RTFC (Refinery Terminal Fire Company)

In the pages of The Hottest Job on the Gulf—75 Years of RTFC, you’ll read how the company grew, training and then placing firefighters—referred to as “in-plants”—at facilities up and down Refinery Row. Along the road, from recruit to experienced industrial firefighter, are the multiple required certifications, agility tests, strength training, book tests, and practice.

For the dedicated men and women of RTFC, what is forged through this discipline is not only one of the most highly skilled firefighting companies in the world, but a sense of family and bonds that are unbreakable—what Chief Paul Swetish describes as “a feeling of family . . . purpose and mission.”