York, Maine is one of New England’s most popular seaside towns, commonly famous for the picturesque Cape Neddick Lighthouse. The town is home to 12,529 residents, which rises to an estimated 52,000 during the summer months as visitors flock to York for its beaches and quaint seaside culture. UNH College of Professional Studies student and firefighter Brian Raynes is among those keeping watch over its 54 square miles.
For Brian, firefighting was inspired by his father, who was a volunteer firefighter at the Madbury, NH Volunteer Fire Department. Though Brian is now part of the York Village Fire Department, his journey began in Madbury, where he lives with his wife and daughter in his childhood home. Brian’s father had the home built on family farmland that his grandparents bought in the 1940’s.
“I always felt like I was a part of the Madbury Fire Department family, but I officially became a volunteer firefighter in 1997.”
Exploring Career Pathways
During his time at the Madbury Fire Department, Brian obtained his Firefighter 1 and 2 certifications and became an EMT. He then volunteered for the Durham Ambulance Corps (now named McGregor Memorial EMS) for four years. His passion for firefighting not only stems from inspiration from his father, but is also rooted in a desire to engage with and help others.
“I caught the bug of being a firefighter when I joined Madbury Fire to help my community. I like hearing people’s stories about their lives, careers, or history in the town. I also like helping people. We’ve all been in accidents, been sick, or needed someone to help us.”
But firefighting isn’t Brian’s only passion; he graduated from UNH with a degree in mathematics education with thoughts of becoming a math teacher, but his career veered in a slightly different direction.
He started an engineering company with his father and traveled all over the world as a television engineer, installing broadcast equipment for local television stations, World Series, Super Bowls, Winter and Summer Olympics, and even to support ROVS on ocean research vessels.
Nevertheless, Brian was called back to his passion for firefighting, and began the process of becoming a full-time firefighter in 2015 when he joined the Durham Fire Department. Like many people, he found an opportunity to change gears during the Covid-19 pandemic and walked away from his small business to fully invest his time in his career as a firefighter.
“I love working as a firefighter because every day brings new challenges. In my heart, I am an engineer who likes to fix things by solving problems. Every call has something new you can learn.”
In 2020, Brian upgraded his EMT license and took higher-level classes at the NH Fire Academy. In 2021, he enrolled in the UNH College of Professional Studies’ new online B.S. Fire Service Administration degree program.
Going Back to School to Get His Online B.S. Fire Service Administration
While Brian knew that going back to school would help advance his career, balancing full time work, schoolwork, and family life was challenging.
“While working towards my degree, I was working five jobs. Sometimes, I’d come home from work, have dinner with my family, and do homework past when everyone was in bed. There were vacations we went on, and I’d wait for everyone to go to bed so I could do homework. It isn’t easy, but the result is worth it.”
Brian explained that organization was the key to his success while juggling so many responsibilities, but it also helped to have a really great support system.
“When we would have a new week’s worth of homework and assignments, I took ten minutes to organize how I was going to fit it into my schedule, and that extra step made it easier to prioritize what needed to be accomplished and when. Also, I feel blessed that my family, friends, coworkers, and fellow students were there to support me.”
With his organization in place, Brian was able to focus on making the most of his program. He described that many of the classes in his program, including fire service ethics, human resource management, change management, media, legal foundations, disaster management, and research have helped him better prepare for his personal and professional goals.
Putting His Education to Work
The online B.S. Fire Service Administration program helped Brian prepare to become a full-time firefighter, emphasizing some of the most essential traits and skills that every good firefighter should possess.
“Being professional, thorough, knowledgeable, inquisitive, moral, and ethical are character traits that are most critical to being a firefighter. The degree program helped me develop those skills by exposing me to important literature, laws, moral and ethical issues, and leadership skills I had never thought about or knew existed.”
In 2022, Brian was hired by the York Village Fire Department as a firefighter and Advanced EMT. Since then, the benefits of his education have expanded beyond his own individual professional growth; he’s been able to apply actionable changes and improvements at his current fire department.
“From the class assignments I’ve completed, my organization has already benefited from building pre-planning for significant incidents, creating and strengthening department guidelines and procedures, and creating new initiatives to keep firefighters safe.”
In December 2023, Brian became the very first graduate of the college’s online B.S. Fire Service Administration program.
On Going Back to School
Brian offered some insight for those who are considering going back to school to get their degree and advance their career:
“There is no “good” time to return to school. If you’re waiting for the right time, that time will never come. Your first couple of classes will be difficult because you must remember what it was like to be a student. You’ll be juggling family, work, and class. It does get easier if you stay organized and prioritize what’s important for each day or hour (i.e., family, work, or classwork). There will always be late nights or early mornings. At least once a semester, you will submit an assignment one minute before it’s due.
When I got hired in 2022 as a firefighter and Advanced EMT, all my hard work and dedication paid off.”
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