Ted Tenaglia Shared Challenges as a Firefighter

Firefighting is viewed as among the most rigorous public service jobs due to the high level of physical stamina, emotional strength, and the need for dedication to community safety. Florida-based emergency responder/healthcare worker Ted Tenaglia shares a bird’s eye view of the obstacles faced by firefighters based upon his personal experiences and insight into the life of being a firefighter for the City of Gainesville Vent asking followed a path of educational growth. Mr. Tenaglia was able to learn between active firefighting with a strong commitment of higher education skills and ultimately assisting those firefighters directly on the job through training. He also observed firsthand the increase in job demands for firefighters with evolving technology such as new equipment, emergency medical response, rescue operations, and the overall public safety responsibility that extends beyond the act of extinguishing fire.

An important factor in Mr. Tenaglia’s observations is his professional background. Mr. Tenaglia, who completed his basic firefighter and EMT training in 2020 at Florida State Fire College, is also a certified Firefighter I and II and EMT. He received a bachelor’s degree in fire and emergency services from the University of Florida and earned his master’s in health administration at the University of Central Florida. Throughout his career, Mr. Tenaglia has maintained a balance between operational service and academic rigor. He has experienced many of the same struggles in the fire service as others have experienced, such as long hours, exposure to hazardous situations, and the psychological stresses of responding to unexpected emergencies. To meet these demands successfully, he stressed the need for both good technical skills as well as emotional discipline and teamwork.

Despite these demands, Tenaglia stated that the mental aspects of what firefighters go through every day—being able to perform under pressure and adapt to changing performative situations as they develop—also place an additional strain on (and create new pressures) on firefighters. Firefighters may be required to constantly switch roles from firefighting duties to providing emergency medical services (EMS) in the same shift. As stated by Tenaglia, having to do both creates a need for continual training and organizational support to help dispatchers build capacity within their organization. This evolving role presents an opportunity for firefighters to better understand how the community impacts the firefighters’ ability to support the medical response needs of their community. Tenaglia’s experiences and insights into how firefighters interact with the healthcare system when responding to emergencies allow him to be a voice for those engaged in ongoing discussions about firefighters’ health and wellness, professional development, and the need for organizational and administrative support for public safety response providers. Tenaglia’s personal journey shows how his own experience working in emergency services has helped him to develop a comprehensive plan for how individuals and agencies will partner together to build more resilient and sustainable solutions to public safety and healthcare coordination.