Posted on 10/18/2010 2:25:42 PM PDT by neverhome
In modern-day America one of the things most of us take for granted is the ability to punch "9-1-1" on any phone and instantly call for help during an emergency. Be it a burglar, a heart attack or a fire, help can be on the way in short order.
We all know that medical professionals attend school for years to be able to do what they do. We know that law enforcement requires rigorous training to do the often dangerous work of patrolling our streets and helping us stay safe. But have you ever wondered just what a fire fighter endures to become certified? How much work and study must one accomplish before being allowed to run into a burning house to drag your unconscious form to safety?
(Excerpt) Read more at alanburkhart.blogspot.com ...
From which we got the term, "Don't be a wet blanket". perhaps.
Being anti-green, I'm a big fan of the CO2 fire extinguisher.
I reckon that's why David Letterman uses it on the little green weight loss guru.
Only slightly off-topic: several Supreme Court decisions hold that police officers have no duty to protect any particular individual. Calling 911 for the police is therefore a lot like the grocery store clerk getting on the PA and announcing, “Cleanup on Aisle 3!” The police come after the fact to clean up the mess.
EMS has been added to Firefighting in most large cities and as much time is spent on EMT and Paramedic training as is spent on Firefighting.
Recertification is an expensive and time consuming practice in renewing EMT and Paramedic certification. Most departments have to hire 4 workers for every 3 in the Firehouse just to make up for the time spent re-certifying.
Many Departments these days are so tied up in litigation with, blacks ,transgenders, lesbians and PC BS they don’t have time to fght Fires.
Venturer Said: “EMS has been added to Firefighting in most large cities and as much time is spent on EMT and Paramedic training as is spent on Firefighting.”
Yep. Station 7 got a rescue vehicle sometime back. Several of them including “D” are EMTs nowadays.
Thanks for the link, interresting article. In rough numbers, there are about 1.3 million firefighters in the US, 3/4 of them are volunteers. Of course every department or company is run differently so the amounts of time spent training varies. My company is semi-rural in NE PA and we have a very good training ethic, 46 (3 hour) in-house drills per year. In addition, we are encourage to attend state fire school and out of 25 active firefighters, 12 are certified at the state level for firefighting (all of our officers are certified) although the commonwealth doesn’t require certification.
More than half of our active responders hold additional certs in Vehicle Rescue, HazMat and we have a certified water rescue team. If that isn’t enough, we have 12 EMTs who are firefighters and run a sucessful fire prevention program in the community. During our free time we run fundraisers to keep the fire company in the black.
Our small company has several father/son, husband/wife members. Mrs. fatboy is the fire company treasurer. I want to say that there is something for everyone to contribute in many local volunteer fire outfits, being an actual firefighter is not for everyone. fatboy is actually not that fat, at a mere 138 Lbs, donning the 50 Lbs of bunker gear and airpack is more fun than work.
Support your firefighters by donations of all kinds and let them know how much you appreciate their efforts.
For my part, I will say this to anyone who will allow me to speak, my involvement in the fire service started in 2004 at the age of 45. On average I attend 140 hours of state fire school and have a mountain of paper in my cert folder. I run QRS (Quick Response Service) as an EMT we respond to 911 medical or trauma calls arriving before the ambulance to begin patient care. Just 2 days ago I responded to my next door neighbor who may have had an MI. While I love to enter burning buildings, cut people out of crashed cars and administer emergency first aid, I will admit that helping those in need is secondary to the thrill of just being involved in this enterprise. I do this for me basically as it is a genetic affliction with no known cure.
fatboy Volunteer Firefighter/EMT
Lieutenant 407
QRS 11
FTVFC Chaplain
Secretary CC Fireman’s Association
Secretary FT Firemen’s Relief Association
FT Fire prevention coordinator
LAA Volunteer EMT
Member EP Technical SAR
Thank You! It was a fun piece to write, and I’m enjoying learning more about it. I’ve heard some hellacious stories from “D” and other fire fighters, and as a former heavy tow truck operator I’ve seen my share of firey accidents.
Admit it: Ain’t nuthin’ more fun than getting out at 2:00 am in January to work a vehicle fire. Ain’t it great! :-)
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