#fireems

The US Fire and EMS services are spiraling. Staffing shortages a decade in the making at even the most major / famous departments around the country.

My entire shift + Captain - which was only 6 of our normal 10 because the rest are sick or have COVID - have to work a mandatory 12 hour shift today plus our normal 24 tomorrow. 3 people I’ve worked with in close quarters have gone home positive in as many days.

The hospitals are struggling. We’re struggling. Very few people want to work in these conditions (and why should they?) and to top it off our leadership has at least one element saying “you signed up for this.”

I signed up to be competently and empathetically led, come what may. And that’s not happening.

Wow. 

Just last week I received news that is going to change my entire life. I have been accepted into a prominent Fire Department here in Maryland and I start at the academy in just 2 weeks. What a life changing event! Not to mention a dream come true. They can’t give us a hard date yet on how long the academy is going to last, but it will be anywhere from 6-10 months and will demand most of my attention during that time frame. 

What does that mean for BrokenBanner?

A couple of things. 

First of all, and most importantly, we are not shutting down. The wood will still be chopping in our (new) shop and as I sit here and type in my (new) office I couldn’t be more excited about the future of this Woodshop. 

Secondly, we had big plans for aggressive growth, marketing and advertising, and hosting and attending events. For the most part, these big ticket ideas and plans are going to take a back seat. For now. But we will still be here. Still filling orders with the same enthusiasm and patriotism that our growing brand is being acknowledged for. I don’t do this to make money, I opened this shop because I love woodworking, I love this country, I love business, and I love seeing and sharing people’s stories of service and sacrifice. I hated my day job, so I quit. I had dreams of serving other and the need for adrenaline in my life, so I became a firefighter. I turned what makes me happy into something that can make others happy. You can do the same!

So. Question is, what can you expect over the next 6-10 months?

We are looking to grow our digital footprint and community still, so our blog will be posting more regularly. We may have guest bloggers, we will unveil a regular community spotlight, and share more stories about others.

New wood products! We love our flags, but we are creative people and are exploring other items for our shop. Rumor has it I just ordered a woodburning gun...

...T-shirts?... shhhh....

Most importantly, we had big plans for Q3′s 25% of profits donation. That initial plan is on hold for now. Instead, 25% of all profits on orders that come in from now until I graduate the academy will be given to the National Fallen Firefighter Fund, and it is a great honor to be able to do this. 

So stick around. Tell your friends. Anyone who re-tweets us on Twitter, shares us on FB, mentions us on Instagram, or re-pins us on Pinterest will get a 10% coupon. That’s good from today until the day I graduate from the academy, so get on it. 

Freedom on.