re: Any firemen/firewomen on here? Career questions

As a retired FF who served 25.5 years, I would say go for it. I got hired when I was 19 and retired when I was 44 and I'm getting paid for the rest of my life at 85% of my salary. If your son is not afraid to work, he can make as much money as he wants with side jobs, cutting grass, construction, painting or you can learn a trade. I know several FF who went to trade school while on the job and learned HVAC, plumbing electrician and such. There were also those who found a way to get their nursing degree and do that on the side. We worked 10 shifts a month and had plenty of time off for family, side job, and your hobbies.

There are drawbacks, the 24 hour shift work is the big one, you do miss some holidays, kids birthdays and other occasions because the FD does not close, always open. Me and my wife always found a way to make it work and yes, I've been married to the same woman for 28 years so we don't always end up divorced. LOL You do see a lot of bad stuff and see a lot more death than the average person will ever see. You will sometimes be up to you elbows in vomit, crap, pee, mud, water and a lot of other stuff but there is a lot of good you see too. I've helped deliver more than a dozen babies and that was very rewarding, to help bring a life into the world. I have a whole different perspective of childbirth being on that end of it that's for sure.

I would say that if he is going into the career thinking that he will be a superhero, I would tell him that he will be disappointed and to not go into it thinking that will happen. Most FF will never rescue a person from a burning building, raging river or a car hanging over a cliff. There are a lot of BS calls, especially in the middle of the night that can and will wear on you over the years. I can remember a call at 2am where an elderly couple thought their smoke detector was going off, it was their alarm clock. LOL
Hundreds of BS car wrecks where there was no damage but the people who were hit are flopping on the ground with severe neck and back pain, I hated those. The people who would be regular callers, at least 3 to 4 times a week for the same crap. Then you have to see parents who pull up to see that their teenage child has died in a car wreck. When I was a District/ Battalion Chief, I had to go tell the parents what was going on and sometimes tell them that there was nothing else we could do, those were the worst. You also have to see people watching their house and everything they own burn to the ground. You see poverty like most can't imagine, gunshot wounds, suicides and some things that I can't even say here.

Even though we see a lot of stuff and there is a chance that the call might come in where we have to put our life on the line to save someone we don't know, It's a great job and I would tell anyone who feels as though they are called, because it is a calling, not everyone can do this job, to go for it. I can definitely say that I enjoyed every day I was at work. I've been retired now for 7 years now and I will say that there are parts of the job that I miss. The comradery for sure, as I tell all those who ask, I miss the clowns not the circus. I miss hanging around the Fire Station, the fun times we had there, the story telling time around the Kitchen and dinner table were the best. I used to love hearing the stories from the old timers then actually to be there long enough to be one of the old timers telling stories, lol time flies by.

Sorry for the long thread, I got started going down memory lane and couldn't stop. Anyway, good luck to your son on his quest to find out what he wants to do whether it's the FD or Air Force, both are great!