Ask a Firefighter anything

490 Questions

Last Answer on June 29, 2022

Besides fighting fires, what other jobs do firefighters carry out?

Asked by Ryan almost 10 years ago

Public education. Emergency Medical Services. fire prevention to name a few. We do not fight as many fires that we use to.

948 Votes

how many calls does the average small town volunteer fire dept. go on a year based on your knowledge and experience ?

Asked by joe over 10 years ago

Depends on what is in their jurisdiction. But you should be able to google the answer.

947 Votes

So you wanna be a Firefighter?

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Do you have to be a volunteer firefighter or can you be a firefighter full time?

Asked by Michael over 10 years ago

No you can be both. There are approx 1.5 million career firefighters with the remainder being volunteer. Jobs in the south tend to be easier to obtain for some reason , of course you need to make yourself marketable by obtaining a degree, get certified as an EMT.

945 Votes

Followup: No, I do not plan to be working while in PM school. I would like to reserve 1 shift/month which is normal in SoCal. But after PM school, what else should I be doing? Any other certs I should get?

Asked by SoCal over 9 years ago

Not that I can think off, just keep nationwide potential in mind.

943 Votes

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when you join a vol. fire department do they give you a pager or do you have to buy one

Asked by ... almost 10 years ago

Kevlar will breakdown, also it is probably not OSHA compliant in that the uniform is 26 yrs old.

942 Votes

In your opinion do think vol. firefighters who are still in school should be allowed to respond to a call during school hours ? or at least carry pagers on them in school?

Asked by alias about 10 years ago

generally no since most departments require 18 yrs of age to enter a structure.

941 Votes

As a FF who operates on a quint, do you see drawbacks to quints versus separate ladders and engines? Does your department use engines and ladders two, or just quints? Thanks.

Asked by 1738 almost 10 years ago

We use a quint 75' American LaFrance. I personally prefer Quints in that you have all the tools of the trade in one, but there are ramifications with that. 1. Decreased maneuverability based on the size of the rig. 2. decreased amount of water tank. 3. Limits on height of ladder. But overall I personally like having Quints. We do have 3 pumpers and 2 quints.

940 Votes

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Firefighter

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Besides fighting fires, what other jobs do firefighters carry out?

how many calls does the average small town volunteer fire dept. go on a year based on your knowledge and experience ?

So you wanna be a Firefighter?

Do you have to be a volunteer firefighter or can you be a firefighter full time?

Followup: No, I do not plan to be working while in PM school. I would like to reserve 1 shift/month which is normal in SoCal. But after PM school, what else should I be doing? Any other certs I should get?

Also on Jobstr...

when you join a vol. fire department do they give you a pager or do you have to buy one

In your opinion do think vol. firefighters who are still in school should be allowed to respond to a call during school hours ? or at least carry pagers on them in school?

As a FF who operates on a quint, do you see drawbacks to quints versus separate ladders and engines? Does your department use engines and ladders two, or just quints? Thanks.

Firefighter

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Besides fighting fires, what other jobs do firefighters carry out?

how many calls does the average small town volunteer fire dept. go on a year based on your knowledge and experience ?

So you wanna be a Firefighter?

Do you have to be a volunteer firefighter or can you be a firefighter full time?

Followup: No, I do not plan to be working while in PM school. I would like to reserve 1 shift/month which is normal in SoCal. But after PM school, what else should I be doing? Any other certs I should get?

Also on Jobstr...

when you join a vol. fire department do they give you a pager or do you have to buy one

In your opinion do think vol. firefighters who are still in school should be allowed to respond to a call during school hours ? or at least carry pagers on them in school?

As a FF who operates on a quint, do you see drawbacks to quints versus separate ladders and engines? Does your department use engines and ladders two, or just quints? Thanks.

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