[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]lanchefan1 wrote:
I’ll PM it to you.[/quote]
I don’t believe PMs work on here anymore.
Do you compete in PLing? If so, we probably know each other.[/quote]
Nope, no competing for this guy.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Firefighters: the best-paid transient resuscitators/truck washers in the world.[/quote]
Seriously. Not sure how it is anywhere else but I live in NH…and it’s basically a corrupt union. If you don’t know anyone on a dept or are not a veteran you’re not getting hired unless you do (at minimum) 2 years of basically free service.
Thank you to everyone for the very informative replies, and for some laughs haha. I apologize for the late reply, I’ve had a recent family emergency and was away for a while. I am going to volunteer my time this coming fall at a local fire house in a town near my university. I am also going to look into getting my EMT cert, I feel that would be something beneficial in both FF and LE. I was wondering though, will I need to take courses in fire science etc. on top of my regular degree plan? I assume it will make me a better candidate for this career.
[quote]pushharder wrote:
I assume the OP is speaking of urban/structural and not wildland firefighting.
I used to own and run a Type 6 rig for fighting wildfires and could comment some on that.[/quote]
Was your rig for personal use or did you sub out jobs during emergency situations?
Fireman > cop IMO.
I can respect mother nature much more than some “scum of the Earth” criminal.
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
Fireman > cop IMO.
I can respect mother nature much more than some “scum of the Earth” criminal. [/quote]
What if the fire is an arson?
[quote]WN76 wrote:
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
Fireman > cop IMO.
I can respect mother nature much more than some “scum of the Earth” criminal. [/quote]
What if the fire is an arson?[/quote]
Police typically don’t do arson investigation to my knowledge.
[quote]Karado wrote:
Go with FF…Society looks opon LE as still being the bad guys, and FF’s being the good guys.
Sad but true.
Consider the ‘hours’ too, because with FF your body clock will fuck with you often because you will
be woken up suddenly and have to rush to a fire while still half awake as opposed the more stable
hours of LE by comparison…healthwise in the long run FF’s regularly interrupted sleep hours
in the long run simply cannot be good for you, then again we NEED firefighters and always will.
With LE, think if you want to really waste precious time busting people for small amounts of Marijuana
possibly setting up silly sting operations to bust ‘nickel baggers’…It’s almost comical watching LE
on TV putting a GREAT and serious importance on such a thing.
Weigh the pros and cons of both careers, and good luck.[/quote]
I think you have it backwards. Firefighters are day workers on call. They don’t stay up at night unless they have to. The guys here stay at the fire hall for 44 hours. During that time they watch TV, cook food paid for by the department, workout maybe, and sleep. If they get a call, they wake up and go. They also have 5 days off a week. A lot have second jobs.
Cops have fucked up hours. We have to be awake at all hours of the night. Sleeping? That will get you in some serious shit. I work 12 hour shifts with alternating days and nights. Usually 5 days on/off, with a day/night changeover halfway through the set. Morning court is always a treat after a night shift.
Those sting operations are made for TV, btw. No one wants to watch a cop do paperwork, and the job is a lot of paperwork.
OP, if you can land a job as a full time fire fighter, take it. It’s free money for hanging out with the boys.
Volunteer fire fighting is a whole different animal and I have a lot of respect for those who do it, but it’s not a career.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
[quote]WN76 wrote:
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
Fireman > cop IMO.
I can respect mother nature much more than some “scum of the Earth” criminal. [/quote]
What if the fire is an arson?[/quote]
Police typically don’t do arson investigation to my knowledge.[/quote]
I’m sure policies vary by area. Where I’m at, Police do investigate arson along with the Fire Department. There’s a lot more to an arson investigation than what caused the fire. That’s where police come in.
Oh, and I was just pointing out that if it was an arson, Mother Nature isn’t involved.
[quote]WN76 wrote:
[quote]Karado wrote:
Go with FF…Society looks opon LE as still being the bad guys, and FF’s being the good guys.
Sad but true.
