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What are the skills needed to become a firefighter?
I really don't know what I want to do in life but being a firefighter always seemed interesting to me.
#firefighter
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Ryan’s Answer
Hello Elio. I'm glad to hear you're interested in firefighting. It's okay to not be sure what you want to do with your life. I've heard many similar stories from firefighters, who were just interested in firefighting and then tried it out and fell in love with it!
To answer your question, I need to divide skills into "hard skills" and "soft skills". Hard skills are physical tasks, that you perform with your hands, like riding a bike or making a sandwich. Soft skills are non-physical tasks, like having a positive attitude and having pride.
The good news is that firefighting training will teach you all of the hard-skills you need to know to be successful. As fire academy instructors, we don't expect you to know any hard skills before you arrive. We will literally teach you how to crawl, talk, and get dressed!
By the end of your fire academy training, you will be required to perform the following hard-skills (which we will teach you): 1) Put-on your protective equipment in under a minute, 2) tie a number of knots and use them to lift tools off the ground to a roof, 3) receive a telephone call properly, 4) talk on the radio properly, 5) make an emergency "mayday" call, 6) troubleshoot your breathing apparatus if having problems, 7) respond on a fire engine, 8) secure a safe working space, 9) break through a locked door, 10) exit a burning building in an emergency, 11) set-up a ladder, 12) extinguish a car fire, 13) extinguish a pile of burning material, 14) search for, and rescue a victim, from a burning building, 15) ventilate heat & smoke out of a building through a window, 16) ventilate heat & smoke out of a building by cutting a hole in the roof, 17) search for fire hidden in walls, 18) protect people's property from smoke and water damage, 19) use a fire hydrant, 20) use fire extinguishers, 21) use generators and portable lights for nighttime operations, 22) shut-off the electric, gas, and water service to a building, 23) extinguish a vegetation fire, 24) extinguish a 2nd story, 1st story, and basement fire, 25) clean and inspect tools, 26) clean and inspect hose.
I know that seems like a lot, but like I said, we will teach you all of that!
What we need you to bring with you on day one are soft-skills like Jasmen mentioned. 1) You must be courageous. No firefighter is fearless. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is being afraid doing it anyway! 2) You must be physically fit. Imagine putting on all your winter clothes and working out as hard as can for 45 minutes...inside an oven! 3) You must be a team player. Have you ever seen a fire engine roll-up, one person get out, do everything that has to be done, clean everything up, and leave? Not likely! A typical structure fire response in a suburban area will have 10-20 firefighters on scene within about 20 minutes! 4) You must be clean. If our equipment is dirty and not maintained, it might not work when we need it to. If your engine, or ladder, or lights, or hose doesn't work at a fire, there is no 911 for 911 - nobody else is coming. It's up to us! 5) You must be honest. People will trust you with their lives. They'll invite you into their homes. They'll tell you their private medical information. They'll hand you their children during an emergency. You have to earn that respect, and if you violate their trust it reflects poorly on every single firefighter in the world.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.
To answer your question, I need to divide skills into "hard skills" and "soft skills". Hard skills are physical tasks, that you perform with your hands, like riding a bike or making a sandwich. Soft skills are non-physical tasks, like having a positive attitude and having pride.
The good news is that firefighting training will teach you all of the hard-skills you need to know to be successful. As fire academy instructors, we don't expect you to know any hard skills before you arrive. We will literally teach you how to crawl, talk, and get dressed!
By the end of your fire academy training, you will be required to perform the following hard-skills (which we will teach you): 1) Put-on your protective equipment in under a minute, 2) tie a number of knots and use them to lift tools off the ground to a roof, 3) receive a telephone call properly, 4) talk on the radio properly, 5) make an emergency "mayday" call, 6) troubleshoot your breathing apparatus if having problems, 7) respond on a fire engine, 8) secure a safe working space, 9) break through a locked door, 10) exit a burning building in an emergency, 11) set-up a ladder, 12) extinguish a car fire, 13) extinguish a pile of burning material, 14) search for, and rescue a victim, from a burning building, 15) ventilate heat & smoke out of a building through a window, 16) ventilate heat & smoke out of a building by cutting a hole in the roof, 17) search for fire hidden in walls, 18) protect people's property from smoke and water damage, 19) use a fire hydrant, 20) use fire extinguishers, 21) use generators and portable lights for nighttime operations, 22) shut-off the electric, gas, and water service to a building, 23) extinguish a vegetation fire, 24) extinguish a 2nd story, 1st story, and basement fire, 25) clean and inspect tools, 26) clean and inspect hose.
