Informative Essay On Firefighters

In 2014, there were 1,298,000 fires reported in the United States killing 3,275 civilians in the process. It is scary to think, without firefighters, what would happen to those numbers. The casualties would have easily been doubled, possibly tripled then what it already was. Firefighters are courageous men and women who risk their safety and lives everyday to prevent fires from getting out of control and taking the lives of citizens. Firefighters do not get paid enough for the physical needs demanded on them, the risks that they face every day, and generally what they go through day in and day out. Firefighters need to be in great shape. Between putting out fires, running inside burning buildings to save lives, from climbing a ladder to
That is the estimated weight for a firefighter’s equipment that they have to haul around with them. A firefighter’s uniform is known as Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). The total weight of a firefighter’s PPE is depended on the types of tools that are needed for the job, but the basic PPE, which is composed of the helmet, hood, pants, coat, gloves, boots, and air pack weighs around 45 pounds. Adding a thermal imaging camera, box light, a radio, and an axe would bring you up to 75 pounds (“What’s it Weigh? Firefighter gear piece by piece). It doesn’t sound like a lot of weight, but when they are constantly carrying around all of their equipment with them, the weight gets to them wearing them down and making them exhausted . Especially if they need to pull a victim out of a burning building, then they are adding an extra 150 pounds on themselves. Continuing with the equipment, a fireman’s coat is composed of three layers. First off is the outer layer, it is a fire-retardant material like kevlar and can withstand the wear and tear that it will take. The second layer is a water-repellent material. It is designed to keep water off of the skin so that in case of a fire exceeding 212 degrees fahrenheit, they don’t want the fire heating up the water and making it steam, burning the firefighter. Lastly, the innermost layer is a thermal protective suit that insulates the wearer from intense heats (“what’s
A study by Samantha Ley stated that “between 2006 and 2008, there were an estimated 81,071 firefighter injuries reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, or NFIRS. The NFIRS had estimated that 82 percent of the injuries were due to the result of building fires.” Even with the possibility of burns, smoke inhalation, and other fire-specific injuries the leading cause of all the injuries was strain (Ley). If there were no firefighters to stop the fires, then all of those fires could have spiraled out and cause more destruction than it already did. The firefighters have tough working conditions. As a firefighter, you’re required of all sorts of stamina including physical strength and the ability to be alert and be able to respond to emergencies quickly. It is a must that firefighters stay in shape for many reasons, for example: they could be dragging around a victim and with all of their equipment, it sure packs a punch on the physical toll that is placed on their bodies (Ley). Although firefighters face many physical demands that put them in risk, there is also the emotional factor that plays a big part with the firefighters. They need to be able to handle seeing all of the destruction and disaster that fires can and will cause. Cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol, and also drug abuse are not uncommon for firefighters to deal with.