Meet Brandon Emans, age 36, engineer with the Northwest Fire District in Tucson, Arizona. Emans has 16 years in the fire service. He started as a seasonal wildland engine crew member with the Northwest Fire District in 2009. In 2010, Emans became a full-time firefighter with the Northwest Fire District, where he spent nine years as a back seat firefighter, which included operating many of the district’s apparatus including wildland type 3 engines and tenders, as well as the squad and hazmat apparatus.
In 2019, he was promoted to the rank of engineer, and his last station assignment was Station 331, where he operated a 2018 KME Predator engine with a 1,250-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump and a 1998 Smeal 105-foot aerial platform. Emans currently serves as the training engineer, helping prepare and mentor firefighters through the district’s training programs.
What were the circumstances that led you to becoming an apparatus operator? Is it something you always wanted to do?…