David-Olivier Lacroix: Becoming a Firefighter

Here, read the transcript of the interview with David-Olivier Lacroix, an eligible firefighter in the Saint-Eustache Fire Safety Department.

***

Well, like every kid, I always wanted to be a firefighter when I grew up. When I watched them go by on the street, I was always interested. When there were fires, either on TV or in my area, I was always fascinated. Same with fire drills at school. And luckily for me, a friend of the family was a firefighter in Saint-Eustache, and he’d often come by the house either in the truck or in the small vehicle. And he’d talk with my parents about operations he’d been involved in. I was always fascinated by them. So, I continued to be really interested in it throughout my teen years. As I mentioned, when I was in high school, I decided I wanted to be a firefighter. But the guidance counsellors told me the opportunities to get into it were extremely limited, so it would be hard. So, as a result, I turned in a completely different direction. But after a year, I could see that firefighting was what I really wanted to do. So, I enrolled at the Fire Training Centre in Blainville to get my “Pompier 1” firefighting certificate. Once I’d done that, I was really hooked. So, I decided to go and get a vocational diploma in firefighting – that was in 2010. I started that program in September 2010 and completed it in June 2011. Then in July 2011, I joined… I was essentially in the Saint-Eustache Fire Department. Well, the fact that opportunities were extremely limited… people kind of tried to talk me out of it, but with time, that just made me more determined, just to prove to those people that I was capable of achieving my goals, you know. Funny thing: the guidance counsellor who… you know, not to be unkind, but… I met him at a breakfast. And I was in uniform. So, it was funny to show him that actually… well, it was all in good fun. Just a little message I like to pass on: if you really want to do something in life, don’t give up, and… you’ll reach your goals.