It’s Valentine’s Day and we’re celebrating love FDNY style. Meet Engine 285 Firefighter Jean Tanis, and his wife, Station 47 Paramedic Patricia Tanis. These two first responders met and fell in love in 2002 after being partnered up in Patricia’s cousin’s wedding party. Flash forward 15 years later and they are now happily married with a daughter and twin sons. How sweet. We know! Read below to learn more about #TeamTanis.
JoinFDNY: Of course we have to ask, what’s it like working in the same place as your spouse?
Jean Tanis: It isn’t as bad as one would think. We both understand what it means to unwind after a hard day of work. We also get to have conversations about aiding the public since were both public servants. She covers the EMS side and I cover the fire side. It’s balanced.
Patricia Tanis: I think it’s great having him in the same Department because he gets the true meaning of I had a late call and we can adjust our schedules when it comes to things we have to do after work.
JoinFDNY: Why do you love working for the FDNY?
JT: I love working as a Firefighter because there’s nothing more satisfying than knowing that you’ve made a positive difference in someone’s day or life.
PT: I love working as a Paramedic because I get to help someone in their time of need, from a cardiac arrest to an asthma emergency. It’s a great feeling to know that you made a positive change in another person’s life.
JoinFDNY: How do the flexible schedules here help with balancing work and family life?
JT: The flexibility of my schedule is honestly second to none. Working here allows me to attend special personal events, make class trips with my daughter, rotate child care with my wife and so much more. It’s really great.
PT: We have a 6-year-old daughter and 21-month-old sons, so you know our schedules are busy and working here allows us to spend so much quality time with them and that’s priceless.
FDNY Firefighter Jean Tanis and Paramedic Patricia Tanis love their family and they noted that their flexible work schedules allows them to spend quality time with their 6-year-old daughter, Jeanine, and 21-month-old sons, Fredrick, and Patrick.
JoinFDNY: What’s the best part about being married?
JT: The united front. I’m married to someone who has my back no matter if it’s good, bad or indifferent. #TeamTanis
PT: I think it’s even though you’ll have your ups and downs in life, you always know that you’re on the same team.
JoinFDNY:What do you like about celebrating Valentine’s Day?
JT: When it comes to Valentine’s Day, I feel that that it’s every day. If you care for and treat someone with love and respect, then you shouldn’t have to wait a whole year to express your emotions. But I still think it’s nice to acknowledge our love on a day like this too.
PT: For me, I like just spending time together, whether it’s at home or going out. To be honest, every day is Valentine’s Day.
JoinFDNY: When it comes to the kids, is it Firefighter or Paramedic when they grow up?
JT: That will be up to them, of course. I have the utmost respect for what she does as a Paramedic, but I’m biased, I love my career, so I say Firefighter [laughs].
PT: Our daughter told us that she’s going to be a Paramedic, a Firefighter then a surgeon and the boys are already in love with the fire engines. When they see one pass by, they scream in excitement “Daddy!” At the end of the day, we want them to pick a career that makes them happy [laughs].
