Heritage, it comes from places and people we can’t control. It happens before we arrive to this earth and it influences everything in our lives while we are here. The heritage we are born with is one but the other would be the heritage in our careers. There is a lot of heritage in firefighting, some we don’t even consider and others we might notice every day.
Back in the early 1800’s Scottish and Irish immigrants were coming to our country. They were discriminated against and couldn’t find work. It was so bad that places of business would actually put signs in their windows that read “NINA” which stood for “No Irish Need Apply”. That is discrimination we don’t see this day in time. Needing work they took what was available. These were the dirty, dangerous and unwanted jobs. Police and Fire topped this list, so that is where a lot of the Scottish and Irish immigrants went to work, police and fire departments.
These were not glorious or glamorous jobs, but with the Scotts and Irish doing them they brought with them some of their own traditions. At this time is wasn’t an unusual occurrence for firefighters to be killed in the line of duty and sometimes more than one at a time. When the funeral was held, it was customary for the Highland Bagpipes to be played. This was common in Ireland and Scotland but new to America. And so, the bagpipes became a large part of the American firefighter heritage. It is because of those firefighters that we have such a large amount of that Scottish and Irish heritage in American firefighting.
You see, you can’t choose your heritage. What you can do is embrace it. Appreciate the sacrifices and struggles of those who came before us. Remember the Scottish and Irish heritage we all share in the fire service. Whether you are from Scotland or Ireland or not.
Until next time,
Captain K
Check out the awesome products we have to offer celebrating this heritage:
