This article is the perfect guide for anybody that wants to be a firefighter and that wants to find out what it is like. This article will permit you to know what exactly a career of firefighter is like. If you have any interrogations about the education you need, the opportunities of this job, the salary or anything else then this article is for you. My motivation to write this article is that the process to become a firefighter is very difficult so with my article you'll be able to verify if this is very what you want to do, and you will know what to expect. In fact, I'm sharing with you my experience, the interrogations or difficulties that I had, so that you don't struggle with them.
Being a firefighter is a very intense career. Sometimes, it will be very difficult physically or mentally and sometimes it will be very funny with your colleagues in the firehouse. You will have great rushes of adrenaline when the bell rings. It will be a very rewarding job. You will make great connections with your colleagues that will become a second family. Being a firefighter is not just a simple job, it's a vocation for life.
A firefighter protects people, their property, their goods and the environment against destruction or damage by fire. He has multiple tasks like maintaining in good working order his tools and firehouse, answering emergency calls (extinguishing fires, saving or carrying peoples, operating the trucks and performing very physical tasks), do some fire prevention in the community, training to have a great level of ability and waiting for the calls.
On a typical day, a firefighter starts the day by checking his gear to make sure that he is ready to answer calls. After making sure that he's ready, the groups reunite to eat some breakfast. Everybody participates in the cooking and in doing the dishes. After, it's time for the chores, so every firefighter is given a task for about an hour or 2. Don't forget that if the bell rings in the meantime, they are going to the call. Around noon, everybody gathers to eat dinner. In the afternoon, it's time for training. The captain will decide what the training is on. After, everybody will go in the truck bay to participate in the cleaning of the truck. Around 7 p.m., the team will eat supper, and after they will relax and wait for the next call.
Like it's said in the article of "The Princeton", firefighters work in municipalities. They can work in very large cities or in smaller cities. When you work in small cities, the job is not a full-time job. So, firefighters are volunteering and are keeping their ears open for the calls. They are often not at the firehouse. They are waiting at home. That makes small cities' firefighter obligated to work in other jobs to have a salary. Working in big cities is more interesting because you can live of it. You don't need a second job. Firefighters of big cities will work in a firehouse around the city. For example, there is the New York City where you can work full-time or Montreal, Laval and other big city.
To become a firefighter you need to go to school. You need a high-school degree, a professional study diploma in firefighting and 2-year college degree in firefighting. After you have all the diplomas required, you'll need to pass all the tests that the city requires. You will also need to pass physical exams and medical exams. You need a corrected 20/20 vision, 18 to 31 years of ages and many more requirements specific to each city.
A firefighter can expect to make from $50 000 to $100 000. It depends on the city, your experience and your statue.
A firefighter is always training. For as long as he will do this job, he will do training. First of all, he will need to maintain a great physical capacity. He will also do a lot of courses like first responder training, driving training, pumper operating training, ladder truck training, high-angle rescue training and many more. In fact, he will train for every situation he may face and because those situations don't often happen, he will do those training during all his career.
Like it is said in "The Princeton" article, over one in four firefighters will need time off the job because of injuries. The work being in emergency situations make it very likely for injuries to occur. Also, the physical aspect of the job represent a danger for injuries. The big dangers are the smoke, the fire but also the structure that burns that have holes or traps that are very dangerous. Also, the hazardous materials represent big dangers. Finally, in a fire, the visibility is zero to none, so it is very dangerous to lose his sense of space and to lose his way out the building. To summarize, a lot of aspects of the job are dangerous. It's your training that will make those dangers bigger if you poorly train or smaller if you are well-train.
It's not likely that robots will replace firefighter. Why? Because the situations that occur in this job unexpected that it is impossible for a robot to react to it correctly. A human reflexion is needed to take into consideration all the elements and to react in the best way possible to those unexpected situations.
The youngest a firefighter can retire is 50 years old if they have done 25 years of service but their pay will be impacted. The magic number is 30 years of service, but you can go for more, but the maximum age to retire is around 60 years old depending on the rules of your fire department.
For myself, I am at the end of my schooling. I am currently taking tests in different cities to become a firefighter. My main goal is to become a firefighter in a big city. I want to enter quickly and gain a lot of experience quickly to become a good firefighter. I want to do this job for as long as I will be able to do it and maybe, in the process, climb up the ranks and become a captain. I hope that this answer your interrogation on the job and maybe convince you of your future career. Please go look at my blog where many other posts about firefighting are published.
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Authority: research journal
Date: recently published
Accuracy: probably true
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Date: still relevant
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Rationale: to inform or educate
Authority: research journal
Date: recently published
Accuracy: probably true
Relevance: relevant for this document
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