Valley native pursues firefighting career after surviving near-death experiences

21 hours ago 27

Climbing down a ladder on a refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana, is when Jose Luis Jaimes dealt with his first near-death experience.

Ascending down to get some tools, the ground shook intensely. Hoping it was just a big piece of equipment falling, Jaimes looked up to see a cloud of smoke and a second explosion rattled everything around and he started to scream at his partner to come down.

Running to safety, Jaimes recalls the disturbing scene in August 2022.

“I turned around and see a gentleman running with his uniform basically melting onto his skin,” he said. “It was traumatic. My uncle was working in that unit that day and I called him almost in tears. He was like ‘I’m home’ and he hears my panicked voice and asks me what happened and to get out of there.”

Jaimes experienced his second explosion in Oklahoma in January 2023.

“It happened in a matter of seconds,” he said. “We’re walking back to the tent and you just see a vessel pop and smoke come out. This gentleman almost fell off like a two story grading and he hanged on to the side rails, got himself back up and ran down and we were all running to safety at that point.”

“I’ve never encountered events like what happened,” he said. “You see it in movies like, the big explosion stuff and you’re like ‘Wow, that’s crazy’ and it was one of those wake-up calls where you’re like ‘I’m too far from home for me to risk my life like this.’ … I asked myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ These companies are big and their representatives weren’t there to talk to us. The only ones there were the first responders.”

Shaken by two near-death experiences in a matter of months, Jaimes said he found the first responders admirable in how they showed up and handled the situation.

“That’s something to admire and it made me want to help my community if I can and be there for them, the same way (first responders) were there for us.”

Inspired by the heroics of those that helped him, it led Jaimes to pursue a future in the fire service and through South Texas College’s Fire Academy.

He is close to achieving it.

Leaving his hometown of Weslaco right after high school in 2016 for refinery work up north, Jaimes said he did what many impressionable 18 year olds do.

“It’s like everybody here in the Valley, it’s like the culture to go to the refineries,” Jaimes said.

Doing different jobs over the years from building scaffolds to being a welder, he decided to make a drastic change and enroll in the Fire Academy for his basic firefighter certification and to prepare to take the Texas Commission on Fire Protection firefighter license examination.

Jaimes, alongside 16 fellow graduates, were a part of STC’s Fire Academy cohort number 35. They went through an intense 16-week journey.

“It’s a lot of studying, you need to put your time into studying … a lot of classmates couldn’t cut it,” he said. “It’s a balance of studying and being physical. Your body and mind has to be there.”

One of the topics studied was fire science.

“It’s understanding the risk of fires nowadays … building material isn’t just wood,” Jaimes said. “There’s plastic implemented in building construction and stuff that burns that is super toxic to people.”

On the physical side, he said there is a lot of conditioning, especially with the firefighter suit on.

“Everything together, it’s like 40 to 60 pounds max,” Jaimes said. “It’s heavy and it’s hot. It just cooks you up if you’re not ready for it.”

The training took place at the STC Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence in Pharr and Jaimes’ graduating class was the first cohort to complete live fire training at the college’s new state-of-the-art two-story fire structure.

McAllen Fire Department Lieutenant Eric Ramirez, coming up on 15 years with the department, was one of many instructors during the 16 weeks with Jaime’s cohort. He gave instruction on various things such as ladders, self-contained breathing apparatus, live-fire days, liquid propane gas, and vehicle and structure fires.

“It’s kind of surreal to remember and think that that was me 14 years ago, and the things that I’ve learned and the things that I’ve experienced in that time,” Ramirez said. “I try to give them knowledge that I didn’t know back then, so that it’s easier for them and they can learn the job and know what I know by the time they get to my point. It also keeps me fresh on skills that I haven’t used in a long time.”

Jaimes said all of his instructors’ passion for fire service was seen every day of class and trickled down to him and his classmates.

“I have never made a connection with people like this before the way I’ve made with these guys,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re all there for a reason. We want to help and it’s like a brotherly bond we have made together.”

Jaimes, newly engaged, said all of his family was proud of him and sees himself doing this for many years.

“I’m happy to show (my younger family members) there’s other ways to make a good living than just the refineries, like their dads.” he said. “It’s no one’s fault. It was the hand that they were dealt with. But it’s up to the person that wants to further their education if they want to.”

Jaimes is set to take his state certification and Emergency Medical Responder exam in the next month or so and hopes to be able to work close to home.