Did You Know That Firefighters …

Firefighters control fires to keep them from spreading. We know to call the fire department if a fire starts in our kitchen when trying to cook dinner or someone’s grill fire gets out of control.

Firefighters will be called upon to fight wildfires and office building fires. They will also come for other emergencies where life, property, or environment has been endangered or at risk from a fire or other disaster.

Did you know …

• The job growth rate for firefighters is 5 percent. This is about as fast as the average for all occupations. As long as there are fires, there will be a need for firefighters.
• About 91 percent of firefighters work for local (municipal, community) governments. The other 9 percent work for federal or state governments or at airports, chemical plants, or other places of business with potential fire hazards.
• Volunteer firefighters make up twice the number of paid firefighters in most departments. So, for every paid firefighter, there are an estimated two volunteer firefighters in the department.
• The National Fire Protection Association states that 69 percent of fire departments in 2013 were staffed by volunteer firefighters in entirety.
• Firefighter shifts can range anywhere from 10 hours a day to 24-hour shifts with days off between them to catch up on sleep or do other things. Firefighters often work long hours and need to be alert for emergency calls.
• Two-thirds of the calls that firefighters receive are not even for fires; instead, they get more calls for medical emergencies than they receive for fires. Being trained as an EMT or Paramedic is very beneficial for firefighters.
• Firefighters must wear protective gear called Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and a face mask called Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) to protect them from the fire and smoke.
• Florida has the third highest employment level in firefighting in the entire United States. Firefighters in Florida would be called upon to control swamp fires and wildfires in addition to residential and business fires.
• Fire departments sometimes give demonstrations to local schools about what firefighters do and how they control fires.
• Firefighters can specialize in hazardous materials. These firefighters would be called upon to deal with oil spills and chemical accidents.
• After a disaster, firefighters might spend days on the scene to rescue trapped survivors and help the medical teams treat the injured.