Ex-Blue Eagle Jason Escueta graduates from firefighter training in US

MANILA, Philippines – Jason Escueta, the former Ateneo Blue Eagle who won a UAAP title in 2010 and was drafted 10th in the third round of the 2012 PBA Draft by the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, graduated from the Verdugo Fire Academy in Glendale, California last January 6.

With Escueta’s graduation, the former cager is now free to seek employment with a fire department in the United States.

“It wasn’t an ambition of mine at first,” Escueta said in an overseas interview about becoming a firefighter. “It only came to mind after a year or two after playing basketball. It was hard looking for something to replace the spot basketball had in your life, but I had to move on especially after having a kid as well.”

The 6’5” Escueta, who backed up Justin Chua during Ateneo’s run to the three-peat in between centers Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Greg Slaughter, also received inspiration from his college days in Loyola Heights when he participated in the National Service Training Program (NSTP), Junior Engagement Program (JEEP) — which enables students to experience life with various sectors and communities— and the immersion in depressed areas. 

“Those programs as well as the times we spent volunteering when there is a natural disaster and people needed a hand prepped me for the fire service,” shared Jason. “Of course, I didn’t know it at that time.”

“My time in Manila definitely taught me a lot,” he added. “I learned a lot about dealing with people, learning how to deal with stuff happening around you. “But one thing that is often overlooked as well is when to ask for help. The fire service and team sports are almost similar. You will not survive the whole thing if you do not know when to ask for help. Honestly I wouldn’t have lasted in Ateneo and also the basketball scene without asking for help. The same goes in the fire service, you cannot be all macho and go through something alone, no matter what the scenario is. No one in both lines of work can make it on their own.”

The training and recruitment took almost a year where Escueta had to take the pre-requisites before applying in the academy. “The academy requires you to be a nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) before you finish the academy, and the entire program ranges from three to six months depending on where you take it. All in all, it took me a year and a half to complete the whole thing. The academy also has limited slots, 50 to a year, so you have to apply early and hope you get accepted.”

Escueta admitted that training wasn’t “a cakewalk,” to put it in his terms. “Like in sports, you have to deal with the people around you and the tasks you are supposed to accomplish. The academy starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. It is like going to school again because you start with the basics and as time goes by, you learn how to throw ladders or pull a hose to more complicated things such as using chainsaws, hydraulic tools, etc. Towards the end of the academy, you get to the real stuff where you train for situational events that may occur in the fireground. Just every day, there is something to learn that tells you, ‘this is real.’”

The big man also admitted that heights and fires frighten him. 

“Oh, they scare me,” he exclaimed. “But that’s the good thing about fear. It keeps you on your toes the whole time and it keeps you from being complacent. That’s what will keep you alive on the job as far as I’m concerned. On the other hand, you can’t let fear consume you because it will make you freeze and it won’t let you do your job. Finding the balance in between is the trick. It’s like playing sports in front of people, you get too complacent or too scared and you definitely won’t be able to perform.”