Meet your Firefighters

by Ron Dawson, Contributing Writer

Meet Brennan Whiting, firefighter and paramedic, at Port Ludlow Fire and Rescue. He has been in the fire service for seven years and has been at Port Ludlow for nearly four years. When asked about the difference between an EMT and a paramedic, Brennan said that an EMT handles Basic Life Support, but a paramedic, due to having completed advanced training, as Brennan did at Central Washington University for a year, can handle Advanced Life Support. Those skills include procedures like administering IVs, intubation, medications, breathing support, pain management, cardiac management and understanding cardiac rhythms, and many other situations. The year of training included spending time in hospital emergency rooms, doing hospital patient support, and ride alongs with the local fire department.

He is originally from Maple Valley and has other family members who have been in the fire service. His father has 38 years with Eastside Fire and Rescue, and he has an uncle who retired from Tacoma Fire. Brennan and his wife Keli, whom he married last June, recently bought a house in Poulsbo, which they share with their two dogs.

The thing that he likes best about his job is that every day is different, and that he is not stuck behind a desk. He works with a solid group of peers, and it is like one big family. The hardest part of the job is taking care of yourself, as the job is very stressful. You can’t show the stress when you respond to an incident and do your problem solving. This has been recognized in the fire service as an important area to manage.

One of his most memorable events is responding to a call in which a one-year-old baby girl had drowned. They worked to revive the baby successfully. Brennan saw her one month later, and fortunately she was normal, and fully intact in all her functions.

His goal is to start a family with Keli, and grow in his skills and responsibilities. In two years, they have a goal to take a trip to New Zealand. He likes the outdoors, fishing, skiing, bird hunting with his dogs, and hanging out with family and friends.

When asked about what people may not know about him, he responded that he likes “corny movies.”

We are lucky to have him in Port Ludlow.