Quan Tran - Firefighter / Paramedic

With three years on the job, six months as a paramedic, and a 10-week-old baby girl, Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Firefighter/Paramedic Quan Tran is in a constant state of learning and growing.

He did not come from a generation of firefighters, and a career in firefighting had never crossed his mind. As a preteen, his passions were basketball, the LA Lakers, and Kobe Bryant.

A family friend took a young Tran to his first Lakers game, and he vividly remembers the moment he saw Kobe Bryant play in person. He was in awe that this family friend attended these games so often.

Tran asked his mom how this was possible. “Oh, he’s a fireman!” she said.

He was barely 13 when he decided that firefighting was the career for him – if nothing else, to go to Lakers games whenever he wanted.

“It was brought to my attention at a younger age, but I finally put it together when I was older,” FF/PM Tran reflected. “We work as a team, we work under a ‘coach’ or a captain, we take orders and execute them,” he said of the similarities between the fire service and basketball. He began correlating his passion with firefighting as he prepared to graduate from high school and pursue a career.

“I realized I wanted to live an impactful life. Firefighting is a job where you can positively impact your community every day,” FF/PM Tran said.

His journey into the fire service was neither easy nor fast. Despite passing his final interviews during his first two attempts to join the LAFD, he did not receive job offers and timed out of the process.

Tran lost steam after his second attempt and questioned if the fire service was really for him. He received his bachelor’s degree in business management from California State University in Riverside but knew deep down that he was not finished pursuing his dream.

“Third time’s the charm,” became true for Tran when he shifted his mindset and gave the LAFD one more try.

“I thought I was committed when I was younger,” he reflected, “but there’s an extra level I think we can all go to in order to reach our goals.”

Tran was on the freeway when he received an official job offer from the LAFD. After graduating from recruit training, he started his career at LAFD Fire Station 37. At his third station as a young firefighter, LAFD Fire Station 13 in Koreatown, Firefighter Tran was ready to take his career to a new level.

Encouraged by LAFD mentors who were also paramedics, Firefighter Tran decided to pursue his certification. He received a scholarship to participate in the University of California Los Angeles’s accelerated paramedic program. About five months later, he was giving the speech at his class’s graduation.

“Firefighters and paramedics make life-saving decisions on a daily basis,” FF/PM Tran emphasized. “As a paramedic, I wanted the responsibility of having to make those decisions from a medical standpoint.”

FF/PM Tran’s first call as a paramedic intern at LAFD Fire Station 81 was a pediatric, or child, seizure – one of the most nerve-wracking and challenging calls that firefighters receive. He can’t help but feel like that experience foreshadowed him becoming a father.

“She’s taught me more about my job when it comes to infants and children,” he said of his 10-week-old daughter. FF/PM Tran’s wife is a pediatric nurse at a children’s hospital, so he gleans that knowledge and insight from both her and their daughter.

A position opened up at Fire Station 81 after his internship, providing FF/PM Tran a unique opportunity to serve the Pacoima/Panorama City community where he grew up and where his grandparents and other family members still reside.

He deeply values the growth and learning opportunities that come with being a member of the LAFD. One of his favorite aspects of the job is the camaraderie between his fellow firefighters and the notion of working together to save lives and make an impact every day.

“Iron sharpens iron,” he said. “We keep each other accountable and help each other grow.”

For firefighter hopefuls, FF/PM Tran emphasizes that hard work and having a positive attitude are crucial tools for success. “If you can come in with a good attitude and good work ethic, you can fit in anywhere in this Department,” he emphasized.

“Even if it takes you a little bit longer than others, you’ll get to the finish line – whatever that may be for you in your career.”