Name:
Cole Crockett
Education:
A.A.S. Emergency Services: Emergency Medical Services.
Family:
If you’re reading this, we are basically family. PTB.
Current Occupation:
Firefighter/Paramedic, Anchorage Fire Department.
How many years were you with the University of Alaska Fire Department?
4 years. June ’09 to July ’13.
What is your favorite memory, story, experience, etc. while at the University Fire Department?
My favorite memories come from the times between training or classes, just hanging out with the crew. The stories, banter, and name calling made for days where it was hard to stop laughing. Camping off CHSR and at Tangle Lakes, biking, frolf, hiking Angel Rocks, Granite Tors, and Sugarloaf. The “Oh yeah, floating from Nordale to Pikes is a great 4 hour trip!” that turned into a 16 hour saga of misadventure, where a fire may or may not have been started on a military installation, and Young Paul almost died of hypothermia. I advise not using two kayaks to pull an open-bottom inner tube and an inflatable mattress each, all between 8 people. I wish I had discovered the Ester Dome single track before my last day in Fairbanks. The Pub! By far, UFD made my college experience.
Brief History/Biography:
I was born and raised in Anchorage, AK, as the oldest of 4 sons. I graduated from Dimond High School in 2009 and was encouraged to try out for UFD. I was hired on and started Academy Class 1016 that June. My original mindset was to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering and use UFD just as a job. That didn’t last long though. I still worked towards that degree for two years, but soon after hitting the line I knew that no other job would be as fun, challenging, or rewarding as being a firefighter. Soon, it wasn’t even a “job,” it became a lifestyle. Others may remember “A-Shift Pride” as a joke against A-shift for being hard asses, but my fellow probies and I took ownership, made it ours, and for a long while, A-Shift was the place to be. I was lucky to have Chief Mead’s high expectations, Captain Phillips’ decades of experience, and the occasional success with “fighting for Daddy’s (Captain Chambers’) love.” Thanks 112. Naturally, shift dynamics change, but that sense of striving to be the best stuck with most of us. I tested for Anchorage Fire Department in 2011, but didn’t make it past the BPAD. It was a defeat, but I focused on how to improve from it, and pursued my growing interest in paramedicine. I finished P School the next spring, interned with Memphis (Tennessee) FD, and returned to Fairbanks facing the potential for a promotion or taking a spot with Fairbanks FD, having placed very well on their list. It was an incredibly tough decision (Chief Coon will still probably tell you I made the wrong one), but I turned down the job, tested for Lieutenant, and got to be one of the first three Lt’s at UFD in over 10 years. It was difficult being moved (off of A) to B-Shift, but I am honored to have been shown so much respect from my friends, coworkers, and superiors. I feel I met success in that role, and am so glad I went for it. Practicing Company Officer level leadership while mentoring under Captains Fleagle and Kuiper and BC Coon significantly improved my understanding and abilities as a firefighter. That position and responsibility really culminated for me the day E-12 arrived first to a Chena Goldstream fire, where we initiated command and quickly made first-in interior attack. I wish all future Lt’s could have an experience like that one. In 2013 I tested again with AFD and won the privilege of joining Academy Class 13-01. The eleven of us, mostly from Fairbanks (making it that much more fun), worked hard and succeeded in being one of very few AFD academies to graduate all members. Currently, I am working through my probation at Station 6. I would not be having nearly the level of success I am now, if it had not been for my time at UFD.
If you are at UFD now, enjoy it as much as possible, which isn’t hard, but never forget how incredible an opportunity you have. Remember how many others don’t, but would give anything, for the spot in the fire service you have. I could reminisce and go on for days about the good times, the stewardship, being humble, and working hard, but maybe it would be best if you got that from your senior guys. Oh, and read the Station 2 Reading Materials cover to cover. Maybe even find the Station 2 Scroll, if you can. And if you’re one of those to fortunate enough to experience the 50th Anniversary Reunion (I won’t, I’ll be on duty), absorb all you can from every single person you meet. I’m just glad to have the privilege of sharing the title UFD Alumni with them.
