Fire Safety Friday: From John’s Perspective as a Firefighter

“I Remember the Anxiety You Didn’t See.”

Fire Safety Friday — by John Adams, Firefighter & Founder of Fire Beacon Solutions

When people think about firefighting, they picture flames, smoke, and urgency. What they don’t see is the anxiety that hits before we even pull the line.

I’ve been on scenes where the smoke was so thick I couldn’t see 10 feet in front of me. I’ve pulled up to neighborhoods with cars on both sides, vegetation blocking corners, streetlights out, or hydrants buried in snow or debris. I’ve attached hose to hydrants that wouldn’t turn. I’ve watched pressure drop at the worst possible moment.

And during every one of those moments, one thought runs through your head:

“Is the hydrant going to work?”

That uncertainty — location, operability, pressure — adds stress you don’t have time for. Fire scenes move fast. Seconds matter. Anxiety becomes another obstacle to fight. I thought to myself if I could just create something to alleviate some of the anxiety and stress that comes with the job, that this will be one less thing that my brothers and sisters would have to worry about. The job of a firefighter is already dangerous as it is. Why can’t it be safer for our sworn firefighters who protect our communities?  

That’s why I created The Fire Beacon.  

A bright, unmistakable visual marker that cuts through smoke and darkness. A system that tells you the hydrant is working — before you arrive. A tool that turns uncertainty into confidence, and stress into focus.

Firefighters deserve more than hope when they pull up to a hydrant. We deserve certainty. We deserve reliability. We deserve a system built by people who understand what it feels like to be under that pressure.

That’s the mission of Fire Beacon Solutions.