People often believe that a fire is an accident from which no one is immune, but this is not so. In most cases, fire results from people’s careless attitude to compliance with fire safety rules. The leading causes of fires in everyday life are careless handling of fire, malfunction of electrical equipment, violation of fire safety rules when operating stoves and household electric heaters. Fire safety describes the state of an object in which the possibility of a fire with a regulated probability is wholly excluded. It also prevents people from being exposed to possible fire hazards and provides reliable protection of material values. Ensuring complete fire safety is one of the most important and main functions of each state. My experience is in ensuring fire safety, protecting the population from fires and explosions. This work is quite complex because it is necessary to fight for every person’s life, ensure fire safety, and work with responsible persons of higher positions.
Description
I first thought about working as a firefighter when I was a child and saw a large apartment building burning. Firefighters very quickly extinguished the fire, pulled people out of the burning house, and looked very fearless. I was impressed by their work and how selflessly they fight for people’s lives. Naturally, thanks to their well-coordinated work, quick actions, they were able to save the residents and most of the building itself. As a result, I firmly decided that I would work as a firefighter and help people in extreme situations.
My duties include saving people’s lives, their property, conducting priority emergency rescue operations related to extinguishing fires, as well as providing first aid to victims. The specifics and complexity of the work of a firefighter are not only in extinguishing fires. Firefighters are engaged in regular inspection and prevention of the serviceability of special fire equipment, fire extinguishing equipment, and various types of rescue equipment. Firefighters constantly train and compete to consolidate and improve their professional skills and learn how to work accurately in different emergencies. This profession requires certain physical and personal qualities. This is, first of all, excellent physical health, great physical shape, and endurance. All these qualities are essential and necessary for a professional firefighter.
Each person has their own understanding of the main thing, but in my opinion, a firefighter should have a sense of responsibility for completing the task, performing discipline, professionalism, and mutual assistance. Doing my job, I need to climb a retractable ladder, use a gas mask, move in thick smoke. The most challenging thing in my profession is to be ready at every moment to risk a life for the sake of saving the life of a person injured in a fire. In my opinion, being a firefighter is not just a profession, it is the ability to come to the rescue, to have compassion, to feel pain, and to empathize with people who are in a fire.
Feelings
Firefighters experience a wide range of emotions when they do their job. During each call, I worry about people who may be inside the room where the fire occurred. The danger, in this case, is that the building may collapse, or people may get injuries that will significantly worsen their lives or be incompatible with it at all. This profession is one of the most risky, as it can lead to not only physical injuries, but also psychological ones. Makara-Studzinska, Golonka and Izydorczyk (2019, p. 1) state that firefighters can often have post-traumatic shock, burnout, depression and suicidal thoughts. In addition, people can lose dear family members, and their emotions from losing loved ones are transmitted, including to firefighters. I understand my responsibility for saving lives, but there are times when even firefighters are unable to change anything.
Fire can severely injure a person mentally and physically, but in addition, in case of a fire, there may be explosive substances and objects in the building. These substances are instantly activated from a fire, and the probability of rescue is very low. Moreover, it is terrifying to work in an extreme situation with transport. A large amount of an explosive substance that flows out of the gas tank of a car or an airplane will lead to an explosion, and the number of victims will increase significantly. There are cases when the people themselves and their clothes are engulfed in flames. It is incredibly frightening since it is impossible to imagine what torments a person is experiencing and how difficult their future life will be.
In addition to the emotions that the affected people convey, I also feel concerned for my colleagues. These are people with whom we work constantly and who become very important and close. The loss or injury of each of them can damage our psychological state and bring us out of balance because the grief that happens to colleagues can also befall any of us. This work is undoubtedly complicated, responsible, dangerous, but the understanding that we save lives, help people in the most challenging life situations gives us the strength to cope with our moral state.
Naturally, there is a fear for our own lives because we take many risks while working. Often firefighters are injured from falling from a height and get significant cuts and scratches from hitting the ground, glass, sharp objects. Furthermore, injuries can be received from the collapse of buildings or explosions, as a result of which various metal objects can fly off. Lack of oxygen, overheated surfaces, inhalation of chemicals, and psychological stress can significantly affect a firefighter’s health. Additionally, wearing heavy uniforms and equipment leads to muscle strain and various injuries. Wearing such clothes is necessary, as it is aimed at protecting the firefighter from the effects of dangerous external factors (Song, Mandal and Rossi, 2017). Thus, the wearing of these clothes is mandatory but still has its negative consequences.
