If you have ever thought about becoming a firefighter or if you are just eager to learn more about the job, then this article is for you! You will learn everything you wanted to know about what it's like to be a firefighter, who they serve on a daily basis, what they do on a typical day, the hiring process in municipal departments, the education that is required to become a firefighter, the dangers associated with the job and much more about the quality of life that they have during their career. I am personally in my final year of studying to obtain a college degree in Fire Safety. If I can inspire you to pursue this career and share the passion that I have for this job through this article, then I will have accomplished my job!
A firefighter is someone that is hired by a city to protect people, their property and their goods against damage due to fire. In order to perform at their job, be efficient during operations and serve citizens, firefighters need to have strong communication skills. Since they are most of the time offering their services to people in need, they have to be approachable and reassuring to the public. They also work as a team 99% of the time, so it is important to be unselfish and a team player in every situation encountered.
Being a firefighter is a lot more than just fighting fires : you can respond to emergencies including hazardous materials, save people from drowning in a frozen river, educate the public on fire safety protocols, open a car door with a tool to extract someone from a burning vehicle, do cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a kid, and more. It is a job so vast that you always have to practice and educate yourself on different subjects to stay sharp as a knife and be a better worker.
Firefighters always have something to do, even on slow days. During a 24-hour shift, they have a lot of time on their hands. They first need to check their breathing apparatus first thing in the morning to inspect if there is some kind of malfunction on their gear. Then, they go to buy some groceries and prepare the meals for the day. After breakfast, if they don't have a call, they can do some OJT or work out. They usually go to bed not so late because they need to be energized if they get a call in the middle of the night.
Firefighters can be called to respond anywhere on the territory of the city that hired them. Still, they spend most of their shifts at their local department where they do tasks while waiting for calls. When they start in their fire service, each firefighter is dispatched to a specific department where they have the opportunity to work there for the rest of their career. Each station covers a portion of the island, so the firefighters mostly respond to the emergencies that happen in their sector's radius.
To be a firefighter you first have to obtain a Diploma of Professionnal Studies in Fire Safety. After obtaining this degree, you have the option to go straight to work in a city where less than 200 000 people reside. If you want to work in a bigger city, where you can face more dangerous situations and bigger risks, you need to obtain a college degree in Fire Safety. What you study in college is more in-depth than the basics that you learn at the fire academy.
The pay mainly depends on the firefighter's position in the department hierarchy, the city he or she is working for and the overtime hours that he or she worked during the year. On average, a full-time firefighter makes around $50 000 to $90 000 annually. A seasoned worker who has a role with more responsibilities like a lieutenant, a captain, or a chief can easily make more than a $100 000 with overtime. A full-time firefighter's salary is based on approximately 7 to 8 working days of 24 hours per month.
If you are really interested in this profession, you can take Fire Technology classes, where you learn how fire reacts in different environments. Also, when they are not on a call, firefighters can have a lot of time on their hands : you can always stop by fire stations to ask questions about the job and do some training with them if you have the qualifications. Nothing beats practice and hard work. Since the hiring process is really competitive, you can also learn how to be better during interviews and practice your social skills.
As a firefighter, you are exposed on a daily basis to traumatic events. Those stressful situations can lead to mental exhaustion and create post-traumatic stress disorders. Also, the continuous and intense physical movements that a firefighter does on a structure fire call can take a toll on his or her body. You have to always be aware of your surroundings when you use tools that can be dangerous to you or others if used incorrectly.
There is not a lot of chances that firefighters will be replaced by robots soon. The more we advance in time, the more firefighters rely on technical tools and automatic objects to fight fires due to the constant research that is done in this domain. Still, you have to perform at a lot of different things to be a firefighter, including creating connections with the public. That is something that those robots can't do for now.
It really depends on when they first started working, if they were injured or not during the process. Typically, a firefighting career is 30 years of service. Most of the departments like to hire people that have significant life experience and more maturity, that is why the average age of new recruits is around 25 years old. Most firefighters retire between the age of 55 to 60. They also have a really good quality of life during their career because they are well-paid and they only work seven days a month.
In May 2026 I will have completed my college degree in Fire Safety. Since I will have all the basic requirements needed to apply to cities like Montreal or Laval, I will wait patiently on the next job offers and hope to get some real experience soon. I'm also open to study in related fields to better myself and learn more about what I love while waiting for an opportunity. I hope that I was able to inspire you and show you that you can be a firefighter if you put your mind to it!
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