Research Paper On Firefighting

To become an Eagle Scout I had to plan and build a community service project, I built a storage shed/shelter in my local dog park, this project, combined with all my previous years in Boy Scouts have taught me the importance of serving one’s community in any way possible. That is part of the reason that I decided to join the Shelburne Volunteer Fire Department and use it as my Graduation Challenge, I wanted to learn skills that would help my community and that would serve me later in life if I chose to pursue a career in the lifesaving field. Firefighting is one of the most dangerous jobs out there, it does, after all, involve running into a structurally unsound, burning building. As with any other dangerous job, firefighting requires quite a bit of training when it comes to equipment, procedures, and general knowledge about the situations one might find themselves in. Unfortunately, I haven’t simply haven’t had enough time to learn everything there is to know about firefighting in the relatively short time I’ve been on the department, but I have learn quite a bit. In this essay I will do my best to detail the equipment I used, the skills I have learned, and the certifications I have earned.

A firefighter’s bunker gear is his first line of defense against the dangers of a burning building; it consists of a helmet, hood, jacket, overalls, and boots. The helmets used by the SVFD are made for structural fires and are built with thermoplastic materials; they have face shields to protect the eyes (though the Shelburne Dept. tends to utilize safety glasses more often) and brims that are wider in the back …show more content…
Two sets of equipment that I have learned how to use are the Self Contained Breathing Apparatus or SCBA for short and the hydraulic rescue tools known as “the jaws of life” and the cutters. The SCBA used in firefighting is cousins to the Self Contained