As Battalion Chief Andy Smith was nearing retirement after twenty-four years in the fire service a chance encounter with a survivor of the 9-11 attacks on New York changed his perspective on his past, his present, and his future. In a tribute to this unknown man, and as a parting gift to his co-workers, friends, and family, Chief Smith uses a Blog to relate some of his past experiences. Some are funny, some tragic, but all of them will move you in some way. Past battles with fires, life saving medical calls, working major vehicle accidents, and all of the crazy, unpredictable things that can, and do, go wrong while doing this dangerous job come to life as he looks back over a career that followed the changes in the fire service, and in society, over the past quarter of a century. Andy Smith is a former sportswriter and published a collection of fictional short stories based on his life experiences titled "Tailboards and Tight Boots" in 2006. It spent several weeks on the Amazon Top 100 fiction list and received positive reviews. He has also published articles in several regional and industry magazines.