While most students prepare to graduate, one Nicholls junior prepares daily for the possibility of putting out fires as an award-winning volunteer fireman.
Ryan Delatte, safety management junior from Thibodaux, doubles as a student and a volunteer fireman for Home, Hook and Ladder Fire Company through the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department and the St. John Volunteer Fire Department.
Since Delatte was three years old, he knew he wanted firefighting to be a large part of his life.
Delatte’s life-long dream of becoming a volunteer fireman stems from family tradition. Delatte is a third-generation firefighter following in the footsteps of his father, older brother and his late grandfather, who was a founding member of the West Thibodaux Fire Company.
“Most three-year-old boys think that’s really cool, but I was one of those three-year-old boys who actually knew what some of that stuff did, got to sit on the trucks and got to experience it on a different level,” Delatte said.
As a volunteer firefighter, Delatte never knows when he will be called for duty. He is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“As a volunteer firefighter, you don’t know when the fire is going to happen or when a call is coming in,” Delatte explained. “You can be in the middle of a meal or it can be two in the morning, pouring down raining, and you can be called to a [scene] and have no clue what it could be.”
Once a firefighter is on the scene, he or she must rely both on their training and instinct while on the job according to Delatte. Since training scenarios are controlled, it is easy for firemen to rely on formal training. However, in a real life situation, instinct comes into play when dealing with disasters out of the fireman’s control.
Delatte also described the most rewarding part of firefighting to be helping others in their time of need.
“[I enjoy] the satisfaction you get when you can either save someone or something that means something to them, whether it be their house or whether it be just something in their house,” Delatte said.
Since June 2013, Delatte has been a volunteer fireman in the Thibodaux area. During his first year on the job, Delatte has received two honors for his outstanding performance and dedication to his craft.
Delatte was first recognized by fellow volunteer firemen when he received the Outstanding Member Award. One week later, he was honored as the 2013 Rookie of the Year.
“There are other firefighters who I’m friends with who I thought were more deserving of it than I was. They put in more time than I did or they worked just as hard as I did. So I knew I had tough competition, but I didn’t count myself out,” Delatte explained. “I was pulling for them just as they were pulling for me, and when my name was announced there was an overwhelming feeling of excitement, joy and pride.”
While Delatte plans to continue volunteering as a firefighter, he also plans to utilize his major and pursue a career in safety management as a safety trainer. This would include teaching offshore workers things like industrial firefighting.  While firefighting is only volunteer work for Delatte, he is certain this will remain in his life forever.