Wednesday, May 25, 2011

What Do You Want To Be? Part VI (Firefighter)

Dreamfedjob.com

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” How many times have you been asked this question? How many times has the answer changed? How do you find the one career that is right for you? Finding a career that appeals to you and builds on your strengths can be like going on a journey. This adventure may guide you to a future as a leader. Or it may guide you to exciting work in science or engineering. Whatever career path you choose, we hope this blog series will make the journey easier, exciting, and worthwhile.

This Dreamfedjob blog series focuses on the careers you can find with the U.S. Government. Most of us took a while to decide what we wanted to do because we weren’t sure which careers would use our strengths. Some of us spent years training for our career because halfway through studying for one career we found that it wasn’t something that we really liked. Sometimes we weren’t sure what we needed to do to prepare for the career we wanted. Here at Dreamfedjob.com We developed this blog series because we wish we had a road map back then to help us discover our future career.

So now the question becomes this: Which career will you choose?

What Do Firefighters Do?
Every year, fires and other emergencies take thousands of lives and destroy property worth billions of dollars. Fire fighters help protect the public against these dangers by responding to fires and a variety of other emergencies. Although they put out fires, fire fighters more frequently respond to other emergencies. They are often the first emergency personnel at the scene of a traffic accident or medical emergency and may be called upon to treat injuries or perform other vital functions.

During duty hours, fire fighters must be prepared to respond immediately to a fire or other emergency. Fighting fires is complex and dangerous and requires organization and teamwork. At every emergency scene, fire fighters perform specific duties assigned by a superior officer. At fires, they connect hose lines to hydrants and operate a pump to send water to high-pressure hoses. Some carry hoses, climb ladders, and enter burning buildings—using systematic and careful procedures—to put out fires. At times, they may need to use tools to make their way through doors, walls, and debris, sometimes with the aid of information about a building's floor plan. Some find and rescue occupants who are unable to leave the building safely without assistance. They also provide emergency medical attention, ventilate smoke-filled areas and attempt to salvage the contents of buildings. Fire fighters' duties may change several times while the company is in action. Sometimes they remain at the site of a disaster for days at a time, rescuing trapped survivors, and assisting with medical treatment.

Fire fighters work in a variety of settings, including metropolitan areas, rural areas, airports, chemical plants and other industrial sites. They also have assumed a range of responsibilities, including providing emergency medical services. In fact, most calls to which fire fighters respond involve medical emergencies. In addition, some fire fighters work in hazardous materials units that are specially trained for the control, prevention, and cleanup of hazardous materials, such as oil spills or accidents involving the transport of chemicals.

Workers specializing in forest fires utilize methods and equipment different from those of other fire fighters. When fires break out, crews of fire fighters are brought in to suppress the blaze with heavy equipment and water hoses. Fighting forest fires, like fighting urban fires, is rigorous work. One of the most effective means of fighting a forest fire is creating fire lines—cutting down trees and digging out grass and all other combustible vegetation in the path of the fire in order to deprive it of fuel. Elite fire fighters called smoke jumpers parachute from airplanes to reach otherwise inaccessible areas.  As you can imagine, this tactic can be extremely hazardous.

When they aren't responding to fires and other emergencies, fire fighters clean and maintain equipment, learn additional skills related to their jobs, conduct practice drills, and participate in physical fitness activities. They also prepare written reports on fire incidents and review fire science literature to stay informed about technological developments and changing administrative practices and policies.

For additional information on becoming a firefighter visit: http://dreamfedjob.com/careers/0081_Fire_Protection_and_Protection.html

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