Firefighting
Firefighting is a fulfilling career because you get to protect your community. “I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a fireman. The position may, in the eyes of some, appear to be a lowly one; but we who know the work which the fireman has to do believe that his is a noble calling. Our proudest moment is to save lives” (http://en.thinkexist.com/quotation/i-have-no-ambition-in-this-world-but-one-and-that/821652.html).
I’m striving to become a successful firefighter. A firefighter is someone who is trained to extinguish hazardous fires and rescue people from dangerous situations Not only do firefighters contain blazes of all shapes and sizes but they also provide life-saving medical aid to citizens prior to hospital care. Without them the United States would have absolute chaos. If your house caught on fire and you didn’t have access to a fire department most likely all your belongings would be destroyed and you may even lose your life due to the toxic smoke from the fire. This country would be a hell hole without firefighters. I’m interested in being a fireman because when I was younger a firefighter lieutenant named Jeff Freeman would cut my hair every week. He showed me that money is good but it shouldn’t be the only reason why you want to do a specific job. He inspired me to become a fireman because I would spend a lot of time at the fire station and I loved the working environment because when the firefighters don’t have any calls they have a multitude of things they can do. Such as training, cooking, watching TV, playing games and washing the trucks. Mr. Freeman also inspired me by sharing his experiences with my brother and I. Some of them were brutal others were not, but all of them...
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... of the most populated and economically important American cities. The Chicago Fire Department had a crew of 185 firefighters with just 17 horse-drawn steam engines to protect the entire city. The initial response by the fire department was quick but a watchman named Matthias Schaffer made an error and sent the firefighters to the wrong location which allowed the fire to expand. The firefighters were tired from fighting numerous small fires and one large fire in the week before. These components combined to turn a small barn fire into a stupendous fire in hours. There were 100,000 people that were left homeless. There were 120 bodies that were recovered but the death toll may have been as high as 300. The county coroner speculated that an accurate count was impossible considering that some victims may have drowned or had been incinerated leaving no body remains.
Those interested in pursuing a career in firefighting are faced with many options when it comes to selecting a department to apply to. Attaining a career with Columbus Fire is often a goal of students in Central Ohio, and for good reason.
... middle of paper ... ... The author points out that there were so many reasons people died, the concessions made to the buildings architect that allowed for the fire escape to be unusable, the build up of fabric that was an unregulated fire hazard, the failure to notify people in time that there was a fire and the owners locking some of the exit doors in order to prevent stealing. There was outcry in the immigrant community that the owners of the factory be held to blame.
Mental health in the fire service is an upcoming problem, but has been occurring for years without firefighters even knowing it. Specifically post-traumatic stress disorder known as PTSD and firefighter suicides are the main issues that have a large impact in the fire service. This outline will lay out the main points that are a result, impact, or other subjects in relation to the two main issues above. Firefighter deaths are rising rapidly, members of the fire service need to be educated on PTSD and suicide to provide treatment before another devastating event occurs in result of the issues effects.
In the 19th century, the population in Chicago was quickly rising to great numbers. In 1850, population reached a great 30,000. Areas in all parts of Chicago started to become extremely over crowded especially downtown. At this point, all structures were built out of wood including buildings, streets, and even sidewalks (“Chicago Fire of 1871”). About one hundred days before the great fire occurred, not even an inch of rain had fallen throughout the city, and heavy, strong winds were blowing through Southwest. Fires were a very common obstacle at the time, but nothing was even close to the fire of 1871. On October 8th, firemen received a call from the neighbor of Catherine O’Leary. Neighbors reported seeing a number of flames appearing from the cow barn. Firemen instantly spotted the fire but miscalculated how big it really was. This event became historically known as the Chicago Fire of 1871 (“People 7 Events”). The three effects of the Chicago Fire of 1871 were the financial and political
...rting again. The fire itself was seen for miles and the heat was so intense that there was “hardly a building within a one block radius that was not scorched” (Reporter Front Page). Extinguished fire brands were found in all parts of the Eastern section of the city. Some brands were even found in Lakeside Park. The force of the gas explosions in the garage blew debris from E 2nd and Marr to half way down Ellis St. This shows just how large the fire actually was.
...benefits of the job. The hours of which a firefighter works varies on the event occurred or the position in this particular occupation. This job in general is a great chance for opportunity, due to ones expectations of this career this job may not suit every individual, but may bring a spark or compassion if one must say to an everyday life situation.
