I have watched my dad excited to report to work whether it was a holiday, birthday, or weekend without a single complaint.  Although he never looked at it as glamorous work, he was born to do it, having a burning desire to serve the community and make specific connections with the people he encountered along the way. This desire to help the community without expecting anything in return is a special trait I have witnessed in the firefighters and the main reason I chose to document the work and lives of the members of the New Orleans Fire Department. 

Most other first responders tend to get some recognition for the jobs they do like “Back the Blue'' for Law Enforcement or special days for our military, but the work of the fire service is sometimes overlooked.  Don’t get me wrong, during 9/11 and for a few years after the firefighters were front and center with the loss of 343 of its bravest, but over time life got back to normal and firemen just continued doing what they had always done. My goal for this project is to give recognition to this profession and hopefully educate people to the fact that the job of a firefighter goes far past putting the wet stuff on the red stuff as they call it. 

This project has been an eye opener for me as well. Even though I have been around the fire department my entire life, I still don’t know everything about the job. Everytime I go out to photograph, I learn something new. For example, taking a photograph of one of the firemen’s helmets I noticed a wooden wedge tucked behind a thick rubber band attached to the side of his helmet. I inquired about it and was told most guys keep wedges either in their turnout coat pockets or strapped to the helmet to be used to wedge a door to keep it from closing behind them as they search a floor in the pitch blackness they encounter. It also keeps a fire hose from being kinked in the doorway and can show other firefighters that this area is already being worked on and that entry has already been made.

I have also learned of the long list of other non-fire duties that these members perform everyday year-round. Responding to and extinguishing fires is only one, there are numerous false alarm calls, elevator rescues, medical incidents, cleaning the stations, and equipment maintenance.  Plus smoke alarm installations and Mardi Gras duties such as float safety surveys and supervision of the lighting of the flambeau torches, not to mention hours of training and even cutting stuck rings off of swollen fingers. The firefighters are a wealth of information for the tourists in the city and probably the best ambassadors the city has. The list can go on and on, and when people don’t know who to call in a situation they send the fire department. 

It truly takes a special person to become a firefighter because they are willing to lay down their lives for people they have never met. Something I came to realize while on this project is that most photographers are fixated on the fire and smoke spewing from windows or rooftops or the wreckage at a vehicle crash capturing the event. What I wanted to do was highlight the individuals under the masks, under the turnouts burdened by heavy equipment and perilous situations because, to me, that's what makes the job come to life. I am trying to put a face to the work so to speak. Through my work, I wanted to show the diversity and cohesiveness of the crews, who are all working towards the same end goal, the saving of a life and property. I realized the truth behind a quote by Gregory Widen I once saw while researching, “The funny thing about firemen, is night and day they are always firemen,” it sums them up perfectly. 

I have always felt at home with my New Orleans firefighters. Whether it is my dad’s firehouse, my brother’s station, or any other one, these men and women have always cared for me and treated me as one of their own.  I feel like I have several hundred extended moms, dads, sisters, brothers, uncles, and aunts. Family is a great description of the fire service. This family has always shown up for me whether it was to participate in my class projects, attending my very first big gallery showing, or being part of the many milestones in my life.  I am extremely grateful to have this group of people always encouraging me in whatever I do. They have welcomed me with open arms as I started this project and are as excited as I am to see the end results. I hope that they all know that it could not have been possible without each and every one of them. I hope they are proud of the way I chose to honor and represent them and their calling. 

Thank you to all the firefighters around the world for your service and sacrifice.