College Essay About Firefighting

When people think of fire fighting they usually think of structural or urban firefighting, but that is only one of the many classifications of fire fighting. Structural firefighting is dangerous and complicated; there are many dangers, such as, buildings collapsing or smoke exposure, and it takes many tools, extinguishing agents and vehicles to do the job.
Modern day firefighting was founded in 1736 by Benjamin Franklin. Before Benjamin Franklin founded modern-day fire fighting, townspeople would line up and pass buckets from the water source down the line to get them to the fire. Structural firefighting is the type of firefighting you think of when you hear “fire fighting”. It involves fires in the suburbs to the fires in the city. Most of these fires start
First, there are many tools involved. They use axes to break into walls and make to create ventilation. They use the pikes pole to tear ceilings down. They also wear a uniform called turn out gear. A structure firefighters turnout gear is very heavy and insulated in order for them to get close to the fire. The turnout gear consists of a fire-proof coat, pants, gloves, a helmet with a neck guard, and a SCBA or self-contained breathing apparatus. The self-contained breathing apparatus is one of the most important parts of a firefighter’s uniform. The SCBA is the only way a firefighter is able to breathe during a fire. It protects the firefighter from inhaling dangerous chemicals during the fire and even after while cleaning the debris also known as overhaul. Although the uniform and SCBA are important, so is the helmet. “Helmets, made from carbon-based composite materials, are hard-wearing and shockproof. A special mixture of glass and plastic protects visors against high temperatures” (Chris Woodford). Also, structure firefighters fight class A fires. Water is the main extinguishing agent that firefighters use to take out class A