Frederika Amutse Shigwedha
In many instances, when we hear of firefighters, what comes to our minds is a scene of firefighters jumping onto their fire engines and fighting fires. There is nothing wrong with such kinds of imagination; however, the role of a firefighter is much wider than what society thinks. This is because the duties of firefighters have drastically changed to reflect new demands depending on the evolving emergencies and disasters.
It is significant to note that firefighters play major roles and that they have important duties of saving lives, property and the environment. Some of the firefighters’ daily activities include fire prevention, fire fighting, public awareness on education, and activities related to safety and prevention, the recovery and management of hazardous materials, recovery after a storm and or floods, road collision and vehicle extrication, and search and rescuer services. Also, firefighters provide basic first aid and ambulance services as well as the maintenance of their skills and knowledge through regular training, amongst others.
It is therefore the duty of firefighters to protect society against all of these dangers; yet, the field requires a forward-looking approach and new kind of skills and knowledge.
Although misunderstood, firefighting is not an ordinary role. The field is challenging as it requires fully competent firefighters who are skilled and capable of using the most modern firefighting equipment, methods and techniques to undertake the full range of emergencies for them to provide excellent rescuer services. Just like soldiers, firefighters must be prepared to deploy every skill when they are called to the scene of an emergency at any given time. Remember that their most significant duties are to use the golden hours to save lives and property.
One should know that firefighting is a physically and psychologically demanding role, especially during major emergencies. Imagine a vehicle crash with more than 20 victims who are trapped inside the vehicle yet all you see is a big scary fire approaching from both sides of the road and hearing screams of the young and elderly seeking help from the rescuers. Such incidents necessitate quick thinking, teamwork, endurance and confident firefighters to perform their job at a high level in order to save lives.
For sure, firefighting roles demand extensive training that allows continuous growth to prepare them to assume more responsibilities while grooming them to deal with the unpredictable. In addition, firefighters’ work-life and training also have to be geared towards responding at top speed to emergency calls, regardless of the type of incident, conditions or the time of day. Therefore, capacity development for firefighters should remain a key priority in any governance system to ensure that the right skills and knowledge of these noble men and women are maintained. Remember, firefighters’ roles are almost comparable to the duties of Jesus Christ, the “Saviour of all”, the only difference is the lives saved on earth versus the lives saved in heaven.
Just like any other field, firefighting requires individuals who can swiftly absorb a great deal of information and apply the learnt skills with enthusiasm as they operate in conditions that are often extremely dangerous and confusing. In many instances, and despite all training undergone, firefighters are faced with new and critical situations where individual firefighters are required to provide answers using previous experience and tactics. Therefore, this unique field requires experience, outstanding characteristics, physical strength, and the capacity for rapid intense and sustained effort as well as the capacity to use initiatives when alone. Firefighters further need a practical understanding of the basis of a wide range of subjects that are necessary to anticipate and overcome hazards, sympathy towards the victims of emergencies and the ability to carry on in what may occasionally be emotionally tormenting circumstances.
Next time you see a firefighter, appreciate and know that you have seen a “God on earth” who now or later may save your life and or property. For sure firefighters matter!