ExecutiveChronicles.com | 5 Types of Firefighters and What They Do | Did you know that there are an estimated 1,115,000 firefighters?
Firefights are crucial in keeping the community safe. However, they are responsible for much more than just extinguishing fires. They also must respond to different medical emergencies, rescue citizens from various situations, assist in vehicle accidents, building collapses, and more.
To best serve the citizens, there are several types of firefighters. Each have slightly different training and education requirements.
Keep reading to learn more about 5 different types of firefighters and their responsibilities.
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Fire Inspector
A fire inspector is responsible for enforcing fire codes and making sure buildings are following fire codes. This ensures that the building and its occupants are safe in case of a fire and educating on proper fire safety.
A large part of a fire inspector’s job is to educate people on how to prevent fires from occurring.
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Fire Investigator
A fire investigator is responsible for determining the cause of a fire after it has been extinguished. Fire investigators must have fire science knowledge and sometimes police training.
Depending on the location, some fire investigators are part of the police force. But, others are a part of the fire department. Some fire investigators train as firefighters to help extinguish the fire before investigating the cause of the fire.
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Wildland Firefighter
As the name suggests, a Wildland Firefight is responsible for stopping wildfires. Typically they focus on containing the wildfire rather than extinguishing it. This allows for better plant regrowth.
Depending on the size of the wildfire, wildland firefighters may be spread out over a large area. Therefore, everyone must work together to contain the fire and prevent the fire from spreading. This makes communication during these fires even more critical.
In this blog, the importance of having the best portable radio when fighting wildfires is explained.
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Firefighter/EMT and Firefighter/Paramedic
Both firefighter/EMTs and firefighter/paramedics respond to both medical and fire emergencies. However, a firefighter/paramedic has more medical training and a higher certification than EMTs. Therefore, they can perform more advanced medical support.
Fire Safety 1 reported that firefighters responded to 23,551,500 medical emergencies making it the number one reason firefighters responded. As a result, more fire departments are requiring firefighters to become EMTs or Paramedics in addition to having firefighting training.
Firefighter/EMTs and firefighter/paramedics extinguish fires, operate fire equipment, drive, and provide medical care in an ambulance.
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Volunteer Firefighter
A volunteer firefighter provides fire and first responder coverage to local fire stations on a part-time or on-call basis. Volunteer firefighters work to put out fires, drive emergency vehicles, and administer aid.
They work primarily in areas where there are not enough paid firefighters. Volunteer firefighters provide additional manpower and equipment.
Know the Different Types of Firefighters?
Firefighters have an exciting but dangerous job. There are several types of firefighting jobs that you may choose from. All have a specific job to ensure our safety.
If you enjoyed this article about the types of firefighters, make sure you check more of our career articles to learn about even more career options.
