What does your job entail?

First and foremost I am a firefighter. I just moved up through the ranks and now am in charge of fire and emergency services.

How did you get into this?

I started right after high school. It has such great job satisfaction that I stayed. Where else can you find a career that you wake up each morning looking forward to going to work?

Which of the fires you’ve fought stands out as the most dangerous?

The reoccurring fire storms that plague the southwestern states. … A wall of fire five miles long and coming at you at 50 mph can be intimidating.

What causes most fires on military bases?

Carelessness or bypassing safety measures written into all procedures. Our domestic fires mostly involve the same inattention.

What firefighting equipment should people keep in homes?

Smoke detectors placed appropriately, a rated fire extinguisher. All families should have an evacuation plan and meeting place outside the house.

“Towering Inferno” or “Backdraft?”

Steve McQueen; what can I say? Of course, this was before computer-generated images, so they may have really dropped a firefighter down the elevator shaft. “Backdraft” … Creative license was at full throttle on this one. Of course, for dating purposes, it was, “Oh yeah, it’s just like that. What was your name again?”

In 2005, you learned the truth of the saying, “Be careful what you wish for; you might get it.”

On Jan. 11, 2005, I was scheduled to vacation in Thailand. I told everybody my only goal was to ride an elephant in the jungle. … As we know, in December 2004 was the Asian tsunami. My vacation was out but I was detailed to go as part of the U.S. response. My first three days in the impact area (Khao Luk near Phuket), I performed search-and-rescue operations with teams of trained elephants.

Why elephants?

The area we were in had so much debris it blocked all access by normal transportation.

Your elephant’s name?

The Thai handler told me his name but it had about 20 syllables. I shortened it to Shep, after the elephant in “George of the Jungle.” I always wanted a fun-loving pooch. I just don’t look good in a leopard-skin loincloth.

How did you stay on?

It wasn’t the most elegant thing to see. I had hold of his ears, his eyelashes and anything else I could reach. I only hope I was not screaming all girlie-like!

Did he do any tricks with his trunk?

Shep had this fascination with my rescue helmet. Every opportunity, he would rub, sniff and play with it. Maybe he thought is was some kind of coconut.

What are some of the scenes you remember?

The Thai people experienced the worst of nightmares and set their own grieving aside to help others. I was heartened by the resiliency of these people. Every site that I got to, they were there helping others and assisting us.

After your Thai experience, what won’t you travel without?

Extra film. Torrential rains took my digital camera out the first day. My backup was an old waterproof camera. … It has yet to fail me. I just need to remember film. I saw the most amazing things when I was out of film.

Now that you’ve ridden an elephant in the jungle, what’s next?

In Thailand I was almost eaten (not just bitten) by a large cobra, chased by water buffalo, consumed by bugs and almost run over by a tuk-tuk. I’m not going to wish for wild-animal adventures any more!

Devin Johnston-Lee

Age: 47

Job: Fire chief, MCAS Iwakuni

Pacific readers: Know someone whose accomplishments, talents, job, hobby, volunteer work, awards or good deeds qualify them for 15 minutes of fame? How about someone whose claim to glory is a bit out of the ordinary — even, dare we say, oddball? Call Sharen Johnson at Stars and Stripes with the person’s name and contact information at DSN 229-3305 or e-mail her at johnsons@pstripes.osd.mil.