I'm Half Done!

That's right! Ten years down, ten to go! September 1, 2009 marked my ten year anniversary with the Bloomington Fire Department! Not a bad achievement considering I'm only 29 years old! So, in 2019 I will be eligible to retire and go on the deferred pension roll until I turn 50 and can start collecting my pension.

The fire department in Bloomington is volunteer, well paid-on-call to be exact. So it is basically made up of citizens of the city who take time out of their day, family life, job, ect and respond to the fire station when they are paged. We receive a little under $5 per call we respond to and minimum wage when doing chores on the trucks or around the station. So the monthly checks are not going to make you rich, but it is a little something. Beside serving the community you live in, the other benefit of the fire department is that after you put in 20 years of service and turn the ago of 50, you get a monthly pension check until you die. The amount is the same for everyone and is calculated as 1/3 of the most senior Bloomington Police Department patrolman's monthly pay. I don't know the exact amount, but right now it is around $2K a month.

I can't believe it has been ten years. I have had a lot of changes in my life in the last ten years and the fire department has pretty much been the one consistent thing. I have totally enjoyed the first ten years and I am looking forward to the next ten!

THEN

NOW