Air Force Firefighter Brings Experience to Norco

Emergency Response Team Lead Jamie Latiolais is direct about joining the Armed Forces. “Don't even think about it – do it,“ says the six-year Air Force veteran. “At 18, 19, or even 22, how do you know what you want? This is just my view, but many young people start a career, work two or three years, then quit to try something else because they haven't had the chance to see what the world is really like. The military lets you learn a skill, learn about yourself, others, and new places, all while building a foundation for your future. 

A self-proclaimed “swamp rat“ from St. Martinville, Latiolais spent a year and a half after high school “trying to figure out life.“ Recognizing that college was not for him at that stage, he joined the Air Force, which offered many career options.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but it was a good choice,“ he explains. “In basic training, you get a ‘dream sheet’ listing your top 12 jobs. Firefighting was my seventh pick; I was assigned to it, and graduated from fire school, with the training and experience that has fueled my career.“

Stationed at Rhein Main Air Base near Frankfurt, Latiolais remained at the small, quiet installation. “I served between both Gulf Wars,“ he says. “Operation Joint Endeavor took place then, but our base was a contingency site, supporting and refueling aircraft. We were essentially a bed and breakfast for crews—they’d come in, refuel, rest, and head out on their missions.“

Although his home base was remote, Jamie saw the world as the military promised. He spent time in Italy, England, Bavaria—his favorite—and Spain, where he prepared for a space shuttle launch. He was also in Germany to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Air Force and the Berlin Airlift.

He also played softball—as a member of the Air Force intramural team, he traveled to compete against other bases.

Returning to the U.S. after his military career ended, Latiolais experience included a four-year stay in Las Vegas as a fire inspector before returning to Louisiana and Shell. “I had just signed on with Shell when the Norco Fire Department became a full-time department in 2009,“ he recalls.

Over the years, he has earned an associate's degree in Fire Science and a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and has never stopped learning and training. “It seems like I pick up a little something here and there every time I go to the Texas A&M fire school, for example, even though I have been doing this for 30 years. The biggest thing I know is to keep my mind open to continually learning and improving.“

Today, those experiences form the foundation for his role in staging and coordinating incident response, sending the right people and the right equipment to handle specific situations. While his military experience shaped his firefighting knowledge, it's his exposure to different cultures, people, and concepts that has enhanced his career and personal growth.

“While I was in Germany, we had local nationals who worked in our department,“ he explains. “Some were German. Some were Italian. Someone was from Pakistan. We worked around the schedules of Muslims who pray at certain times of the day—just people from different cities, different states, different concepts. And the funny thing is, we train in the same schools with the same tools and the same tactics, but you get somebody to come in from some other base somewhere else, and they've learned something different. ‘All right, let's go play with this. And you know what? I like this idea better’.“

The father of one daughter, a student at Baton Rouge Community College, and a son headed to flight school after graduation from LSU, Latiolais spends his free time golfing and fishing. It’s not as adrenaline-producing as firefighting or as calorie-burning as softball, but the peace and quiet offer a welcome balance now that he has almost figured out life!