Episode 23 with Rick Segrest (Owner(s) of FireSled Fitness and Firefighter of 35 years with Orange County FD)

1. Tell me a little about yourself and how long have you or served
behind the front line for? In What capacity? I am 62 YO male,
married have two daughters and a son. I worked at Orange County
Fire and Rescue in Winter Park Fl for 35 years and have been
retired two years in June and live in New Smyrna Beach, Fl-The
Shark Capital of the World. I am one of the owners of Firesled
Fitness and Training. We develop Firefighter Functional Fitness and
Training Equipment.I worked in many ranks and capacities when I
worked at OCFRD:• Firefighter• Engineer (Driver)• Lieutenant•
Wellness Coordinator• Bike Patrol Coordinator• Safety Captain•
Battalion Chief• Safety and Wellness Chief   2. What was the
hardest time of your life? What tools did you use to get through
it? I got a call one afternoon when I was on shift from a family
member who explained that my dad had fallen on a job site and I
needed to go there immediately. When I arrived, I saw the coroners'
van and one of my worst nightmare had come true. It was hard to
believe that my hero who I had looked up to and relied on most my
life was gone. I not only had to process that, but I also had to
figure out how to tell my mom, a woman who did not drive and to my
knowledge never worked. He was her world. I used the tools my dad
left me with. You do what is expected of you which is take care of
your family the best way you can.     3. What are your
greatest successes? • My kids are all very independent and out in
the world. • My current marriage.• My health after 35 years in the
Fire Service and a rough youth.• The FD Wellness Program I was
credited with creating.• The Firesled Fitness and Training business
and the equipment that we invented. There is nothing like it.
  4. Now that you have experienced life a little, what would
you tell your 20-year- old self? Nothing good lasts forever, and
nothing bad lasts forever.       5. Who is your
greatest role model and why? My Dad and probably too many reasons
to list but here are the main ones. His primary purpose in life was
to take care of his family and friends. He worked as an ironworker,
wielder-boiler mechanic. I don’t ever remember him calling in sick
and rarely took a vacation. It was hard back breaking work, I know
because he brought me to work as soon as he thought I was old
enough to pull my weight. He taught me to work hard and that your
employer deserves a good day’s work and appreciate the opportunity
that they gave you. He led by example, he was respected by the
people that worked for him and had often loaned them money to
purchase tools or equipment they needed to work. Some didn’t pay
him back and when I asked him why he kept doing it, he just said it
was the right thing to do. He was a simple man that got joy from
his horses and animals he raised and took care of. Basically-he was
a superhero in my eyes.   6. Any particular stories that stand
out from your days serving behind the front line? How has fitness
played a role in it? Most of the stories that stand out are ones I
choose not to dwell on. Don’t get me wrong there were more good
times than bad, but those slides don’t come up as easy. I had great
crews that worked hard as a team and enjoyed being together on and
off duty. We did a lot of good and saw a lot of bad things happened
to good people.Fitness played a role in almost every call from
lifting heavy patients to kicking down doors and fighting fire. I
took pride in lasting the longest on a bottle and working longer
and harder overhauling. Probably my biggest testament to the
important role fitness played in my career would be the length I
served without a life ending disease or a carrier ending injury.
Fitness made me resilient.   7. What is your favourite failure
that has led to success? Not sure that I have any favorite failure,
but there is one that comes to mind that led to success. When the
Fire Chief selected me as OCFRD’s first Wellness Coordinator, he
pulled me from shift work where I was very comfortable and