"Knowing you can make
a difference when the
chips are down for
someone is what draws
most of us to the work,"
zone laying a foam layer on houses, when a column of fire
crashed on his position out of nowhere. All the firefighters took cover in their trucks and retreated through smoke
and flames down a road under zero visibility conditions.
The truck he was driving ended up rolling over once and
landing on its wheels in the Stillwater River.
"We were the first truck there. One of the guys had his
head out the window trying to see the edge of the road for
me," he recalled. "One wheel went off into the soft stuff
and then we were down the embankment. Thank goodness no one was hurt seriously."
Despite stitches in his head and surviving his harrowing
ordeal, Marjerison had no intention of turning in his pager.
"To be out there in the mud, blood, dirt and grass with
someone who just rolled their car three times, I dig this
line of work," he said. "Being part of something really
cool focused on helping someone when they are having a
bad day is the biggest thing for me."
86
D I ST I NCT LY M ONTANA • SU M M E R 2013
