Working Fires

Charlie Medlin was born in Minnesota in 1949, but grew up in Southern California. He returned to the Midwest and got a degree as an English Major from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. At St. Olaf, he met and eventually married his wife, Patricia. After that, he became president of Nordic Interiors, selling furniture from Norway and Denmark. While he was doing that, he became a volunteer for the Burnsville Fire Department in Burnsville, Minnesota. After 3 years, he was given the opportunity to become a full-time fire fighter and he did that for the next 16 years. Charlie really enjoyed the crew and all the great experiences he had. Not long after his retirement, it occurred to him that writing about the many experiences he had was a fine tribute to all of the fire fighters and paramedics he had worked with. He knew that when he was “old enough,” he wanted to record his experiences for the next generation of fire fighters so they would understand what the job is like. Poetry was, and is, the best opportunity for them to understand the life and impact of being a fire fighter.