Tag Archives: retirement

Before losing that first job, I’d never experienced such a “loss” in my life. I’d been very successful in my first career as a firefighter, advanced through the organization and retired as a battalion chief. Losing that first job after retirement was a huge blow to my ego and my self-confidence.

However, there have been several events in the recent past that have caused me to question just how much of a family we really are. When CECFEMS Recruit School #22 graduated this past summer, more than half the seats in the auditorium were empty. Sure, joyous family members of the graduates were there along with most of the on-duty Training Division staff. Missing, however, were members from the shifts and stations where those people, our newest members, would be reporting in a few days to join “the family.”

Then “sticker shock” set in. When I first saw how much of a difference there was between my regular paycheck and my disability retirement check…I knew big changes were in store.

This story is written from my perspective; it is simply my own experience. My breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent legal action combined for my “early exit”, so the “sudden end” was really not so sudden. I fully expected to retire just as many firefighters did before me had: 50-years-old, twenty years of service, healthy, and financially stable.