By: Jennye Cooper

 Firefighters have been around for many years, dating back to ancient times (Freitag, 2012).  Firefighting has been going on long before they were established in the United States (Freitag, 2012).  London was a big area in Europe that developed departments(Carlson, pg.1). It was a large service area, where this type of service was needed.  Fire Departments were first formed as private entities, but are now turning to municipality status (Freitag, 2012).  In London, departments were formed as private entities.

 In 1678, the first paid fire department was organized in the United States in Boston, MA (Freitag, 2012).  The department started with one fire engine, but then grew to six fire engines by  The oldest fire department in the United States resides in Boston and was organized in 1837

 EMS services have started to become incorporated within fire departments across the United States.  It’s hard to trace back the start of EMS. People have been aiding others for many years.  The first ambulance was incorporated in 1865 (West Virginia Department of Edu).  EMS was not always the same service as we know today. It was “five different types of businesses: towing operators, medical equipment companies, funeral homes, hospitals, police, and fire departments” (“West Virginia Department of Edu”).  To be able to work in the EMS field, one has to obtain their Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)certification (“West Virginia Department of Edu.

 The fire and EMS industry both have adopted the principle to serve and protect people in the community.  It is known by communities around the country that firefighters are here to help fight fires, and that EMTs are here to help when people feel ill or are injured.  Both industries will continue to grow and function well, because there will always be fires and accidents where citizens need firefighter/EMT attention.

 Fire departments started out by helping to protect against fires. However, fire departments have evolved to the needs of the community over time. EMS services are now included in most departments at least in Snohomish County (Flynn, p.3).  Additional services include (Flynn, p.8):  Haz-Mat calls, which are calls that deal with hazardous materials. Hazaradous materials are materials that are highly flammable, explosive, poisonous, or radioactive (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary,2012).  Service Calls, which are calls that can range from checking smoke alarms and their batteries, or residential home inspections to look for fire dangers.  Business Inspections, which deal with the inspection of businesses to look for violations in fire codes.

 Dedication is a very strong strength within the fire industry.  It’s very difficult to walk into a full time career position as a firefighter (Freitag, 2012).  Most firefighters start out as a volunteer or part-time and work their way up to full time career position.  This means that it can take a long time to move up as full-time. It takes a lot of dedication and patience for this process.  Team Work is a big part of being a firefighter. They work together to fight fires and attend to sick or injured patients.

 Firefighters are able to gain the community trust easily.  Most people know that firefighters and EMTs are in their jobs to service others.  Most people trust their doctors, and firefighters and EMTs are the same way.  Firefighters and EMTs are taught to not discriminate against any individual—they are essentially health care professionals.  Firefighters and EMTs put their own lives on the line everyday, and the community recognizes this.

 Unpredictability  This is a huge limitation of the industry. Firefighters and EMTs never know what kinds of cases they are going to be dealing with at work.  There is no way to pinpoint when a fire or injury will occur.  However, Firefighters and EMTs can always learn from their cases and work on future prevention.  Fires are studied closely, and if there are certain factors that caused a fire that can be used in the future to prevent another fire from occurring then “fire codes” may be revised or created.  It is stated that the National Fire Protection Association, “develops, publishes, and disseminates more than 300 consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks” (NFPA, 2011)  Prevention: In relation to unpredictability, there is a huge importance of prevention. According to Ray (1998), “The United States suffers a higher fire rate, as well as higher fire death rates, than most European and Asian countries”. There are a significant amount of precautions that people can take to prevent fires and injuries. However, even when we take safety measures, we never know when an injury or fire could occur.

 One fire case that could have been prevented is the 2003 Station Night Club Fire. This was a devastating event where many people died because certain fire codes were ignored or not established yet. This fire took 100 lives and injured many more (Bauer, pg.1).  This fire was studied closely and fire codes were created after the study to prevent future devastation.  Fire and injury causes:  Pyrotechnics caused the fire  Building had installation for soundproofing that was highly flammable  No Fire Sprinklers  Club was over occupancy  Not enough exits  Fire Codes Administered after this event (NFPA, 2012):  fire sprinklers in new nightclubs and similar assembly occupancies and in existing facilities that accommodate more than 100  building owners to inspect exits to ensure they're free of obstructions  The presence of at least one trained crowd manager for all gatherings, except religious services. For larger gatherings, additional crowd managers are required at a ratio of 1:250  Prohibit festival seating for crowds of more than 250 unless a life-safety evaluation approved by the authority having jurisdiction has been performed.

 I suggest that you Google “Station Club Fire”. It’s very fascinating, but devastating. There is actual video from this fire, and it’s very disturbing.

 Bauer, W. (2005). Public Management. West Warwick Copes with the Aftermath of a Nightclub Fire., 86 (5), pp  Freitag, S. (2012, 5 18). The history of firefighting. Retrieved from  Flynn, J. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) (2009). Fire Service Performance Measures. Retrieved from:  Lepore, P. (2006). Aspiring firefighters. Retrieved from  Merriam-Webster (2012). Hazmat definition. Retrieved from:  National Fire Protection Association (2012). NFPA::Codes & Standards. Retrieved from: & Standards  Nightclubs/assembly occupancies. (2012). NFPA. Retrieved from s/Occupancies/Nightclubs/assembly%20occupancies/Summary%20of%20code%20changes&cookie_test=1  Patrascu, D. (2009). Fire truck history. DOI:  Ray, J. National Fire Academy (2012). Fire Prevention Effectiveness: Can we measure what did not happen?. Retrieved from:  West Virginia Department of Education (n.d.). History of EMS. Retrieved from: Service Personnel/HistoryofEMS.html