Firefighting
FirefightingFirefighting
Fire fighting is an extremely important job. It saves many
lives and property. "Fire fighters have the responsibility of
protecting life and property from the hazzerd of fire."(Hopke
242) Fire fighters also go on emergency calls such as heart
attacks, respiratory problems,any other medical problems, or just
to help save stuck or trapped animals. If an individual is
considering going into fire fighting they should find out all
they can about it. They would need to find out especially about
the nature of the work, training requirements, the salaries and
benefits,and the overall employment outlook. A career in fire
fighting could be dangerous and exciting as well as rewarding;
fire fighters are needed to save lives and property.
In fire fighting the nature of work varies depending on the size
of the department and city. Some jobs a person could have would
be hose handler, ladder handler, truck driver, inspector, or
tiller handler who drives the back end of a long truck. Fire
fighters will fight different sizes of fires. Sometimes they
fight big burning buildings or little grass fires. Since there
is such a great amount of heat put off from a fire, fire fighters
wear protective clothing. During a fire there could be
confusion. so fire fighters are organized and put to differnt
duties. These fire fighters are supervised by fire captians ,
battalion chiefs, or the fire chief. When a fire is out some
fire fighters wait arround to make sure that it is completely
out. There are fire investigation lieutenants, or fire marshals
that try to figure out what started the fire and where. These
people can arrest an arsonist or talk in court according to what
they find out. Besides fighting fires, fire fighters go on
medical and emergency calls. Fire inspectors are people who
inspect buildings to make sure they are not hazardous. Fire
fighters have to keep all of their equipment in top order in case
of emergency.
There are many training requirements for fire fighting. A
person going into fire fighting needs to be 18 years of age or
older ands to have at least a high school diploma. "Applicants
for municipal fire fighting jobs may have to pass a written test;
tests of strength, physical stamina, coordination and agility;
and a medical examination-including screens for drug
use"(Caeers297). Some large departments have on the job training
classes or courses for new fire fighters. These courses teach
them how to use equipment and study fire fighting techniques
(Snelling Sr and Snelling 112) . Some personal qualities fire
fighters need would be courage, mental alertness, endurence,
mechanical aptitude, and a sense of public service. Fire
fighters also need to work well with others well because they are
always in groups with other fire fighters(Jist 278) . Being a
fire fighter someone would need to take orders well because in
emergency situations it could be very important(Hopke 244) . In
fire fighting fire fighters also take medical classes. A fire
fighter would start out by getting his EMT class then IEMT and
last paramedic. Which is the top medical class a fire fighter
can get. Fire fighters take colledge courses to get there
medical certification.
Lots of people go into firefighting because of the
salaries and benefits. While interviewing John Ginn, a
firefighter, if he had to do it over again, would he still pick
this field and why or why not. He said, "Yes, because...the type
of work and benefits."(Ginn, Personal Interview) The average
beginning salaries for beginning fire fighters i about 20-22
thousand dollars a year. As fire fighters work longer they gain
rank and get higher pay. The benefits fire fighters get include
paid sickdays, paid vacations, medical and liability insurance,
and some paid holidays. Fire fighters also get all their
protective clothing, breathing equipment, and dress uniforms.
They are also provided with everyday uniforms which include
shirts and pants. They have to buy their own shoes. After
working 25 years, fire fighters get half pay for retirement. If
a fire fighter is disabled in the line of duty they also get
retirement pay. (careers 298) These are some of the benefits fire
fighter get.
The overall employment out look looks good. Every year
there are thousands of job opportunities available. These jobs
are available from other fire fighters who retire, die or go to a
different job. A lot of new jobs are made when a small town
upgrades their volunteer fire department to an organized City
Fire Department (Hopke 242). Fire fighters seldom get fired or
layed off. This is because fire protection is so important.
"Even when budget cuts do occur, local fire departments usually
cut expenses by postponing equipment purchases or not hiring new
fire fighters, rather than by laying off staff" (Jist 279) The
competition for these jobs is tough because so many apply, but
even so the employment is good.
The working conditions for fire fighting are different than
most jobs. Working as a fire fighter could be dangerous. This
is because some of the work can involve risking one's life. In
burning buildings the wall, floors, roofs or the whole building
could fall on a fire fighter causing death or injury. The
fighters risk their own life by doing this just to save other
people's lives and property. Fire fighters are also exposed to
gasses and smoke which could be dangerous and cause permanent
injury. The hours that fire fighters spend on duty at the fire
station can take away from the amount of time a fire fighter can
spend with his family as compared to some other jobs (Hopke 246).
John Ginn said, "the thing I don't like about it is that it is
hard on the family, being gone at night."(Ginn Personal
Interview) .
Fire fighting can be rewarding, exciting, and dangerous.
Fire fighters are needed to save property and lives. Even if
fire fighting is dangerous it is worth it when a fire fighter
saves a person's life from a fire or car wreck. Fire fighting is
easy to get into after high school and it doesn't require many
post high school classes. Even if fire fighters have to pass a
physical test, it is worth it to get on. Fire fighting is a
reasonable paying job and has many benefits. Once a fire
fighter is into fire fighting they are usually in it until they
want to retire or change jobs. This is because fire fighting has
a low turnover rate. The working conditions are dangerous and
strenuous because of being on call 24 hours a day. Even though
fire fighting is dangerous, it would be worth getting into. Fire
fighting seems like a job many people would like and enjoy. Fire
fighters are liked by most of the community for the service they
provide.