arringnl
32 Years Experience
Goose Creek, SC
Male, 54
Currently serving Jasper County Fire Rescue in south Carolina along with Charleston County EMS.
in your case being an EMT puts you ahead of many. I would advise you to joun a volunteer fire dept to determine if it is your ball of wax. As for fitness being in shape makes it easier and if you dont feel that you are than do something about it.
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Generally if a dept does not have an aerial they dont do that but you still need to climb extension ladders. So you have two options work on your fear since extension ladders come with the job or change choices, but you usually cant have it both ways. Sorry being honest.
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Depends on department requirements and state certification requirements. My dept does not do physical endurance tests prior and during employment. Is this a good thing, technically no. A firefighter has to be in shape for hard work and hot environment. Example are community did a Silent Walk on 9-11 in memory of the firefighters that were lost in the WTC collapses. The event had the firefighters wearing all of our gear including SCBA and walk 2,5 miles across our main bridge and the 2.5 miles back. Temperature was 85 deg plus significant humidity which is common here. Many of the firefighters such as myself prepared for the event for weeks exercising in full gear getting body accustomed to the long hours working in gear. The ones that didn't was shown to them yesterday morning by the effects of the walk. Being fit, not necessarily olympic level is required to perform your job just due to the working conditions that we operate in. There is the CPAT test that are conducted and by doing a google search it reveals what you need to do and you will be able to judge your current fitness as a starting point.
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Have they scheduled a fire academy class yet?
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Always protect your regulator. What type of scba do you use. We use Scott and I keep my regulator connected to my mask and have mask around neck with a holder when not being used but in the ready
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1. There was an instilled desire to help others which probably came from being active with Boy Scouts and a Explorer with our police dept. I obtained my EMT which led into firefighting.
2. Working a 3rd day can be taxing even if you don't run a calls it is the mental wear of the 24 hr shift that is the most tiring. Holidays, Birthdays, school activities with your kids sometimes have to be missed due to working which can be frustrating.
3. There are numerous hazards from fires, collapses and car accidents. We are in dangerous locations as you may have witnessed on the news of a firefighter fall into a roof while fighting a fire. We have been killed while working in the street at accidents. So it is difficult to point your finger at the most dangerous things that we come across.
4. We do not have Sgts we have Engineers. These positions are obtained by time on the job, testing both written and practical exams.
5. Become an EMT first and volunteer with a Fire dept or Rescue Squad in your area.
6. The satisfaction of helping others and knowing that they call you when they know that you will take care of their problems.
7. Probably saving a 2 yr. old that had fallen in a pool and we brought him back.
8. I do not have a particular specialty since we are all trained to do the same but I guess you could say that I enjoy EMS the most.
9. Changes in Construction- Things burn faster and hotter, Increased EMS responses with no increase in resources, and increased cost of equipment makes it hard to obtain.
10. Study. Workout, Sleep, Run Calls.
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Back in the day and even today volunteer fire departments were a social club environment, You would be respected in the community if you were a volunteer firefighter. Elections, weddings, marriages, community meeting and parties were held in the fire halls. With that said there were and still are the availability of alcohol in some of these organizations. My professional thinking is that alcohol has no place in a fire dept. We should be at the top of our game and not under the influence of alcohol.
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