Lt. Jan HesslinkWhere are you stationed?
I’m a roving lieutenant on the ‘B’ shift.

What was your previous position?
I was an Apparatus Engineer at Station 2 (Grand Canyon Drive) on the ‘B’ shift.

How long have you been with the MFD?
I joined the MFD in 2003.

What do you like about being a “roving” Lieutenant?
This is the first year they started placing newly promoted people “on the road” as a rover. The positive aspect is that you get a lot of diversity in your new position. You may be on an engine company or a ladder company, a busy station or a slower station, east side of town or west side of town, and this changes each shift. Each day brings a different aspect to the job.

What’s different about the way you approach your job or respond to calls every day?
My perspective has changed now that I’m a lieutenant. It’s less hands-on and more helping the team accomplish the task, which is kind of a difficult transition for me. You want to get in there and work but your job now is to step back and assist your team with whatever they need to get the job done.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of this job for you?
What I have found to be rewarding in my career is that I’ve held many different positions within the department to get to where I am today. I’ve been a firefighter, a paramedic, an apparatus engineer, and most recently one of the training officers in our last academy. This has helped me prepare for my new role.

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