For a first responder, learning how to compartmentalize your emotions is part of the job, Deputy Fire Chief Michael O’Brien said.
Over his 20-plus years on the department, he’s responded to his share of horrific emergency calls — including fatal accidents involving youngsters — that require professionalism and care.
And then, like other first responders, he must return home to his family.
“I went to a car accident and the guy was pinned under a truck,” recalled Deputy O’Brien. “He was alive and talking to us. This happened right around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. We picked the truck up off the guy and he went from talking to us to dying within a few minutes.