Consider the ‘hours’ too, because with FF your body clock will fuck with you often because you will
be woken up suddenly and have to rush to a fire while still half awake as opposed the more stable
hours of LE by comparison…healthwise in the long run FF’s regularly interrupted sleep hours
in the long run simply cannot be good for you, then again we NEED firefighters and always will.
With LE, think if you want to really waste precious time busting people for small amounts of Marijuana
possibly setting up silly sting operations to bust ‘nickel baggers’…It’s almost comical watching LE
on TV putting a GREAT and serious importance on such a thing.
Weigh the pros and cons of both careers, and good luck.[/quote]
I think you have it backwards. Firefighters are day workers on call. They don’t stay up at night unless they have to. The guys here stay at the fire hall for 44 hours. During that time they watch TV, cook food paid for by the department, workout maybe, and sleep. If they get a call, they wake up and go. They also have 5 days off a week. A lot have second jobs.
Cops have fucked up hours. We have to be awake at all hours of the night. Sleeping? That will get you in some serious shit. I work 12 hour shifts with alternating days and nights. Usually 5 days on/off, with a day/night changeover halfway through the set. Morning court is always a treat after a night shift.
Those sting operations are made for TV, btw. No one wants to watch a cop do paperwork, and the job is a lot of paperwork.
OP, if you can land a job as a full time fire fighter, take it. It’s free money for hanging out with the boys.
Volunteer fire fighting is a whole different animal and I have a lot of respect for those who do it, but it’s not a career.
[/quote]
Interesting comments, mind if I ask what part of the country you are in?
[quote]lanchefan1 wrote:
[quote]WN76 wrote:
[quote]Karado wrote:
Go with FF…Society looks opon LE as still being the bad guys, and FF’s being the good guys.
Sad but true.
Consider the ‘hours’ too, because with FF your body clock will fuck with you often because you will
be woken up suddenly and have to rush to a fire while still half awake as opposed the more stable
hours of LE by comparison…healthwise in the long run FF’s regularly interrupted sleep hours
in the long run simply cannot be good for you, then again we NEED firefighters and always will.
With LE, think if you want to really waste precious time busting people for small amounts of Marijuana
possibly setting up silly sting operations to bust ‘nickel baggers’…It’s almost comical watching LE
on TV putting a GREAT and serious importance on such a thing.
Weigh the pros and cons of both careers, and good luck.[/quote]
I think you have it backwards. Firefighters are day workers on call. They don’t stay up at night unless they have to. The guys here stay at the fire hall for 44 hours. During that time they watch TV, cook food paid for by the department, workout maybe, and sleep. If they get a call, they wake up and go. They also have 5 days off a week. A lot have second jobs.
Cops have fucked up hours. We have to be awake at all hours of the night. Sleeping? That will get you in some serious shit. I work 12 hour shifts with alternating days and nights. Usually 5 days on/off, with a day/night changeover halfway through the set. Morning court is always a treat after a night shift.
Those sting operations are made for TV, btw. No one wants to watch a cop do paperwork, and the job is a lot of paperwork.
OP, if you can land a job as a full time fire fighter, take it. It’s free money for hanging out with the boys.
Volunteer fire fighting is a whole different animal and I have a lot of respect for those who do it, but it’s not a career.
[/quote]
Interesting comments, mind if I ask what part of the country you are in?[/quote]
What did you find interesting about my comments?
You know I’m ribbing you (firefighters) a bit here, right?
[quote]WN76 wrote:
[quote]lanchefan1 wrote:
[quote]WN76 wrote:
[quote]Karado wrote:
Go with FF…Society looks opon LE as still being the bad guys, and FF’s being the good guys.
Sad but true.
Consider the ‘hours’ too, because with FF your body clock will fuck with you often because you will
be woken up suddenly and have to rush to a fire while still half awake as opposed the more stable
hours of LE by comparison…healthwise in the long run FF’s regularly interrupted sleep hours
in the long run simply cannot be good for you, then again we NEED firefighters and always will.
