What Does It Take To Become a Firefighter?

I have gone over the reasons why a firefighter does what he or she does, the history of the distinguished firefighter community, and what the firefighter is kept safe by during his or her walk into the flame; now I will go over what it takes to become a part of the elite few who risk their lives. It is not easy to become a fire fighter, nor is it easy to be one. The firefighter has to have sound judgment, academic capability, courage, and strength. All the characteristics I have provided come quickly to a firefighter because he or she was born to do it, but how do they get their foot in the door, so to say?

All firefighters have to be educated; they have to first take an entry level exam to participate in the Fire Academy. The exam consists of mathematical problems, English and reading skills, mechanical aptitude, perceptual ability, spatial relations, matching parts and figures and map reading(Lepore 331). The best way to ace the exam is to study, from what you might ask? There are so many books out there that help you get ready for the firefighter’s exam, and whoever is interested should look into purchasing one of these sources. After passing the exam in the top 10 percentile, you will now be ready to enter into the fire academy and EMT program (Lepore 25). If this route doesn’t sit well with you, just spend the money to get into the fire academy and take college courses like I am doing.

After the test is all out of the way, and you are now at the academy or training school, there is a lot of physical fitness requirements that you will have to meet. I wouldn’t worry about this too much because the instructors will be there to push you to the fitness standards required (Smeby 2-3). This rigorous fitness is all part of the training; there is also the fire training aspect. You will learn what causes a fire, how to extinguish it, and what agent to use. There are training simulators that test firefighter’s capabilities in a safe manner without exposing them to the real thing (Anonymous 1). This helps with the real life training soon to come. After all is done in the academy, it is time to graduate and submit your resume to all the fire stations you can.

This is the route in becoming a firefighter. I have shown the inner workings of the community and the history of the brotherhood. I personally give thanks to those who sacrifice their lives for someone they haven’t even met. It is an honor to say that I served as a firefighter for the military and soon will continue to do so as a civilian.

 

Works Cited

Anonymous. Fire Chief. Atlanta. 2007. Volume 9. Issue 3. Pg 10. Periodical. ProQuest ID: 1381846141. 17 Aug 2010.

Lepore, Paul S. Smoke Your Firefighter Written Exam. 2007. Pg 25, 331. 17 Aug 2010.

Smeby, Charles L Jr. Fire Training. Washington. 2005. Volume 87. Issue 10. Pg 34. Periodical. ProQuest ID: 924615331. 17 Aug 2010.