For Sam Lee, the path to firefighting began long before he stepped into the heat of rescue week or hoisted gear up a training tower. It started in childhood, trailing behind his father — a veteran firefighter in Tyler — and growing up in the shadow of fire trucks.

“My dad has been a firefighter in Tyler for for sure, over 20 years now,” Lee said. “I’ve kind of just grown up, you know, always being around fire trucks.”

That early exposure shaped not only his career ambitions but also his choice of training ground. Lee enrolled in the fire academy at Tyler Junior College, where his father also teaches. The decision was as much about proximity as it was about legacy.

“He’s been teaching too for a long time, and every time he comes home, it’s always something good about TJC,” Lee said. “I live in Bullard, so it’s not a very far drive. So we decided to pick TJC.”

Now deep into the academy, Lee has faced the physical and mental rigors of firefighter training. The toughest stretch? Rescue week — a grueling series of drills that tested his endurance and resolve.

“Rescue week for sure, hands and knees all week, full gear in those rooms. It’s hot. That was, that was pretty physical,” Lee said.

The gear itself is a challenge: bunker pants, boots, jacket, hood, face piece, air cylinder, pack, helmet, gloves — all layered and locked in, trapping heat and sweat.

“You’re gonna have, I mean, the pants, the bunker pants, and your boots, and then you’ll have your jacket, and then you’ll have your hood and your face piece, and then you’ll have your air cylinder and your pack on your back and everything,” Lee said. “You’re gonna connect in and with air and everything in your helmet, and it’s just, I mean, every single gloves, everything and in there, it’s just so hot, it’s just brutal.”

Beyond the physical toll, Lee has learned to prepare mentally for high-risk scenarios like live fire drills. His strategy is simple: listen and hydrate.

“The key thing is to listen,” he said. “The more you listen, the more you learn. And that plays a big role. If you’re always talking and you’re not paying attention, it doesn’t help. And drinking water. Drinking water helps a lot.”

One skill that caught his attention and his confidence was mastering ropes and knots, which is essential for safely hoisting equipment during rescues.

“I would say ropes and knots. That that caught my eye. That was that was something fun, and I think I’m pretty good at that,” Lee said. “If we need to go into the tower and we need to get an axe or any equipment up there we can tie it off and hoist it up but you’ve got to know all those knots that way, nothing fails you and nobody gets injured.”

Teamwork, too, is central to the academy’s ethos. For Lee, the camaraderie among cadets has become a source of strength.

“This is almost kind of like family too,” he said. “We’re with each other five days a week, and that just really helps if you’re friends and you can talk with them, if something’s wrong with them, sit down with them. See, you know what’s wrong with them. See, what’s good having a good friendship and communications with each other.”

That sense of unity extends to the community he hopes to serve. Whether in Tyler or Longview, Lee is committed to protecting East Texans.

“Growing up in East Texas, like, I have nothing against anything,” he said. “It’s my community, and I’m gonna serve my community for what it is and keep my community safe.”

With family ties in Tyler and friends in Longview, Lee is open to joining either department after graduation.

“My dad works in Tyler, so preferably Tyler,” he said. “I’ve got a buddy that works in Longview and its always something good talking about Longview and living in Bullard, it’s shorter of a drive anywhere around East Texas would be perfect.”

The academy has reshaped his understanding of safety — not just as a protocol, but as a mindset.

“I’m still young, but like, you kind of don’t think of safety,” Lee said. “Once you get told all the bad things that can happen if not, if you don’t do the right safety things, you really have to start paying attention to the safety. And you’re like, man, I should have, should have paid attention to safety while I was younger.”

It’s also revealed a deeper reservoir of strength than he realized he had.

“I’ve always pushed myself, but I’ve never pushed myself to like my limits and my limits are further than I thought they would be,” he said. “I’ve always done it, but I never got to the point where I just physically couldn’t go anymore. And so you realize, man, I had a lot more in me.”

As he nears the end of his training, Lee carries a simple promise — one forged in sweat, grit and community pride.

“We’re going to be there for you no matter, no matter what,” he said. “Anything, if what we can do, we’re going to do to make your that day get better for you and help our community.