Firefighting careers are blazing hot!Firefighters jump on their trucks while the alarm's still ringing, put out raging fires, track down arsonists, keep buildings fire-safe, and help injured people.
And that's only part of the job! A high school
education is the first step into this competitive field. Bachelor's degrees (in fire
science, natural resources management, or public administration) help firefighters advance in their careers.
Fire, rescue, and emergency medical services often go hand in hand. Most firefighters are certified as paramedics because they are often the first emergency workers to respond to an accident or a disaster scene.
Many people picture big red trucks and fire stations when they think of firefighters. In fact, firefighting jobs take many forms. Some firefighters are stationed aboard ships, in industrial complexes, in the wilderness, and at airports. Other firefighters teach fire safety in the community.
Throughout the country, from remote rural regions to big cities, there's plenty of work to keep firefighters busy. In 2004, they fought 1,550,500 fires in the
United States, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Interested in a job that goes from zero to 100 with the clang of a fire bell? Read on to learn about some hot options in firefighting.
Fire Chief: Top of the HeapUntil Debra Pryor decided to go into the field, she'd never seen a female firefighter. Today, Pryor supervises an entire fire department. As the chief of the Berkeley, Calif, Fire Department, she's in charge of a staff of 137 and is Berkeley's first female fire chief.
Pryor started out as a firefighter and worked her way up the ladder. Although it was hard for a woman to get into the fire service when she started, Pryor brought a special qualification to the table: a bachelor's degree. Her department required firefighters to have a high school diploma; supervisors had to have college degrees. Pryor says having the extra education right from the beginning gave her an edge. She went on to earn a master's degree.
After 21 years in fire service, Pryor is a jill-of-all-fireservice-trades. She can do anything 'from pulling down a burning roof to piloting a fire engine on an emergency run. She's also the department's most publicly visible member and its spokesperson.
Pryor says fire service is a "fabulous profession" for anyone who believes in community service. "My definition of community service is leaving the community better than I found it, and this," she says, "lets me give back."
Fighting 300-Foot FlamesWhen a building burns, the fire is usually put out in a matter of hours, sometimes minutes'. But wildfires can last days--even weeks. And when Wildfires get out of control, they can destroy thousands of acres.
Firefighters on wild lands, such as forests and fields, can sometimes be trapped by a wildfire, which can spread quickly. So firefighters in those areas must work fast to contain and fight the blazes. They use tools such as rakes and shovels designed for fighting wildfires. Some operate heavy equipment such as bulldozers and excavators to dig trenches to contain the fires and clear pathways to get to the burning area. Sometimes a blaze can catch a bit of wind or dry vegetation and spark a "jump" over barriers built to contain them. So wild-land firefighters' are trained to keep safe using signal flares, lights, medical equipment, and temporary shelters that protect them from smoke and flames.
Jeremy Bennett is the fire management officer for Menominee Tribal Enterprises in Neopit, Wis. He's fought wildfires for 12 years. He says the most important quality for a forestry firefighter is the ability to work as part of a team. "Certain dangers, such as 150 to 300-foot flames, dead trees falling over silently, rolling rocks, helicopters and planes flying just above the tree canopies … are part of the job," he says. Forestry firefighters watch out for one another.
Each fire presents a chance to learn something new, he says. "I have a passion for this profession and am very lucky to be doing something I enjoy."
Facing Sticky SituationsShutting down the power in an ice-cream factory could have been a sticky mess, but the Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Division of the Kansas City, Mo., Fire Department took care of an ammonia leak faster than you can bite the end off a cone. They received a nice tip from the ice-cream maker too.
"They treated us to a couple of gallons," HazMat Battalion Chief Curtis Edwards says. The frosty treat was a nice change for a team specializing in one of firefighting's toughest areas. HazMat teams can face chemicals like add, gasoline, or ammonia; radioactive materials; and even weapons of mass destruction.
Firefighters must put in many hours of training to master the gear, such as breathing apparatuses and gas monitors, needed to face those situations. In addition, HazMat team members must learn to recognize chemical symbols and know the proper equipment to use to protect themselves and the public from lethal or dangerous chemical combinations.
