"It's the type of people that are attracted to this kind of a job, that do this kind of work. I like the work ethic of those folks. I like their view of life."
Kern: What would be the best aspect of this job?
Summerfelt: Well, that's real easy to answer. And that is the people that I work with. I've been able to travel a lot, see things up close that a lot of people don't get to see. I've been involved in a lot of significant decisions made on fires. But the bottom line is, it's the type people that are attracted to this kind of a job, that do this kind of work. I like the work ethic of those folks. I like their view of life. And if you were to look at them outside of the fire arena, they're all different. You've got people that—you may have mohawks and somebody who's got a butch haircut. It's so different when you look at them outside of the [yellow Nomex]. But they all have a similar work ethic and desire to be involved in this. And I enjoy that the most. And the relationships and the friendships that I've been able to form over the past twenty-five years. Many of those people I still stay in contact with, and that's the most memorable aspect of this.