The Smoke Diver course for Mississippi firefighters involves carrying 200-pound dummies, shuffling across exposed floor joists and climbing steep staircases all in a dark, sometimes smoky room. Taking the course doesn’t have any financial incentive for firefighters, who receive a belt buckle and certificate upon completion 

“It’s just to be a better firefighter,” Shannon Mathis, a Meridian Sr. Firefighter, said. “And I feel like I am a better firefighter for it, for all the training. It makes you stronger.”

The four-day course started with 18 students and a reputation for being the toughest class for Mississippi firefighters. Mathis, the only Meridian firefighter to complete the course, was the oldest of the four students who completed the course. 

“I just want to give all the glory to God,” Mathis said. “I believe he lead me through it.”

Mathis said the firefighters go through several evolutions, each more difficult than the last with the State Fire Academy. Because each evolution is pass or fail, firefighters must repeat an evolution until they pass or drop out, sometimes repeating an evolution four or five times.

“By then you’re extremely exhausted, you might even be puking from the effort,” Mathis said. “And you just go on to the next one.”

Mathis described one of the most difficult evolutions, which proves too great of an obstacle for many firefighters.

“The Box Maze Evolution is in the Old Heat Building on campus,” Mathis said. “You’re totally in the dark, there’s no fire, no heat and no smoke. The stairs and inclines are very steep and the passages are narrow and there are open floor joists. You follow the hose to a downed fellow firefighter in the basement.

“The downed firefighter weighs at least 200 pounds and you’ve got to get him out of the basement, up the stairs, across the joists and through the floor maze. It’s the most challenging because it’s a big and heavy dummy.”

Still, despite a year spent training and preparing for the course, Mathis only gives credit to the Lord.

“I was a little surprised he would lead me to do it and I was scared,” Mathis said, recollecting filling out the applications one year ago. “But the main thing is to give God all of the glory for my success.” 

Name: Shannon Mathis.

Age: 36.

Job Title/Department: Senior Firefighter.

Years as an firefighter? 8.

Why did you choose to become a firefighter?

I needed a job. Now, of course, I enjoy my job because we work for a good cause with a great group of guys. I enjoy the service to the community. It’s an honorable job, helping folks in wrecks and house fires.

Do you have any family members in the field?

No, I don’t.

What has been your most gratifying experience as a firefighter?

The first structure fire I went to. We were the first on the scene to put out a kitchen fire. I felt like we had really done something good for the family because we were able to save all of their possessions, except the kitchen. If we hadn’t been there they would have lost everything.

Would you encourage one of your children to pursue a career in first response?

I have girls, so no. But I do encourage my friends and others. 

What would you have done if you had not become a firefighter?

I’m also a minister and a contractor, so I stay busy. I do ministry not for pay; I’ve been doing ministry since I was a kid. So I suppose I’d still be preaching and contracting. 

When not working, what are your interests?

I’m an outdoorsman. I love to fish, camp and hunt with the whole family. And my girls, 5 and 9, love it. 

Tell us something about you people would be surprised to learn?

I seek to love the Lord with all of my heart and in all that I do. That’s probably not surprising but it’s the most noteworthy thing about my life.