Firefighters, or firemen as they are sometimes referred to, are rescue and safey workers whose most important duties involve putting out fires, and to rescue individuals in danger, who might be stuck in a burning environment. They go through extensive training and are carefully selected for their mental and physical vigor, so that there is never any doubt about their ability to carry out their duties. Since they courageously endanger themselves to keep the  community safe, they constitute a highly respected profession in most modernized countries.

The fire service is one of the most imperative public services we have, and firefighters work closely with other public safety services to to ensure the public's safety. Fire scenes are usually thought of as crime scenes until the cause of the fire has been discovered, meaning that police are also present and in communication with the firefighters. Additionally, firefighters are well-trained in basic emergency medical care, and regularly arrive at accident scenes to offer initial attention before the paramedics can to arrive.

There are a handful of very central aspects of firefighting that firefighters are trained to focus on and constantly improve. Namely, fire prevention, self preservation, rescue, and fire control. Fire prevention involves the improvement of regulations and guidelines that help prevent fires, and educating the public about these regulations and enforcing them. This might include inspecting buildings to check for properly running fire alarms, observing fire drills at schools, and so on. Self-preservation is the collection of procedures and equipment that help lessen the danger posed to firefighters in the line of duty. This includes policies about firefighters working in teams, and possessing equipment like axes and self rescue ropes that allow them to exit from windows when necessary. A crucial rule of self preservation is "two in, two out", which means that firefighters are not supposed to enter a burning structure without a backup team outside who can move in to rescue their colleagues in an emergency. Rescue involves the incredibly intricate procedures that govern the saving of endangered civilians and other firefighters who are in dangerare in a hazardous situation. Fire control involves extinguishing the fire by robbing the fire of those elements that fuel it. Specifically speaking, the firefighters need to deprive the fire of oxygen, of fuel, of heat, and of any chemical that might have combusted to cause the fire or fuel it further. Firefighters are equipped with many tools to conduct fire control, for example fire hoses, extinguishers, and substances that can neutralize different chemicals.

Firefighters, or firemen as they are familiarily known, undergo exhaustive training and ongoing evaluations and refreshers. They are the embodiment of professionalism and dedication to the public and are worthy of our appreciation and honor.

Honor firefighters with some free firefighter clipart, courtesy of The Clipart For Free Blog.