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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 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 I knew the fire chief well and he liked me a lot and it worked out where the

next hiring cycle that's that's where I went.

I was just excited and I was ready to go and that's what I wanted to do.

...