MOORE HAVEN — Kyle Mann is one of Glades County’s new crop of firefighters, hired to help the Public Safety Department provide full-time coverage over all its widely spread out communities.

Born and raised a few miles down the road in Clewiston, Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician Kyle Mann attended some college but, he said, gravitated toward a public safety education “because I’ve never wanted a normal job.”

Special to the Lake Okeechobee News/Courtesy of GCPS
Kyle Mann is one of the new crew at Glades County Public Safety.

He ended up becoming certified as a Firefighter 2 and EMT. “I am currently in paramedic (training) as well.

“I wanted something more rewarding and exciting, so I chose public safety because I get to help the community and give back as well,” said Mr. Mann.

Since he is “relatively new to the career,” he says he doesn’t yet have any memorable moment to cite from his time in the public safety ranks.

He has had enough time, however, to think about the rewards of the job.

While Mr. Mann was in school, he decided his favorite part about the job “is the reward of making people’s situation better than what it was, even if it was for the littlest thing.”

And he excelled in his college classes.

“I was top of my class in both Emergency Medical Technician and Fire 1 (training), and I was the number one student in my fire class and won a student achievement award,” he said.

Considering he’s still learning things about his role in the public safety profession — and looking to build on his EMT training by becoming a paramedic, too — Kyle put it straightforwardly when he said, for the benefit of youths who will follow him:

“The best advice I can give to anyone going into EMS (emergency medical services) is don’t be halfhearted about it! Dive head-first in and do it. Give it 100% no matter what, and it will be the greatest job in the world.”