Firefighting

Firefighting is the act of extinguishing a fire.

Firefighters are those whose job it is to extinguish fires in a given area. Firefighters can either be paid (professional), or volunteer. In many rural areas and smaller communites, fire departments are volunteer, while in many large cities they are professional. In most places, firefighters also perform other emergency service work, including search and rescue, and emergency medical services. Many firefighters are also certified as EMTs or paramedics.

Types of firefighting

• Structural firefighting is fighting fires involving buildings and other structures. Most city firefighting is structural firefighting. Structural firefighting is what most people think of when they think of what their local "fire department" does.
• Wildland firefighting is fighting forest fires, brush fires, and fires in other undeveloped areas. The United States Forest Service and other government agencies which administer public lands hire a large number of wildland firefighters every summer, when fire conditions are at their peak.
• Proximity firefighting is fighting fires in situations where the fire produces a very high level of heat, such as aircraft and some chemical fires. Proximity firefighting is not the same thing as structural firefighting and in some (but not all) cases takes place outdoors.
• Entry firefighting is a highly specialized form of firefighting involving the actual direct entry of firefighters into a fire with a very high level of heat. It is not the same thing as proximity firefighting, although it is used in many of the same situations (such as flammable liquid fires).

Types of vehicles

The "fire truck" and "fire engine" are two different vehicles, and the terms should not be used interchangably. In general, fire engines are outfitted to pump water at a fire. Trucks do not pump water and are outfitted with ladders and other equipment for use in ventilation of the building, rescue, and related activity.

Gear

• Bunker gear - refers to the set of protective clothing worn by firefighters. This is made of a modern fire-resistant material such as Nomex, and has replaced the old rubber coat which was traditionally worn.
• SCBA, or self-contained breathing apparatus, is worn in any IDLH (immediately dangerous to life or health) situation, which includes entry into burning buildings (where hot air and smoke inhalation present a danger) or any situation involving hazardous materials exposure. It consists of a breathing mask and a tank of air worn on the back.
• Helmet, boots, gloves
• Tools: traditional hand tools such as the pike, halligan, pulaski, axe, hydrant wrench; power tools such as saws.
• Hoses and nozzles
• Other equipment

Physics of fire

The fire triangle is a term which refers to the three elements necessary for a fire to burn: oxygen, fuel, and a source of heat. Remove any one of the three and the fire can no longer burn. All firefighting tactics are based on removing one or more of the three elements in the fire triangle.

Safety

• Building standards, firefighting equipment standards, and other standards are set by the National Fire Protection Association, or NFPA.
• "Two in, two out" refers to the rule that firefighters never enter a building or other IDLH situation alone but go in as a pair. Two go in and two come out; also, the two in can refer to the two who enter the building while a backup team of two remains outside the building ready to enter if needed.