Fire Men – Three Generations of Firefighters

EDITOR’S NOTE: Join Tiger Schmittendorf at 9pm EDT tonight (8/10/11) with his special guest: Firefighter and Author Gary Ryman on the next installment of his Firefighter Storytellers radio show on the FirefighterNetcast network. 

Gary is the author of “Fire-Men” – a newly released autobiography of three generations of firefighters in the Ryman family, a tradition that started with Gary’s father and continues today in Gary’s son Michael.

Listen in as Gary and Tiger share their adventures and their stories of life in the fire service.

Tiger will also be introducing a new and exciting relationship with Fireman’s Fund Insurance and their renowned Heritage Program which has awarded more than $28 million to fire departments for needed equipment, firefighter training and community education programs.

Tiger will be giving away copies of the video DVD titled: “Into the Fire” to selected guests who call into the show to share their story.

Produced by Firemen’s Fund Insurance and just like Tiger’s site Run-to-the-Curb.com and his Firefighter Storytellers radio show – “Into the Fire” shares the stories of firefighters across America and what brought them to the fire service.

So, sit around the firehouse and listen in to this exciting show and in the meantime, be sure to tell us your story.

Here’s Gary’s take on his recent writing success story —

My book Fire Men: Stories From Three Generations of a Firefighting Family was recently released by Tribute Books. The book tells the stories and experiences of three generations of firefighters of which I am the second or the middle of the Oreo. It relates the good, bad, ugly, and funny aspects of firefighting and how those experiences affect us. Being both the son and father of firefighters gives me an unusual perspective.

In stories ranging from the bedroom communities of upstate New York to fast paced suburbs of Washington D.C. and finally the rural hills of northeastern Pennsylvania, the constants of the business remained the same.

Anyone who has more than a couple years in this business has enough stories to fill a book of their own. The challenge was getting it all down on paper and then the revision process to get it to the point where a publisher would like it. The almost five years between first putting pen to paper publication were a fun and challenging journey, but holding the first printed copy made the ride worth while.

Some comments on the book include:

“I think the book shows the true meaning of learning, sharing, devotion and motivation. I really think it should be on every probies list, as it shows the good, the bad and the ugly of what emergency responders go through, and like anything, we remember the good times and the good friendships more than the bad. What I liked best was remembering a lot of those incidents, by either the war stories shortly afterward or seeing it on the news. A lot of those were back in the Good Days, when men were men and probies understood they didn’t know everything. All in all, it tops my lists of the many fire books I have read over the years.”

– Dave CHICO Richard, PA State Fire Instructor Emeritus

“As someone who also comes from a multi-generation fire service family, I appreciate how well Gary Ryman captures his family’s dedication and commitment to their fire department and community. Fire service families everywhere will relate to Gary’s stories.”

– Gary Keith, Vice President of Field Operations, National Fire Protection Association

“From the first page, Ryman hits the nail on the head. He provides a riveting look at the fire service as a whole, and the evolution of the business over the last three decades. Every fire fighter should read this. Old ones to reminisce, young ones to appreciate where we came from.”

-Fred Bales, CFPS, CFI, Pennsylvania Senior Fire and Public Safety Instructor & Past Chief, Greenfield Fire Company, Greenfield, PA

LINK: Watch the “Fire Men” video trailer :