Firefighter

This is claimed by Firefighter Isaac Hastings.

Imagine that you are sitting around talking with your co-workers after a company meeting. You hear a noise in the background, but you don't think anything of it. You hear it again, and all of a sudden your pager goes off. Everyone jumps up and your heart starts racing. As you make your way down the stairs, you hear the dispatcher: "Stations 33, 34, 52, possible structure fire...." Now your adrenaline is really pumping. You throw on your gear, jump in the engine, and away you go. This is a day in the life of a firefighter.

Firefighters respond to many different types of emergencies. Obviously, they are called on to put out many different kinds and sizes of fires. They also respond to motor vehicle accidents. In this scenario they may have to cut someone out of a car, or stop leaking gasoline from running off into a nearby stream. On many occasions, they are called to assist neighboring departments. This can include helping them out at an incident, or simply standing by in case they recieve a second call in their area. Some fire departments provide EMS or QRS (Quick Response Service) for medical calls. Firefighters who work or volunteer at a department that provides this kind of service help care for people who are sick or injured. There are many other things that a firefighter may do as part of an emergency response, such as forcing entry into a building, or pumping out a flooded basement. While all this may sound exciting, there is a lot of behind the scenes work that a firefighter must do.



There are many other responsibilities that firefighters must perform aside from responding to calls. Firefighters are responsible for the maintainance of their equipment and station. They clean the trucks and all of the tools and appliances (hose, nozzles, etc...) that are carried on them, and keep them in running order. Firefighters must also perform chores around the station. These chores are much like the ones that are carried out in a household every day, such as cooking and cleaning. Another important role that a firefighter must perform is educating the public about fire prevention and safety. This is mainly done through the local grade schools, but can also be done by hosting special events and fire station tours. Firefighters teach people the importance of 9-1-1, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in their home, and holding fire drills. Most fire departments also offer classes on CPR and fire extinguisher use. Many larger departments also perform building inspection programs. Firefighters who do this make sure that all fire codes are met and that all exits are clearly marked and accessible.

At this point, you are probably wondering what chemistry has to do with firefighting. Well, lets start by talking about the chemical reaction of combustion. According to __The Firefighter's Handbook: Essentials of Firefighting and Emergency Response, Pennsylvania State Fire Academy Custom Edition,__ combustion is "a rapid, persistent chemical change that releases heat and light accompanied by flame, especially the exothermic oxidation of a combustible substance." In other words, combustion produces fire. In order for combustion to occour, it must have the following elements: fuel, heat, oxygen, and a chemical reaction. All four elements must be present to support combustion. Fire supression (extinguishment) simply requires something to remove one or more of these elements. This, however is not the only way that chemistry is used by firefighters. Dry chemical extinguishers use sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, or monoammonium phosphate to remove the oxygen source from the fire, thus extinguishing it. Foam systems use the same principle of removing the oxygen source from the fire. But foam systems are used with water, which also removes the heat.

There are several perosnality traits one must posses in order to be a firefighter. They must be courageous, and mentally alert. Firefighters must be strong and have good endurance, because firefighting is strenuous work for many different reasons. Initiative and good judgement are key skills as well, because a firefighter is often called on to make quick, important decisions in very stressful situations. Since firefighting is done as a team effort, firefigthers must be dependable and able to get along well with their fellow firefighters. A strong sense of public service and the willingness to help other people are also important traits. Also, firefighters are exposed to a lot of disturbing or gory scenes, so a firefighter must be able to withstand seeing these kinds of things (To a certain extent).

As mentioned before, firefighting is a very dangerous and strenuous job. Refering back to __The Firefighter's Handbook,__ in 1990-2000, 47% of firefighter deaths by immediate cause and 31.4% of firefighter injuries by cause were due to overexertion/stress. Firefighting involves a lot of heavy lifting, and the gear that firefighters wear is very heavy. They also encounter extreme heat, especally when fighting a fire in the interior of a building. Often times firefighters must carry tools, people, and themselves up and down ladders. These are reasons why firefighters must be in good physical condition. Firefighter's are also exposed to smoke, which is filled with several poisionous gases. Firefighters who respond to medical emergencies are many times exposed to contagous diseases as well. Haz-Mat is a special part of the fire service, and may expose firefighters to dangerous chemicals or gases.

There are two different types of fire departments. The first type is the payed fire department. Payed departments are generally a division of a city or county government, however some larger factories or plants may have their own fire bergaides that are trained more toward types of incidents that may occour at their facility. Most paid departments hold 24 hour shifts where the firefigters would basically live at the station, and then the firefighters would get two or three days off. Some departments, however, hold 3 shifts per day. Most paid fire departments are in metropolitan areas with very large call volumes, but some county run paid departments may cover rural areas. Firefighters that work for a paid department earned a median of $41,190 in May 2006. Pay increases as a firefighter climbs in rankings. The other type of department is the volunteer fire department. These kinds of departments are mainly found in rural areas and their members are not payed. (some departments may have a live-in program where one firefighter is payed to stay at the station, just as a payed firefighter would) Generally, call volumes for volunteer fire departments are low to moderate. Volunteer departments may be part of a borough or township government. Often times they exist as independent companies, though. Either way, these departments reciever funding form local governments, state and federal loans and grants, and fundraising. People who are members of a volunteer fire department are basically "on duty" 24-7. However they live at their homes and work other jobs, and respond to calls when avaliable.

There are an estimated 30,020 fire departments (payed and volunteer) in the United States with an estimated 1,078,300 firefighters. There is a constant need for firefighters, as fire will always rage on and emergencies will happen.

Training to be a firefighter usually begins with an essentials of firefighting class. This class touches base with many different subjects to teach a firefighter the basics of firefighting, rescue, and many other types of operations a firefighter will perform. After a firefighter takes an essentials class, training constantly continues as there are many areas of knowelege that a firefighter can learn more about, along with many certifications. Training not only happens at a class, but also happens within the fire department itself, and on the fireground. One of the best training tools is experience.

I would highly recommend this job to anyone who has a love to help people and serve their community. Firefighting is a great way to lend a hand and give back to the place in which I live.

"HowStuffWorks "How do dry chemical fire extinguishers work?"" __Howstuffworks "Home and Garden"__ 06 Apr. 2009 []. "Fire Fighting Occupations." __U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics__. 06 Apr. 2009 .