Essay On Firefighting

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Firefighting is a very dangerous career. The risk of injury or death is always there. On scene there are very dangerous chemicals being produced in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, hydrochloride, and phosgene. One of the biggest risks of no-scene death or injury is due to improper use of personal protective equipment (P.P.E.).
Safety is anything in the fire service. “Disaster can occur anywhere, and they often occur when we least expect them” (“Codes and Standards”). There are ten pieces of (P.P.E.) that are life saving devices. These ten pieces are a helmet, gloves, protective hood, protective coat, bunker pants, safety shoes, hearing protective, eye protective, SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus), and PASS (Personal alert safety system) device. “Most fire department do not realize that OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) has quite a few requirements for (P.P.E.), for example, CFR 1910.132” (“Failure to meet OSHA and NFPA”). Each one of these pieces is critical for the safety of firefighters. When firefighters are not wearing all of their (P.P.E.) they are putting their lives and the lives of others in danger.
In the fire service personal safety comes first, but some firefighters still do not wear the equipment that are design to save their lives so that they can save others lives. “North Carolina has one of the highest fatality rates in the United State” (“CDC- Directory of NIOSH”). Death rate have gone up in the pass decades. “In 2010 the number of deaths in the U.S. was 87” (“U.S. Fire Administration”). Now most firefighter fatality is heart attacks are due to stress, but still that’s a lot of death due to improper use of (P.P.E.). Safety is everything to a firefighters, it is their number one job.
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...supply can be the different between life and death. “Physical condition of user, and emotional stability of user” (“Essentials of Fire Fighting”188). The cylinder pressure before use is a limitation of the air supply. Training and experience of the user can make a very big different. This personal protective equipment is life saving.
Without this equipment a fire fighter could not done he/her job. Personal protective equipment saves lives, without dough. If a fire fighter is careless enough to forget to wear something design to save their life, then that fire fighter does not need to be a part of a service like that. When a fire fighter does not put their (P.P.E.), not only are they putting their own live on the line they are also putting the lives of their crew on the line. This equipment is design for the safety of a fire fighter there is no excuses not to wear it.

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