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ND: What are your job title and areas of responsibility?

LAPRAIRIE: First Responder/Firefighter

 

ND: How did you come to work in this field?

LAPRAIRIE: I’ve always wanted to work in this field of work!

 

ND: What do you enjoy most about your work?

LAPRAIRIE: The satisfaction of helping someone in need or just simply being there for their family.

 

ND: What are the most challenging aspects of your job?

LAPRAIRIE: Responding to calls (that end) in deaths. It’s hard for me to see family members in public later and know that their loved one wasn’t one of the lucky ones we could help! We live in a small community, so everyone knows everyone. Kids — kids are the hardest part. Knowing you are working to save someone’s child and, most of the time as a first responder, their parents are standing there watching you. It’s a lot of pressure.

 

ND: What skills are important for the work you do?

LAPRAIRIE: You have to have the ability to stay calm. You have to be able to focus on the task at hand, finish the call and leave it and move on to the next one! A lot of them haunt you and stay with you but you have to have the ability to move forward.

 

ND: What do you wish more people knew about the work you do?

LAPRAIRIE: I wish people understood the heartache that I/we endure alongside (the people) we are trying to help. I pray when I get a call, I pray on the way to a call and I pray once the call is over for the families and my fellow brothers and sisters working beside me! A lot of people don’t know that my husband, two of my three children, a daughter-in-law, my sister, my brother, three nephews and two nieces all volunteer in our department. So, it’s a lot on my shoulders working a scene and trying to ensure they are all safe as well!

 

ND: What would you say to someone else considering this career path? *

LAPRAIRIE: It’s a tough job. Not all calls are just grass fires, etc.! You have to watch people suffer — from the loss of their homes and everything they own to losing family members. But it’s also rewarding to know that when you leave a scene, you know you did everything you could. And we have had excellent outcomes as well!

 

ND: Did you have a mentor or person who influenced you in your career?

LAPRAIRIE: Jim Graves has helped me the most. He has talked me through scenes and always reassured me that we did all we could.

ND: What do you like to do when you’re not working? Do you have a hobby or activity people would be surprised to learn about?

LAPRAIRIE: I do coroner work for Concordia Parish and take care of both of my two-year-old granddaughters, Presleigh and Amelia. I love fishing but there isn’t much time for that since those two came along. (Laughs)

 

ND: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us and our readers?

LAPRAIRIE: Being a first responder and firefighter is a challenging but also rewarding career! It’s not about the ‘thank yous’ or pats on the back. It’s about the end of the call and the day you did everything possible to help save someone’s life. I hope I have many, many years left to serve as one!