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This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, and we tell stories about everything, including your stories.

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Today you're going to hear from James Pritchard,

a retired fire captain right here in Oxford, Mississippi, where we broadcast.

James is going to share with us the realities of working in the fire service

and how pushing down your emotions catches realities of working in the fire service and how pushing

down your emotions catches up with you in the long run.

I guess I kind of always wanted to be a firefighter.

I think that's why God put me here.

But beforehand, I was just a kid.

I was working with the city, electric department, actually.

And I was in a bucket truck right across from the fire department,

working with hot power lines.

And I let one of the wires go, and it blew a fuse, and it pout.

And I hunkered down in the bottom of the bucket. And I got out of the bucket and I walked across the street and I said,

Chief, I'm coming to work.

I said, this is it.

...