Crime & Safety
Homegrown Firefighter Handles Pressures of the Job
Every week New Tampa Patch introduces you to one of our city's firefighters. This week it's Station 22's Mike Hollingsworth.
Mike Hollingsworth is a homegrown public servant, having grown up in the Brandon area. He graduated from Durant High School and served 8 years in the National Guard before making his way into the City of Tampa Fire Department. Hollingsworth got familiar with New Tampa in two years of service at Station 21 just down the street from Station 22. Prior to that, he served two years at Station 18 on 30th Street in eastern-central Tampa. He also served at Stations 13 and 7, where his city career began.
Patch: What made you want to become a firefighter?
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Hollingsworth: I started out kind of in that field and I wanted to stay in it. I liked the schedule, I like to help people. I'm a more hands-on kind of guy. I could never sit at a desk all day.
Patch: Describe your most harrowing experience on the job.
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Hollingsworth: Three or four years ago I was working at Station 13 on Nebraksa Avenue. This hardware store, an old building, had caught fire. It was right next door to Sullivan's Gun Shop. The heat was causing some of the bullets to go off. I remember you could see the flames from the station. There was a propane tank nearby. They think lightning started it but we were there from about 4 p.m. to three o'clock the next morning. The fire kept re-kindling itself.
Patch: What was your most rewarding experience on the job?
Hollingsworth: Anytime you are on a rescue car and you have a "non-breather" and you apply CPR, get them to the ER. Anytime they make it, it's a great feeling. Sometimes they will even come back to the station to thank us.
Patch: What do you do to decompress after a long shift?
Hollingsworth: Go home, sleep. When you've been up for 24 hours, it's not hard to fall asleep. I'm pretty good at handling the stress and pressure that comes with the job.
Patch: What do you enjoy about working in New Tampa?
Hollingsworth: I don't enjoy the construction. I do like the new stations out here. They're nice, clean, have new facilities. Most of the stations in town are much older.
Patch: If you weren't working as a firefighter, what do you think you would be doing?
Hollingsworth: Maybe something in the military, possibly medical sales.