A Day in the Life of a FireFighter
A typical day on at station begins with the arrival to the station and attending role call, where each firefighter is given their orders for the day and what role they will perform if called to an emergency. This is known as your riding position. The positions are rotated so that all the crew gain experience of the different functions. The only exceptions are the officer in charge who with always lead that crew, and the driver who has to be EFAD trained. The ride positions and their roles are listed below:
Position 1 - Officer In Charge front Passenger Seat
Position 2 - Driver
Position 3 - Breathing Apparatus Team back seat near window
Position 4 - Breathing Apparatus Team back seat near window
Position 5 - Breathing Apparatus Controller, waterman & general helper
Next the firefighters perform Drill. Drill refers to wide range of exercises designed to practice different fire fighting techniques or become familiar with new technology, new procedures and new hazards.
A typical day could include exercises using breathing apparatus sets to rescue a trapped person and a lecture on hazardous substances. This is also the time when the firefighters learn about any new or special equipment that they may have to use at an emergency such as thermal imaging cameras or positive ventilation fans.
After Drill comes a great Fire Service tradition, Tea & Toast. Believe it or not this is a very important part of daily life because it provides the firefighters with the energy they will need if they were to be called to an emergency.
Following this are general duties that need to be performed around the fire station, such as checking all the emergency equipment on board the fire engines, checking the fire engines have oil, water, and fuel and general maintenance and cleaning of equipment.
Next is lunch, again important for providing energy to the firefighters.
After lunch the firefighters may engage in community fire safety programmes, such as home fire safety visits and school educational visits. This could involve fitting smoke alarms in people's houses or showing school children around the fire engine. The whole crew goes out together as a unit with the fire engine. While at a school, for example, the firefighters may split up and talk to different groups, they are never out of earshot of the fire engine. The driver stays with the appliance so that If there is a call out, the others can be summoned with the siren and the crew can respond immediately.
As you can see firefighters have a very full and busy day even before they have answered any calls. All the training, both practical and theoretical, makes sure that they are ready to tackle any situation with knowledge and confidence. While visiting homes and schools to inform the public about the dangers, helps to cut the number of incidents in the first place. No matter how busy they are, they are always ready to climb aboard the fire engine and be at the scene of an emergency within minutes.
What do we carry on a Fire Engine?
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