Jonathan Whitbey, age 39, is a firefighter and medic at Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department’s (AVRD) Station 22 in Lansdowne.  Jonathan has been a volunteer since 1999 first in Fairfax County and now in Loudoun.  Station 22 serves Lansdowne and shares River Creek with the Leesburg Volunteer Fire and Rescue. 
I asked him why he became a trained firefighter and medic.  He said, “Both uncles were firefighters and policemen. I heard their stories and have loved it ever since.”
He told me that the average life of a volunteer is five years.  His motivation he says will carry him forward he expects for another several years.  He gets the incentive from “Having a positive touch on someone’s life.”
Jonathan admits that he sometimes becomes emotionally entwined with those he helps rescue.  Auto accidents can cause major destructive trauma.  He cited one involving a five year old boy.  “The same age as my son. He was okay at first then he got worse.  We had to put him on a helicopter.  I was so affected I had to take two weeks off.  But the boy survived and a year later the family came and I saw them looking at me.” The family thanked him and he found out their son was okay.  “It was nice closure.”
But not all calls he makes are fraught with pending tragedy.  He says, “The silly stuff tends to offset the heaviness of the job.” 
He said once they got a call about someone in Ashburn with a broken leg and it turned out to be a newborn calf.  Another time a four year old had a jellybean in his nose—not an obstruction but the youngster just couldn’t remove it. 
Another time,  ”A little boy who had just learned about calling 911 at school decided he would test the system.  He was delighted that fire trucks showed up at his front door—needless to say Mom and Dad were a bit embarrassed.”
Such is the life of a volunteer fireman and medic.