Pat

Life-long Student | Fire Chief for a small city in Texas | GPMs over BTUs | Structural-Wildland FF/EMT, Instructor, PIO, EM | USN Veteran | 🇺🇸🇮🇪🍀

[Pat @911pc1]

At some point, you will hang up your helmet. All your collective experience & expertise can either be hung up forever also...or it can still be in fire houses, answering alarms, continuing to serve. It wont be done by you anymore-but by the new hires you took the time to mentor.

[UNFUCKED FIREFIGHTER @unfuckedfire]

You will never regret being kind to new hires.

[Restricted Daily @RestrictedDaily]

Everybody talks about birria tacos… meanwhile chicken Caesar tacos quietly became one of the most underrated food combinations on the planet. These things are dangerously good.

[Pat @911pc1]

Ban cell phones inside and I’m down to going back.

[Trung Phan @TrungTPhan]

inject the old school Pizza Hut vinyl
booths, red plastic cups and salad bar (with oversized metal ladles for the Thousand Island dressing) directly into my veins

[PeachProof @PeachProof23]

You Should Probably Change Your Password! 👨‍💻 🙄😂

[The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee]

Smoke Alarm Patiently Waits Until 3 A.M. To Announce Low Battery https://t.co/dKowhlWETU

[Pat @911pc1]

@Cernovich I enjoy cooking (and driving), but hiring a chef to prep all my meals, Mise en Place, and clean after I plate...

[Tony Seruga @TonySeruga]

Every Christmas Eve, I think about George Bailey.

He dreamed of escaping Bedford Falls—of shaking off the dust of a small town, building skyscrapers, exploring the world. Instead, he stayed. He ran the Building & Loan his father left behind. He sacrificed his college money, his honeymoon savings, his chance to see the world, over and over, because people needed him.

By the time the crisis hits, George feels like a failure. His life looks like one long series of missed opportunities, thwarted ambitions, and quiet resentments. He stands on the bridge, convinced the world would be better without him.

Then Clarence shows him the truth: a Bedford Falls without George Bailey is a darker, meaner, hollowed-out place. The people he quietly helped, the small acts of integrity he performed without recognition, the risks he took to protect others—those weren’t detours. They were the substance of his life.

The film’s deepest insight isn’t just that “no man is a failure who has friends.” It’s that real impact is almost always invisible in the moment. The lives you steady, the small kindnesses you extend, the responsibilities you shoulder when no one else will—these things ripple outward in ways you may never see.

A strong sense of purpose doesn’t erase pain; it transforms it. It doesn’t merely explain why hard things happened. It asks: What are you now responsible for because they happened?

Faith, at its best, does the same. It doesn’t promise that everything was “meant to be” in order to make suffering palatable. It invites you to look at what has been entrusted to you in light of what you’ve endured.

George’s story reminds us that meaning is rarely found in the grand escape, but in the faithful presence. The dreams we surrender don’t always vanish—they often become the raw material for something more enduring than we imagined.

If you’re carrying the weight of roads not taken, of dreams deferred, of a life that feels smaller than you once hoped—watch It’s a Wonderful Life again tonight. Not as nostalgia, but as revelation.

You may not see the full difference you’ve made yet.

But it’s there.

And it matters more than you know.

Merry Christmas, friends.

🎄🇨🇽🎅🦌☃️⛪️✝️❤️

[Happy Captain @EODHappyCaptain]

My first team leader taught me a lot. One day I came to him with a question, and he responded:

“What does the regulation say?”

So I looked it up and came back with the answer.

“Why didn’t you just tell me the answer?” I asked.

“I didn’t know the answer. But now I do, and it’s from the regulation, so I know it’s right”

I now look for answers before asking people for them.

[Pat @911pc1]

@Kiel_Samsing Solid work there Kiel.

[Pat @911pc1]

Um, I must have missed this class…🤔

[mrredpillz jokaqarmy @JOKAQARMY1]

Here's away to get your self out if your ever stuck in a situation like this.

