Firefighting?

[Jake250ex]

Well, I graduated last year and have been really unhappy bouncing from one crap temp job to another.

So Ive given it some thought, and a firefighter seems like a decent gig for me. From what Im told, its 3 straight days and requires some training. Any thoughts?

[troyleepred719]

Originally posted by Jake250ex
Well, I graduated last year and have been really unhappy bouncing from one crap temp job to another.

So Ive given it some thought, and a firefighter seems like a decent gig for me. From what Im told, its 3 straight days and requires some training. Any thoughts?

First of all, think of it as a full picture. There is way more involved than you think. You will be doing crazy training, the training never stops. You will miss you family events, there is no callin in sick, unless you find a willing swap partner, who usually doesnt care less about your excuses. You will see things you never wanted to see in your life. Ever imagine pulling a dead 8 month old out of a house fire, after cutting a hole in the roof, just to find her... It will become your reality, sadly most lifely more tha n once. Everyones worst day, is your day at work, LITERALLY. If you can deal with life and death dayly, and im not saying do the manly thing of step up your pride and tell us all that your a man you can handle this, i mean think about it before you consider it, CAN you, and most importantly do you want to? there are many things that will change your life, but all in all, and it will make you a better man for it. now with all the bad stuff aside, the good things. you will become a part of a world wide brother hood, volunteer or career, we all respect each other, and we all will do anything for the other, even burn. you will become a hero, you will be looked up to, and when you make a difference to some one, you will feel it.

all in all, its what you want, and what you can handle, the pay isnt worth what you have to put in, but its not about the money.

[firefighterjosh]

I am only volunteer, and right now its enough for me. I have made it more of a hobby then a career for the moment.

I still have to take all the "full time" trainings. This is how you get in.

Fill out a application
Go to 3 interviews
Go to tons of physical trainings.....example carrying a hose up 50 flights of stairs within a amount of time. And this is no garden hose.
Take a written test (it really really sucks)

After you get in you go to the fireman training. This is a do or die thing. Lots of time go into it. Lots of training and so on.

If you are a lucky, out of the 500 people that put in for the job you are one of the 20 they selected.

A typical day at the firehouse.

Get to work at 7am
Wash the trucks
Train...firecall....train some more
Wash truck again
Train
Firecall
Eat lunch
Firecall
Train
firecall
eat supper
firecall
firecall
firecall
Take a shower
firecall
firecall
Get no sleep go home at 7am again.

I good day you may only get 3 calls and they might only take 30 mins a piece.

A bad day you may be working a fire for 30 hours strait.


Its fun, its a great workout....but I suggest begina volunteer first and making sure its something you would want to do full-time

[initall]

definitley try it out as a volenteer, alot of people find out it is not for them and leave. I have just over 5 years on as a volenteer. At this point in my life i would not go full time - but i won't stp being a volenteer. You do see alot of bad things, but there are great things that come out of it as well.

Good Luck

[troyleepred719]

Originally posted by initall
definitley try it out as a volenteer, alot of people find out it is not for them and leave. I have just over 5 years on as a volenteer. At this point in my life i would not go full time - but i won't stp being a volenteer. You do see alot of bad things, but there are great things that come out of it as well.

Good Luck


very well said

i spent quite a few years as a volunteer and only got out because i moved into a different township. i loved being a volunteer, but don't think i would want to do it for a living. i miss it and am contemplating becoming a volunteer again.

like troyleepred719 said, it take a lot of personal commitment with missing family events and some of the things that i saw in those 7 years will haunt me for the rest of my life. this is just not something you wake up to one day and say..."i am going to be a firefighter" because it sounds good or you think you cold make a lot of money at it. it is dangerous and hard on your immediate family. a lot of firehouses will have you stay at the station on your work days with little contact with your wife and kids. you being away and them wondering if daddy is going to come home is hard on the family.

