Mr. July brings the spark to your sparklers! We are delighted to introduce you to Joel Frederick from Eagle River Fire Protection District, he will melt your hearts like a popsicle on the 4th of July.

Joel started his career in academy with Eagle River Fire in April 2010. He had no prior experience in the field and it was the most challenging and exciting 15 weeks of his life! We asked Joel, what made him become a Firefighter? Well, it was not his first choice, he studied and received a bachelors in both criminal justice and psychology. After graduation and interviewing for positions within his degree, he soon realized that this wasn’t going to be a good fit for him. In some way or another he made his way into a firehouse, where he started asking questions. Joel states, “the crew that day was so welcoming and even invited me to stay for dinner! After watching them interact and seeing how passionate they were about their jobs and each other, I knew at that moment, firefighting was 100% the job for me.” It took Joel 5 years of testing across the country, but he is now a firefighter that loves what he does, who he serves, and the people he works with.

Joel serves on a mountain department, which is very different than in an urban city department. How is that you ask? Joel explains, “Being a firefighter in the mountains can be challenging at times. The steep topography and harsh conditions can result in difficult scenarios. We can see anything from technical rope, ice, and swift water res-cues. But there still is an occasional cat out of a tree call, too.” Joel’s favorite part of his job is the variety and the unknown on calls that may come in.

Joel’s favorite part of being in the calendar was attending the burn camp in Estes Park and participating in the Juvenile Fire Setting Program. He does admit he also had quite a bit of fun at the Try Outs and the Calendar Release Party.

How does Joel keep in shape? Being physically fit and eating healthy has always been very important to him. He has been using P90x for the longest time. His fellow firefighters make fun of how long he’s been listening to Tony Horton videos and doing his corky workout routines!

Who inspires Joel? “My mother and grandmother have always inspired me. They have made me the person I am today, and I couldn’t be more thankful.”

Joel tried out for the calendar because of charity component, “It is a fantastic way to raise money for a great cause and I am grateful to be a part of it. Plus, with fitness being such an important part of my life and the competitive process to become a firefighter, the calendar try outs were sort of an affirmation process of the hard work and journey it took to get me here.”

In closing out this interview, we asked Joel… What is one interesting fact about you that you’d like our fans and followers to know? “I was raised in a low-income family back East and like all families we had our difficulties. I was the first man in my family to go to college and I could not be happier with were this adventure has taken me and that I can call Colorado my home and Firefighter my profession.”