Evaluation
This experience is helpful for life in general. Since the situations are extreme, firefighters get a substantial psychological hardening, and the ability to act actively in case of a dangerous situation is acquired, and not to lose control and do nothing. Often, timely actions taken in any condition can save a life and will also positively impact the elimination of the existing circumstances.
In order to be physically prepared to save people, for example, by pulling them out of a fire, we need to maintain the physical condition of our bodies. That is, cardio and strength training is valuable for work and strengthens the health and general condition of the body. We regularly work on maintaining muscle tone and undergo medical examinations, which help to identify some diseases in the early stages. This makes it possible to start working on recovery and makes life better.
In addition to the positive aspects, this profession has a large number of negative ones. For example, many of us have our own families and people to whom we are dear. This work constantly puts our lives in danger, and our loved ones experience great fear and stress because we can get severely injured or die. Naturally, they understand how important the work we are doing is, but still, the fear of losing a loved one prevails.
The negative side is also the risk of the injury itself. In some cases, firefighters may get a disability or other serious injuries that will complicate the life of ourselves and our loved ones. It is comforting that we save people’s lives, but there is still a fear of losing your own life or making it difficult and unbearable. Some situations have such a strong psychological impact on firefighters that thoughts of suicide may arise. In this case, it is necessary to carry out psychological work and recovery. Hom et al. (2016) conducted a study that showed that 77% of firefighters in the United States turned to a psychologist for help. In addition, there must be people nearby who will provide solid psychological support and save a person from such thoughts.
Analysis
Whether the situation is going well or bad depends on many factors. The human factor plays one of the most critical roles since fatigue, stress, and fear can completely take over a person and make it impossible even to move. This happens periodically among novice firefighters, and for this, it is necessary first to take part in small-scale firefighting of the lowest complexity and gradually get used to terrible situations. There are simple cases in which a priori there can be no bad outcome, for example, when clear instructions are given to the place of fire, and there is a convenient entrance to this place for a fire truck. Thus, another factor is the specific indication of the location of the fire and the availability of territory for the firefighters’ cars.
Analyzing the accumulated experience, I realize that senior mentors should actively help young firefighters. My more experienced colleagues once provided this support, and their help was very significant for me. There is no necessary list of literature or courses in this profession that will help you become better. The main thing is the ability to be brave, not to be afraid of difficulties, and good physical shape. In addition, the team must have good positive relationships and periodic meetings to relieve the emotional background.
With each new call to the place of fire, I try to become better. I do everything that depends on me and helps my colleagues if they need my help, even if it is life-threatening. In addition, every time, I try to be faster, stronger, and fearless in order to save more people and help them protect their property as much as possible. Naturally, there are no guarantees that another time I will be able to overcome myself and my fears, but I try not to give up because many people who are in trouble depending on my moral strength.
Conclusions and Action Plan
As a person working under challenging conditions and someone on whom lives depend, I have learned a lot for myself. This new knowledge and awareness helped me decide on the future idea for my company. For example, how ignorant society is about fire safety technology. Unfortunately, people often ignore the rules hoping that a fire or explosion will not happen to them. Training and periodic repetition of the laws of rescue, first aid, and protection of yourself and your loved ones from the fire will be essential for children and adults. Adults are responsible for their actions and the actions of children in the event of a fire. People need to know how to behave in the event of a fire because very often, many people get lost, and panic grips them, which shackles deprive movement and the ability to think logically and quickly because many do not even possess a basic knowledge about how to save their own lives. There are cases when people start saving valuable things, forgetting that their entire future existence is under threat.
In addition to the population’s lack of awareness about fire safety techniques, I realized that it is necessary to create a private fire service that will include various departments that provide services to people. This venture will be private; a certain fee will be charged for the services offered. For example, many enterprises need to install fire alarm warning systems in the office or at work. Thus, my company will be engaged in installing fire alarm systems and a method for notifying employees about a fire. This service is necessary in order to increase the safety of employees, and in case of danger, the fire brigade will be ready to take measures to eliminate the fire.