I know that seems like a lot, but like I said, we will teach you all of that!
What we need you to bring with you on day one are soft-skills like Jasmen mentioned. 1) You must be courageous. No firefighter is fearless. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is being afraid doing it anyway! 2) You must be physically fit. Imagine putting on all your winter clothes and working out as hard as can for 45 minutes...inside an oven! 3) You must be a team player. Have you ever seen a fire engine roll-up, one person get out, do everything that has to be done, clean everything up, and leave? Not likely! A typical structure fire response in a suburban area will have 10-20 firefighters on scene within about 20 minutes! 4) You must be clean. If our equipment is dirty and not maintained, it might not work when we need it to. If your engine, or ladder, or lights, or hose doesn't work at a fire, there is no 911 for 911 - nobody else is coming. It's up to us! 5) You must be honest. People will trust you with their lives. They'll invite you into their homes. They'll tell you their private medical information. They'll hand you their children during an emergency. You have to earn that respect, and if you violate their trust it reflects poorly on every single firefighter in the world.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.
Updated
JASMEN’s Answer
Hey Elio, here are some skills needed to become a firefighter. Hope you find this to be helpful.
INTEGRITY - Trust is of the utmost importance in public safety. The public needs to trust us in order for us to do our job. They need to trust us with their personal property, their safety, their privacy, their loved ones' care and even their lives.
PHYSICAL FITNESS - Many of the most crucial aspects of the job require firefighters to have above-average strength and agility. Many job functions simply cannot be performed without maintaining a high fitness level. Health and fitness is an essential part of our job and it must become an essential part of your lifestyle if you are to become a firefighter.
COMMUNICATION - Clear, intelligent, courteous and open communication is essential within the firehouse, on the fire ground and when interacting with the public. You will need to know how to be an active listener, just like they teach in couple's therapy and live with, work with and get along with a multitude of personality types.
DEDICATION - Firefighters should never settle for mediocrity within themselves. They must strive for excellence at all times no matter how menial the task may be. They must be dedicated to the job and all that it entails, the glamorous and not so glamorous, the fun and exciting and the boring and monotonous.
TEAM PLAYER - Firefighters are a part of team. Being a team player and understanding the team concept is of utmost importance. This means that others are always relying on you to do your job and do it efficiently. When one person does not, the whole team suffers and the team's safety can become jeopardized. The goal will also not be accomplished in the most effective way unless the entire team is working together. Just like on a sports team, when one person fails to perform their job the whole team begins to break down. You may not always like the task you are given, but it is always essential to accomplishing the goal at hand. Your firefighting teammates are relying on you at all times.
INTEGRITY - Trust is of the utmost importance in public safety. The public needs to trust us in order for us to do our job. They need to trust us with their personal property, their safety, their privacy, their loved ones' care and even their lives.
PHYSICAL FITNESS - Many of the most crucial aspects of the job require firefighters to have above-average strength and agility. Many job functions simply cannot be performed without maintaining a high fitness level. Health and fitness is an essential part of our job and it must become an essential part of your lifestyle if you are to become a firefighter.
COMMUNICATION - Clear, intelligent, courteous and open communication is essential within the firehouse, on the fire ground and when interacting with the public. You will need to know how to be an active listener, just like they teach in couple's therapy and live with, work with and get along with a multitude of personality types.
DEDICATION - Firefighters should never settle for mediocrity within themselves. They must strive for excellence at all times no matter how menial the task may be. They must be dedicated to the job and all that it entails, the glamorous and not so glamorous, the fun and exciting and the boring and monotonous.
TEAM PLAYER - Firefighters are a part of team. Being a team player and understanding the team concept is of utmost importance. This means that others are always relying on you to do your job and do it efficiently. When one person does not, the whole team suffers and the team's safety can become jeopardized. The goal will also not be accomplished in the most effective way unless the entire team is working together. Just like on a sports team, when one person fails to perform their job the whole team begins to break down. You may not always like the task you are given, but it is always essential to accomplishing the goal at hand. Your firefighting teammates are relying on you at all times.