[Pat @911pc1]

@usfire Having a choking call that goes to cardiac arrest would trigger 2 options. Cardiac arrest is an "illness" but Choking is an "injury" in NERIS.

[Pat @911pc1]

I honestly like where @usfire is going with NERIS, but I can already see this is going to generate a lot of bad data at first. NFIRS has a 512 page Reference Guide that explains every field and every possible selection and that document does not exist for NERIS yet.

[Pat @911pc1]

@usfire One example-we can choose up to 3 incident types-but there are now 46 medical options to choose from. Your typical sick call could easily hit 5 of these-altered mental state, abdominal pain, headache, N/V, sick. Choosing which to use may not be clear-cut.

[Pat @911pc1]

@BunkerGear_Gal If EOD (or the power company) is on scene before you, you should be VERY concerned.

[Pat @911pc1]

🙏

[Texan Report @TexanReport]

🚨 Fire Chief Missing After Being Swept Away in Texas Floodwaters 🚨

Travis County, TX – Fire Chief Michael Phillips of the Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department remains missing after being swept away by floodwaters earlier today while responding to an emergency near Cow Creek.

Chief Phillips was driving an emergency vehicle when he vanished late Saturday morning. While the vehicle was later located, there has been no sign of the Chief. Search efforts are ongoing.

The call he was responding to was related to the same catastrophic storm system that has now claimed the lives of at least 50 people across Texas — including 43 in Kerr County and three in Burnet County. Among the victims are at least 15 children.

Marble Falls, located about 50 miles northwest of Austin along the Colorado River, is one of several Hill Country communities devastated by the historic flooding.

The firefighting community and local residents are rallying in prayer, hoping for a miracle.

🙏 Please continue to keep Chief Phillips and all affected families in your thoughts. We will update as search and recovery efforts continue.

#TexasFloods #MichaelPhillips #MarbleFalls #TravisCountyTX #KerrCounty #FloodRescue #TexasEmergency #HillCountryStrong #PrayForTexas

[Pat @911pc1]

@RyanEPennington Its lurking in the shadows waiting for the politics to go away.

[Pat @911pc1]

@Osint613 https://t.co/A2Lpe5900U

[Zeek Arkham 🇺🇸 @ZeekArkham]

About twelve years ago, I arrested a kid for shoplifting. There was a mall in the area that had a heavy shoplifting problem, so my precinct had a no tolerance policy towards it.

As I was sitting with him to fill out the juvenile arrest packet, he and I started talking. He wasn’t a bad kid; just made a dumb decision. We started talking about cologne and he said he always wanted a good cologne. I told him I had a few used bottles and to see me in a week. I told him if he went a month without getting into trouble, I’d give him another one of my old bottles.

He went a month without getting into anything and we talked some more and I gave him a bottle.

I’d see him from time to time while patrolling and we’d talk more. I wound up giving him my personal cell number and told him to call me when he needed to talk.

He called every now and again and after I left that particular precinct, we’d check in with each other.

Eventually, we stopped talking. Happens…

I got a random text a few days ago from him, letting me know he’d moved to Virginia, had a family, and was continuing to stay out of trouble. He’s a mechanic now. It’s been heavy on my mind ever since, especially since I struggle with wondering if I’m making an impact to anyone.

For my cops out there, not every person you arrest is a horrible person. Sometimes, they just need someone to talk to.

For my cops haters out there, not every cop is one of the “bad ones” you see on tv. We’re people, too.

We all have more in common than we think. Don’t let the ruling class divide us.

[Charleston Fire Dept @Charleston_Fire]

Today, we pause to honor and remember the nine brave Charleston firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty during the tragic Super Sofa Store fire on June 18, 2007. Their courage, selflessness, and unwavering commitment to protecting others will never be forgotten.

As we reflect on this solemn anniversary, may we carry forward their legacy with pride and gratitude, always remembering the cost of service and the strength of our fire service family. Let us never forget their names, their heroism, and the profound impact they left on our community.❤️

[Pat @911pc1]

@averytomascowx 13.71 in/hr, never seen it go above 8 before yesterday.