Every day in Room 225 at Mounds View High School, students pass by and see science teacher Mark Johnson teaching biology. For the past 27 years, Johnson has educated students while encouraging them to challenge themselves both in and out of the classroom. However, what many students may not realize is that in addition to his role at Mounds View, Johnson works as a part-time firefighter and EMT for the Lake Johanna Fire Department. 

Johnson started his career as a firefighter seven years ago after he was recommended to join by a friend who was a member of the fire department. Johnson initially asked his friend about what being a firefighter entailed out of curiosity and admiration, and his friend recommended the job to Johnson. “One day he said, ‘You know, Mark, you asked me a lot of questions about the department. You should think about joining us,’” Johnson said. “And I was kind of like, ‘Now, me? I’m too old?’ Because I was 43 at the time. And he said, ‘No, we have people in their 60s that do this, and I think you’d be a great fit.’”

To become a firefighter, Johnson had to follow a lengthy process. “The different steps of the hiring process [are] an application, a background check, a physical agility test, a psychological exam and meeting with the chiefs to know exactly what we’re signing up for,” said Johnson. After months of going through all of the steps, Johnson was able to join the department.

Because Johnson teaches during the week, he works only on Saturdays for 10.5 hour shifts at the fire department, working a total of 25 hours per month. During his shifts, sometimes the department receives no calls, but other times they can be very busy. “A minor medical, like a sick person, a cardiac arrest, a car accident, a house fire. Anything is possible,” Johnson said. When he is not too busy, Johnson does his best to be productive. “If I’m working at the fire department and it’s a quiet Saturday, then I can do schoolwork,” he said. “I’m just waiting for the next call, so I can get schoolwork done, correcting, planning, whatever. And my colleagues in the department know that I’m a teacher, so they understand if I have a bunch of papers spread out in front of me that I need to correct.”

Even though it is a stressful job and takes time out of his weekends, Johnson believes that being a firefighter is worth it. “I think it’s amazing because one old saying in the firefighting industry, if we could call it that, is that we run towards a difficult situation or towards a problem when other people run away because somebody has to, right?” Johnson said. “I’m grateful for everybody in my fire department that has taught me so many things about how to help people, and I have a lot of great role models. […] Some of them are much younger than me that have taught me a lot about how to help people and to be at my best when it’s a difficult circumstance.” 

Working as a firefighter and EMT has been a huge achievement for Johnson, but he says he would not be able to do it without his team. In all, there are around 85 members of the Lake Johanna Fire Department. “All of them go to work every day, ready to serve people, ready to do anything that is asked of them. And that’s amazing, to be served by a group that will drop out whatever they’re doing, and they’ll come to help you, or your neighbors, or whoever is in trouble. So it’s powerful to be a part of that,” said Johnson. 

Back at Mounds View, Johnson hopes to inform students about his experiences and encourage them to try new things. “If students have any questions about what it would take to become a firefighter or EMT or paramedic, I hope they’ll come visit me. And I’ll be happy to help them explore these potential careers.”