With LE, think if you want to really waste precious time busting people for small amounts of Marijuana
possibly setting up silly sting operations to bust ‘nickel baggers’…It’s almost comical watching LE
on TV putting a GREAT and serious importance on such a thing.
Weigh the pros and cons of both careers, and good luck.[/quote]
I think you have it backwards. Firefighters are day workers on call. They don’t stay up at night unless they have to. The guys here stay at the fire hall for 44 hours. During that time they watch TV, cook food paid for by the department, workout maybe, and sleep. If they get a call, they wake up and go. They also have 5 days off a week. A lot have second jobs.
Cops have fucked up hours. We have to be awake at all hours of the night. Sleeping? That will get you in some serious shit. I work 12 hour shifts with alternating days and nights. Usually 5 days on/off, with a day/night changeover halfway through the set. Morning court is always a treat after a night shift.
Those sting operations are made for TV, btw. No one wants to watch a cop do paperwork, and the job is a lot of paperwork.
OP, if you can land a job as a full time fire fighter, take it. It’s free money for hanging out with the boys.
Volunteer fire fighting is a whole different animal and I have a lot of respect for those who do it, but it’s not a career.
[/quote]
Interesting comments, mind if I ask what part of the country you are in?[/quote]
What did you find interesting about my comments?
You know I’m ribbing you (firefighters) a bit here, right?
[/quote]
Just trying to make sure I know where the bitter LEO lives so I can avoid it! 
[quote]lanchefan1 wrote:
[quote]WN76 wrote:
[quote]lanchefan1 wrote:
[quote]WN76 wrote:
[quote]Karado wrote:
Go with FF…Society looks opon LE as still being the bad guys, and FF’s being the good guys.
Sad but true.
Consider the ‘hours’ too, because with FF your body clock will fuck with you often because you will
be woken up suddenly and have to rush to a fire while still half awake as opposed the more stable
hours of LE by comparison…healthwise in the long run FF’s regularly interrupted sleep hours
in the long run simply cannot be good for you, then again we NEED firefighters and always will.
With LE, think if you want to really waste precious time busting people for small amounts of Marijuana
possibly setting up silly sting operations to bust ‘nickel baggers’…It’s almost comical watching LE
on TV putting a GREAT and serious importance on such a thing.
Weigh the pros and cons of both careers, and good luck.[/quote]
I think you have it backwards. Firefighters are day workers on call. They don’t stay up at night unless they have to. The guys here stay at the fire hall for 44 hours. During that time they watch TV, cook food paid for by the department, workout maybe, and sleep. If they get a call, they wake up and go. They also have 5 days off a week. A lot have second jobs.
Cops have fucked up hours. We have to be awake at all hours of the night. Sleeping? That will get you in some serious shit. I work 12 hour shifts with alternating days and nights. Usually 5 days on/off, with a day/night changeover halfway through the set. Morning court is always a treat after a night shift.
Those sting operations are made for TV, btw. No one wants to watch a cop do paperwork, and the job is a lot of paperwork.
OP, if you can land a job as a full time fire fighter, take it. It’s free money for hanging out with the boys.
Volunteer fire fighting is a whole different animal and I have a lot of respect for those who do it, but it’s not a career.
[/quote]
Interesting comments, mind if I ask what part of the country you are in?[/quote]
What did you find interesting about my comments?
You know I’m ribbing you (firefighters) a bit here, right?
[/quote]
Just trying to make sure I know where the bitter LEO lives so I can avoid it! :)[/quote]
We live anywhere between the Pacific and Atlantic!
I know you guys have a lot of responsibility, and I’ve been geared up in a burn room before. Not a very fun environment. I’ve seen quite a few cops jump ship over to the fire hall, but never have I heard of a firefighter crossing over. You guys clearly have the better job! I’m not complaining, though. We all made our choices.
Stay safe.
OP,
This is a link to the thread I started when I decided to become a Firefighter.
http://tnation.T-Nation.com/hub/OldSchoolSwole#myForums/thread/3468321/0
It is a long, difficult, and extremely competitive hiring process, but the job is worth it.