"It's like a treasure hunt or a puzzle. You never know what you've got," Edwards says, adding that students interested in HazMat should take courses in chemistry, biology, and toxicology. Knowledge of those subjects helps the team determine how a substance can affect people and animals.
As scary as some of his team's calls have been, Edwards recalls a few funny incidents-like the time they responded to a call about a suspicious leak and found … pancake syrup.
Preventing FiresYou don't wait until your car runs out of oil to add a quart or two. Instead, you check the engine often and add oil when needed to keep your ride rolling. Fire marshals do that too. But instead of car oil, these fire pros keep tabs on safety standards to prevent a fire from starting.
Michael Skaza is an assistant state fire marshal in Rutland, Vt. He's been preventing fires in his state for seven years. Part of his job is to stick his nose in other people's business--for their own good.
Skaza inspects buildings to make sure they were constructed with fire safety in mind-materials, wiring, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and emergency exits are all high on Skaza's list.
In addition to a sharp eye, fire marshals must have great English and science skills. "When I was in school, I often wondered, when will I ever use this stuff?" Skaza says. "Believe me, I use things I learned [back] then every day at my job." Fire marshals write many reports and must understand scientific and technical subjects such as chemistry and electricity.
Part Firefighter, Part DetectiveDallas Fire Department arson and fire investigator Debra Mullins doesn't put out fires. She looks for their cause. Mullins's job combines firefighting and detective work. She has the badges to prove it: Mullins is both a firefighter and a police officer.
She sifts through evidence to determine where a blaze started and whether it was an accident. For example, she examines the color of the flames and smoke and the burn pattern caused by the fire. She looks for the place where the fire started, called the
point of origin, which can help her determine whether a fire was accidental--caused by faulty wiring, for example--or deliberately set. If so, she's found the scene of a crime: arson.
Mullins's K-9 partner, Ashly, is trained to sniff out evidence. For example, Ashly has a nose for accelarants--the flammable liquids used to start or feed a fire. Mullins says the dog helps in many other ways too. When Ashly sniffed through the aftermath of her first apartment fire, she alerted officers to a refrigerator. The officers thought Ashly was interested in the chicken stored there, but when the canine insisted they take a closer look, they found that it was where the fire began.
Next, Ashly took off upstairs. "When we arrived at the top of the stairs, Ashly was nudging a kitten out of the closet," Mullins says. The family thought the kitten had died in the fire, but it was only hiding.
Firefighting requires smarts, physical strength, and technical skill. In addition to the basic tools of the trade--shovels, rakes, and hoes--firefighters must also handle air tanks, chain saws, and heavy hoses with high water pressure. In some cases, they operate fire trucks or bulldozers.
This is one tough trade, but the rewards--saving lives and property--make the effort worth it.
Do You Have What It Takes?
The standard and agility tests for firefighters assess upper-body strength and stamina. Here are a few examples of what aspiring firefighters must be able to do:
* drag a 165-pound dummy 35 feet to 125 feet
* wear about 50 pounds' worth of gear while carrying another 50 to 100 pounds of gear
* crawl through a maze with low visibility
* climb stairs while wearing weighted vests
* drag 50-pound hoses and connect to a hydrant
* carry chain saws or other power tools for about 75 feet
* swing a 10-pound sledgehammer to simulate forcible entry
Women's WorkTypically people think only little boys dream of becoming firefighters. Although women currently make up a small fraction of the total number of firefighters in the United States, females are making gains. Two decades ago, only about 1 percent of all firefighters were women. Today, fire departments in some of the nation's largest cities count women as 10 percent or more of their workforce.
Because the job is physically demanding, candidates have to pass strength and agility tests. In the past, female candidates were often disqualified because women generally have less upper-body strength than men. Now one of the testing methods has changed. Instead of carrying an unconscious person from a burning building, applicants now duck under the smoke and drag the person out. That's how firefighters really work, so the new method is a better way of testing their skills.
By: Moore, Carole, Career World, Oct2006
