The ignorance on this thread needs an ambulance.
I agree. It’s called reserve capacity and it’s the most expensive thing in the world.
Our entirely military is almost entirely reserve capacity. They train to do things we all hope they’ll never have to do. But nobody accuses them of being lazy or unneeded because they aren’t actually fighting a war at the moment.
Fire departments are pretty much the same. Despite reductions in the frequency of fires, which did not start in the 80s, BTW, we still have to maintain the capacity to respond to a big one when it happens.
Unless somebody thinks it’s a good idea to get rid of the fire department because statistically there’s less chance they’re needed.