Firefighters are there when we need them most, responding to emergencies and helping keep our community safe. But at Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Station 34, serving the community goes far beyond answering calls. It means building relationships, showing up for local events, supporting one another and treating the people they serve like family.
Michael Sherman, the station captain for Station 34, has been a firefighter for two decades. He oversees three lieutenants and a team of 15 firefighters at Station 34. Their station is equipped with a hazmat truck for incidents that involve hazardous material, two water tenders that transport large amounts of water to emergency scenes, and one fire engine.
The people of Station 34 are more than just firefighters. They have created a family within their unit, watching movies together after dinner, playing games, shooting basketball outside, volunteering around the community, cooking meals for one another, and bonding on a deeper level whenever they can. Most firefighters on the team work 24-hour shifts, spending days at the station and answering about 10 calls a day.
When you walk into Station 34 you are met with a large kitchen, four fridges, and a dinner table. On those fridges you’ll see dozens of hand-drawn notes and pictures from children around Tualatin Valley, giving their thanks, love and support to their firefighters. “We love the cards that we get,” said Sherman. “A lot of them we put up in the station.” These firefighters run thousands of calls throughout their career. One of the things that keeps them from burning out is their connection to the community.
During Sherman’s earlier years of firefighting, he transported a woman to the hospital so she could deliver her baby. Sherman ended up delivering the baby successfully in the ambulance. It just so happened to be Sherman’s birthday that day, and he now receives yearly birthday cards from the woman that he helped. Recently, Sherman and his crew helped a cardiac arrest patient, resuscitating them and later meeting their family when they stopped by the station to thank the firefighters and hear the impact they made on their lives. “I am so thankful that we have amazing people who love this job and want to serve the community,” said Sherman.
Several firefighters have deep ties to Tualatin, having grown up here, attended Tualatin High School, raised their families in the area, or still have family who live nearby. “We’re all just like everybody else,” said Sherman. “We’re all invested in this community the same way these community members are.”
Some of their favorite memories were made with the community of Tualatin. About 20,000 people came to Tualatin last year for the annual Pumpkin Regatta, where people race on the water in hollowed-out pumpkins. A photo of Station 34 racing in the Regatta hangs proudly in their hallway. They participate in the Tualatin Safety Town every year, where campers come to their station to listen to presentations and get to see the behind-the-scenes work that firefighters do. They attend the Tualatin Christmas light parade and have transported Santa on the fire engine to visit with excited children. Station 34 does a special reading night once a year where they go to the local elementary school in their uniforms and read to children. They give station tours, birthday drive-bys in their fire engine, and attend National Night Out each August, where they go to neighborhood barbecues to spend time with their community.
Their love for the people they serve runs deep—far beyond the calls they respond to. A lot of station members attend city and council meetings, investing in making their town the best it can be. Some coach local sports, others read at their children’s schools in their uniform, but all of the Station 34 firefighters remain close and connected to not only each other but the people that make their lives possible, including neighboring stations.
“I’ve been doing this job for 21 years now,” said Sherman. “It’s easy on busy days to get burnt out. But each of those calls where we really make a difference reminds us why we got into this job.”
“I am so thankful that we have amazing people who love this job and want to serve the community"