The City of Detroit, Michigan, seems to be a city on the decline in America. Job prospects some of the lowest in the country and one of the only cities to be shrinking, rather than growing. There are a lot of problems Detroit is facing, one of them is there incidence rate for fires. Detroit is the number one city in America for house fires, not to mention their high rate of fires in the many vacant buildings throughout the city. There are many socioeconomic factors with the city that make the incident rates rise, and response less effective.
To begin with, during the year of 1870 and 1871 Chicago was facing extreme drought. During that time period the city of Chicago was built mostly from wood, making everything extremely flammable. Richard Bales author of “The Great Chicago Fire” states in an online article, “October 8, 1871, just after nine o'clock, a fire broke out in the barn behind the home of Patrick and Catherine O'Leary at 13 DeKoven Street. How the fire started is still unknown today, but an O'Leary cow often gets the credit.” Although we are not certain what and how the fire started, we know that it quickly spread. Legends say that the O’Leary’s cow knocked over one of the fire lamps therefore starting this massive fire. You might be asking yourself, how is it possible for a small fire to spread so quickly? “Hot air rose from the flames and mixed with the cool air above it, creating convection whirls. Witnesses called them "fire devils." A fire devil could pick up a burning piece of wood and send it flying. New fires started where the flaming objects landed. (McHugh)” Firefighters were exhausted from fighting a large fire the night before; and were sent to the wrong neighborhood at first. After finally arrivin...
Dry weather combined with many wooden buildings, sidewalks and streets were open to catching fire and eventually led to it happening (Chicago Fire, 1). The fire spread uncontrollably to the northeast and central of the city. The downtown and north of Chicago was taken in flames but the stockyards on the south and west were not touched by the fire (Fire of 1871, 2). 17,500 buildings have been destroyed, a total of 78 miles of pavements were covered in flames (Murphy, 100). That night the wind was at 30 miles per hour, but there were many whirl flames that traveled to and across the city (Great Chicago Fire, 2). Amid the day and age of the fire the populace was assessed roughly around 324,000 individuals. Inside nine years after the decimation the populace was 500,000 (Chicago Fire, 2). Before the tragic event of the fire, the summer of 1871 was extremely hot, and Chicago went threw a horrific drought. From July to the day of the fire there was only three inches of rainfall in Chicago. In fact, one night before the great downfall a different fire began that was battled out by all fire companies to compose it. Many residents felt that Chicago was saved from disaster after putting the fire to rest (The Great Fire, 2). There was a myth that mention that the fire started by a cow tipping over a lantern
The Great Chicago Fire occurred during October 8th and 9th of 1871. The weeks leading up to this disaster were spent with an extremely watchful eye on the city due to the lack of rain. So, one spark or one small fire could start an extremely large fire because of how much wood had been used to build the city. There were even warnings given in form of a building inspection department idea that would inform the city that the buildings were “shoddily constructed firetraps”, according to the Tribune at the time. However, the city did nothing about the proposed problem of a dangerous fire breakout and paid the price.
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was one of the largest disasters in American history. Practically overnight the great city of Chicago was destroyed. Before the fire there was a large drought causing everything to be dry and flammable, then a fire broke out in the O’Leary’s barn and spread throughout the city. Many attempts were made to put out the fire but there were too many errors and problems in the beginning. After the fire many people were left homeless and had to help build their city again (Murphy, 39)
Throughout recorded history, fires have been known to cause great loss of life, property, and knowledge. The Great Fire of London was easily one of the worst fires mankind has ever seen causing large scale destruction and terror. Samuel Pepys described the fire as “A most malicious bloody flame, as one entire arch of fire of above a mile long… the churches, houses and all on fire and flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made.” (Britain Express 1).
After visiting some actual fire departments, I realized as a firefighter you certainly have a lot to be proud of. It’s not your average job and does require quite a bit of organization to stay on top of everything. Everyday you have to be ready and prepared for just about anything that can happen. You never know what kinds of jobs you are going to be set out to do in one day. This means your equipment should be in order, checked and ready to go.
This research topic is originated from my experience in working in the fire service since nineteen ninety seven. In the last sixteen years I have moved up the ranks from probationary fire fighter to fire lieutenant. I am currently hold the rank of fire lieutenant. This topic is very important to me because one day at work I can be the Incident Commander on a incident, to the o...
Since the beginning of the fire service hundreds of years ago, this profession is usually thought of being a male dominate. Since then there has been a large number of females who have been interested and wanting to become a part of this family, as a result of the male domination, a large group has failed due to discrimination from co-workers or management personnel. Furthermore, the laws that have been put into place have helped women become a part of the fire service profession.