Ask a Firefighter anything

486 Questions

Last Answer on June 29, 2022

In movies and TV, firefighters run directly through flames, like when they're running in or out of a burning house. Is that realistic? Does your gear allow you to do that?

Asked by slowburn over 11 years ago

No it isnt realistic. Imagine in the summertime during the middle of the day you throwing on a parka put a blindfold on and put a helmet on and go into a perfect stranger house and find the remote control in the living room. Not going to able see much. gonna be hot and stumbling over stuff. Any firefighter that says he doesnt get nervous going in is not a smart firefighter and will get him or others hurt.

1261 Votes

When the alarm goes off, how many seconds between when you get the initial call and when you're on the truck pulling out of the station?

Asked by AffAct over 11 years ago

Approx 60 sec. day or night. There is always circumstances where your in a building and it takes time to get back to the rig. But if we are in quarters its target of 60 sec on the road.

1241 Votes

So you wanna be a Firefighter?

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Can women be firefighters? I've never seen any. And if so, are the physical fitness requirements for them lower and if so...um, is that safe, given the physical demands of the job?

Asked by jamo54679879 over 11 years ago

Yes, they can and do. As far as I know there is not a lowering of the physical requirements for women applicants, they go through what all men go through.

1225 Votes

How does the "for firefighters only" button in elevators work? Do you have a skeleton key that operates all elevators in the city or something?

Asked by Borophil over 11 years ago

Takes having a key and allowis to bypass all other request for service. We dont have a large amount of elevators and prefer to use the stairs believe it or not.

1207 Votes

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Do firefighters still slide down poles, or is that antiquated?

Asked by JSB over 11 years ago

The trend has been to go to stairs and some depts use slides. There have been unknown amount of ankle and back injuries and even neck injuries. So from a risk analysis it is to dangerous but depts do continue to have them.

1200 Votes

What triggers indoor sprinklers in office buildings? If there's smoke, I assume the alarm would sound, but at what point do the sprinklers get activated, because I assume they would cause millions of dollars in damage?

Asked by smithy over 11 years ago

When a glass bulb or fusible metal link that you see in the sprinkler gets to a certain temperature it will breakaway and allow the water to come out the head. It will not open all sprinklers unless they individually detect high heat temperature.

1181 Votes

Were you on duty in South Carolina on 9/11, and was there any consideration of going up to New York to help?

Asked by DasRach over 11 years ago

I was in Gatlinburg TN testing for the fire dept. We didn't have the staffing to send and to be honest to much people can be a hinderance. The life saving issues of that day technically were over in 48 hs.

1174 Votes

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Firefighter

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

In movies and TV, firefighters run directly through flames, like when they're running in or out of a burning house. Is that realistic? Does your gear allow you to do that?

When the alarm goes off, how many seconds between when you get the initial call and when you're on the truck pulling out of the station?

So you wanna be a Firefighter?

Can women be firefighters? I've never seen any. And if so, are the physical fitness requirements for them lower and if so...um, is that safe, given the physical demands of the job?

How does the "for firefighters only" button in elevators work? Do you have a skeleton key that operates all elevators in the city or something?

Also on Jobstr...

Do firefighters still slide down poles, or is that antiquated?

What triggers indoor sprinklers in office buildings? If there's smoke, I assume the alarm would sound, but at what point do the sprinklers get activated, because I assume they would cause millions of dollars in damage?

Were you on duty in South Carolina on 9/11, and was there any consideration of going up to New York to help?

Firefighter

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

In movies and TV, firefighters run directly through flames, like when they're running in or out of a burning house. Is that realistic? Does your gear allow you to do that?

When the alarm goes off, how many seconds between when you get the initial call and when you're on the truck pulling out of the station?

So you wanna be a Firefighter?

Can women be firefighters? I've never seen any. And if so, are the physical fitness requirements for them lower and if so...um, is that safe, given the physical demands of the job?

How does the "for firefighters only" button in elevators work? Do you have a skeleton key that operates all elevators in the city or something?

Also on Jobstr...

Do firefighters still slide down poles, or is that antiquated?

What triggers indoor sprinklers in office buildings? If there's smoke, I assume the alarm would sound, but at what point do the sprinklers get activated, because I assume they would cause millions of dollars in damage?

Were you on duty in South Carolina on 9/11, and was there any consideration of going up to New York to help?

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