Besides, my company will provide services for conducting lectures on fire safety techniques at other working enterprises, educational institutions, hospitals, and other state institutions. The course of lessons will help people gain knowledge about evacuation in case of fire, how to provide first aid to victims and how to cope with panic if a person is exposed to a similar condition in case of danger. These lectures will be regular and include training on artificial models of people, visual materials such as video instructions, and handouts for self-study in free time. Firefighters are trained to deal with stressors and risks that may arise in this work (Horn et al., 2019, p. 1). In addition, my venture will hold an open day for people who want to join the ranks of firefighters and save other people’s lives. In the future, people will study at my company and get a diploma and work permit.
The most crucial goal of the enterprise will be to go to emergencies, that is, to extinguish fires. The staff will have many professional employees, the latest equipment and a large fleet of vehicles. My company will work with enterprises on a contractual basis, and exercises for co-workers on safety and evacuation will be held periodically. In addition, the company will cooperate with the state fire services. This is necessary if the state firefighters will not cope with many emergency calls, for example, during a fire-dangerous period, when old dry grass falls. Thus, in order to ensure the constant availability of a free fire brigade, as well as to help the state, a large staff of employees is necessary. In addition, it is vital to have a large number of equipment and cars available so that firefighters always have enough opportunities to go to the scene and provide assistance.
My future action plan will be to open a company that will save people’s lives, engages in public awareness about fire safety techniques, and train people who want to become part of a team of firefighters. This profession is undoubtedly tricky and dangerous, and in this regard, it is necessary to draw up a clear work plan, search for personnel, train them and hire the rest of the team members. In addition to firefighters, it is necessary to involve dispatchers who will respond to a call, competently direct fire groups quickly, and be able to adequately respond to the current circumstances, whatever they may be. It is also necessary to have several full-time psychologists who will be able to work with firefighters who find themselves in a stressful state and with dispatchers.
Next, it is necessary to equip several fire stations throughout the city to respond to a call quickly. The fire station should have a recreation room for employees, a garage for equipment and cars, a control room, a dining area, and an office for psychologists and doctors. It is also necessary to equip a gym with exercise equipment at each station so that employees can maintain their physical condition in good shape. In addition, it is essential to conclude a contract with companies that sew uniforms for fire service employees. Modern protective equipment not only protects the firefighter from the external effects of fire, but also is a preventive measure against cancer (Casjens, BrĂŒning and Taeger, 2020, p. 850). It is crucial to find a company that has the knowledge and high-tech materials in order to protect employees from injuries in the workplace.
In conclusion, the profession of a firefighter is necessary for the population. Undoubtedly, not everyone can cope with this challenging work, and if a person has decided that he is ready to risk his life for the sake of other people’s lives, he needs to be trained in the profession of a firefighter. There are cases when people are firmly convinced that they will be able to cope, but the sight of a burning living person or the grief that fire brings to people can break them down. In this case, it is imperative to take a course of conversations with a psychologist to get rid of the stress received and make a decision about whether to leave the workplace or stay.
If a person still decides to stay in the ranks of firefighters, they need to be ready for the new emotions that their group’s call will bring. Saving people also carries an extensive range of thoughts and feelings, pleases, and gives an understanding that everything was done correctly. Working as a firefighter is very time-consuming, as it requires constant concentration, concentration, and maintaining good physical shape. For firefighters to have an excellent place to rest to study and develop, I plan to open my own company that provides services to the population and for their safety. The opening of this kind of business is significant for me, as I will help save people’s lives.
Reference List
Casjens, S., BrĂŒning, T. and Taeger, D. (2020). âCancer risks of firefighters: a systematic review and metaâanalysis of secular trends and regionâspecific differencesâ, International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 93(1), pp. 839-852.
Hom, M. et al. (2016) âMental health service use among firefighters with suicidal thoughts and behaviorsâ, Psychiatric Services, 67(6), pp. 688-691.
Horn, G. et al. (2019). âFirefighter and fire instructorâs physiological responses and safety in various training fire environmentsâ, Safety Science, 116(1), pp. 287-294.
Makara-Studzinska, M., Golonka, K. and Izydorczyk, B. (2019). âSelf-efficacy as a moderator between stress and professional burnout in firefightersâ, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(183), pp. 1-16.
Song, G., Mandal, S. and Rossi, R. (2017). Thermal protective clothing for firefighters. United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing.