OKEECHOBEE -- Introducing his beautiful baby girl, Charlie Wren, into the world was the most exciting thing that has ever happened to him, says Okeechobee County Firefighter/Paramedic Brandon Farless. He and his wife Mary have been married for two years and have three dogs. They enjoy fishing and hanging out with family on the boat when they have free time. He enjoys growing fruit and vegetables, too, something he learned from his grandfather who he considers the biggest influence in his life. The most exotic place he ever visited was Mexico, which he experienced while on a cruise and said it was a great time.

Mr. Farless was raised in Okeechobee but recently moved to Lake Placid. He has one sister and two stepbrothers. He said his hero has always been his grandpa, a hard-working man who taught the importance of this to his grandson. Mr. Farless has always been fascinated by the medical field and, even as a child, he assumed he would grow up to do something related to that. His first job was at Home Depot, though. He loved it, but it didn’t pay very well.

He graduated from Okeechobee High School, and his favorite sport was football, but he enjoyed baseball as well. His favorite things about school were spending time with his friends and the food! He did not like math or anything remotely related to math at all. He attended IRSC in Fort Pierce, where he majored in fire science. The most memorable thing about college, he said, was having his own apartment.



Mr. Farless is the first member of his family to have a career as a firefighter. Most of his family have been members of law enforcement, but he has always wanted to do the medical side of firefighting, and he has always loved fire and anything related to fire, he said.

“I was and still am obsessed with the medical side of the job,” he said. He has been a firefighter for about five and a half years, four of them in Okeechobee, and he feels the job has taught him responsibility and made him value life because it can be taken away at any moment.

He believes the most unique things about him are his positive outlook on life and the fact that he is VERY hyper.