[bcg717]

Dont forget about falling asleep and about 2 in the morning waking up and going on a BS call. Example, Lady doesnt "feel" so good.

Also the nightmare call of going on scene and seeing someone you know hurt or worse.
Its great but nothing you just jump into b/c it looks like a fun job.

[firefighterjosh]

http://www.thepostandmail.com/content/view/61366/27/

^^^ Our latest nasty accident

http://www.thepostandmail.com/content/view/34091/27/

^^^ Wasnt too good ether

http://www.thepostandmail.com/content/view/41871/

^^^ No one hurt but you expect the worse when you see this much damage

[dopeyferree]

I started volunteering at age 14, then at 18 I joined the Marines and got to go to fire school. I am now a civilian firefighter on a military base and it is a great job. Being a firefighter is very rewarding and can be alot of fun, but it is alot of training and you see some stuff most people never see. I still volunteer to this day on my days off. I would definitely volunteer because no matter how much you want it, alot of people can do all the training but its that first bad call and after that they are done.

I think you should start volunteering and see where it goes from there.

[xtremedad]

Wow, It's a small world.

I was a Firefighter for eleven years (A Truckee). Unfortunately the word was is in that last sentence. I absolutly loved being a volunteer. When I became a career FF it just wasn't the same to me. Don't ask me why, cause I really don't know. Could be some of what has already been posted. Could be the BS politics that goes on at firehouses. Could be just the fact that I wanted more time with my family. I respect the field without a doubt, but it is something that I can only say is a job you live 100%.

Ponderosa VFD Tower 61 :macho
Spring, TX

Hey Josh, y'all are busy with that many calls a shift :eek:

[firefighterjosh]

Originally posted by xtremedad
Wow, It's a small world.

I was a Firefighter for eleven years (A Truckee). Unfortunately the word was is in that last sentence. I absolutly loved being a volunteer. When I became a career FF it just wasn't the same to me. Don't ask me why, cause I really don't know. Could be some of what has already been posted. Could be the BS politics that goes on at firehouses. Could be just the fact that I wanted more time with my family. I respect the field without a doubt, but it is something that I can only say is a job you live 100%.

Ponderosa VFD Tower 61 :macho
Spring, TX

Hey Josh, y'all are busy with that many calls a shift :eek:

no i was just giving a example of what its like to be at a full time department. we are lucky to have 4 calls in one day.:ermm:

[Scott-300ex]

Ok, well I've wanted to be a fireman for as long as I can remember.

I turned 18 and went to go sign up but insurance in this town makes you have to be 21. So that sux.

6 months 30 days till the day comes I started a countdown a long time ago. On my 21'st birthday I am not going drinking, not really into drinking anyway, I am going to sign up for the Fire Department finally.

Around here fill out an application, after you have someone thats on the FD sponsor you. Then they take you in and you all go to school at a college a few towns away 1 night a week. Learn to run the fire trucks with the water and hydrants and then take a fire class. You do this for as long as you are on FD. Then every Monday you meet at the firehouse and its your meeting.

Now of course there will be bad stuff most likely body burns you will see, cut off limbs, blood, some nasty stuff, but then you could also save lives and thats real cool and you could go out on calls a lot.

Around here you might have 2 calls a day to 1 call a week.

A lot are bs calls, just cuz you hear the siren alarm don't expect to be running into a building thats in a blaze.

Oh and around here you will go threw practice buildings that they set on fire and you have to go in and do something as a mission and then put out the fire and for me I can't wait to do that. If you are serious then you should not be afraid of that and really want to do it.

When I follow Fire trucks to calls theres usally no fire just someone inside hurt or something, so don't get excited to run in a building when there might just be an old person who fell down and is hurt.

I can't wait till I'm 21 I'm stoked for training and calls and everything, I talk to the fire chief all the time cuz he lives right by me and he's told me a lot.

So good luck but be serious.

Its cool if you like it.

I can't wait.

Have fun and enjoy it.