Robert Lindsay - Firefighter

Robert Lindsay was in the fire academy at Santa Ana College in 2015 when he heard that applications for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) were open. “I think the whole class applied,” he reflected.  

The LAFD carried a strong reputation among firefighter hopefuls, most notably for their rigorous training and nationally-recognized leadership.  

Lindsay did not grow up with firefighters in his family or even close friends in the fire service, but in high school he decided to pursue a career in firefighting. Though it took seven years for that dream to come to fruition, Lindsay never stopped working and taking advantage of every opportunity possible to get closer to his goal.

Lindsay is not quite sure what exactly sparked his desire to become a firefighter. He had a fuzzy childhood memory of the quintessential plastic helmet photo at a station, but his respect for the fire service and the duty of firefighters remained clear.

As a senior in high school, he started to seriously contemplate his career path. Having participated in various sports while in school, the more he started to research a fire service career, the more aligned the two seemed. Camaraderie, teamwork, and collaboration in pursuit of a shared mission all resonated deeply with Lindsay.

After completing the fire academy at Santa Ana College and volunteering part-time for Anaheim Fire for a few years, Lindsay had a brief stint with the US Forest Service, followed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). In both roles he developed critical handcrew skills, but CalFire is where he truly felt that his career had begun.  

Lindsay recalled responding to several incidents with CalFire - few of which became full multi-day campaigns on the fire line. His first real fire came when he was deployed as a handcrew member to the Windy Fire in 2021.

“It’s a completely different workflow,” he said of wildland handcrew versus metropolitan firefighting. Reflecting on the multi-week, multi-agency effort, he laughed and said, “Imagine fighting a giant brush fire with hand tools.” Lindsay emphasized that no TV show or movie compared to what that first experience was like. The grueling hours, minimal sleep, and seemingly never-ending days ignited something significant in Lindsay – a fortitude that would carry him throughout the rest of his career.

Despite his long journey to land his dream job with the LAFD, giving up was never on the table.

"Quitting was never an option,"

he emphasized, even though at times he wondered if the LAFD was meant for him. But in perfect alignment, at the end of his season with CalFire, he finally received an official offer from the LAFD.  

After surviving the drill tower, Firefighter Lindsay started as a recruit firefighter at LAFD Fire Station 3 in Downtown Los Angeles. He faced many new challenges, from responding to emergency medical calls more frequently than before to adapting from wildland to urban firefighting.

Driven by an innate determination that Firefighter Lindsay has had his whole life, he dedicated every ounce of available time to studying constantly. Though he considers himself an introvert, Firefighter Lindsay did not hesitate to ask questions, seek guidance, and spend as much time as he could learning from captains and crewmembers with years of experience.  

Firefighter Lindsay completed his first year of firefighting at Fire Station 58, where he has remained and served the local Pico/Robertson community for the last three years. From managing the station’s house dues account (through which they buy groceries and pay their internet bills) to becoming an acting engineer qualified to operate the fire engine when needed, Firefighter Lindsay is all about being a team player.

He vividly remembers an adage from one of his fire academy captains:

"Attitude and effort are the only things you can control,"

“I know it sounds cliché,” he said, “but it’s true. You have no idea what type of call you’re going to get every day. Some days are guaranteed to be harder than others. But your attitude, and your effort? You can always control.”  

To firefighter hopefuls, or maybe those like Firefighter Lindsay who are early on in their firefighting careers, he emphasizes the importance of never giving up. “If you want it badly enough, you will find a way,” he said. That, and test everywhere you possibly can.  

“You might get told a billion times no, but don’t quit,” he said. “Whatever that path may look like for you, there is always a pathway forward.”