Firefighter

Firefighting is the act of extinguishing destructive fires. A firefighter fights these fires to prevent destruction of life, property and the environment. Firefighting is a highly technical skill that requires that professionals have years of training and education to become proficient.

Firefighters' duties
Firefighters' goals are to save life, property and the environment. A fire can rapidly spread and endanger many lives; however, with modern firefighting techniques, catastrophe is usually, but not always, avoided. To prevent fires from starting, a firefighter's duties include public education and conducting fire inspections.
Because firefighters are often the first responders to people in critical conditions, firefighters provide many other valuable services to the community they serve, such as:

• Emergency medical services, as technicians or as licensed paramedics, staffing ambulances;
• Hazardous materials mitigation (HAZMAT);
• Heavy rescue;
• Search and rescue;
• Community disaster support.

In addition, firefighters also service in specialized fields, such as:

• Aircraft/airport rescue;
• Wildland fire suppression;
• Shipboard and military fire and rescue;
• Tactical paramedic support ("SWAT medics");
• Tool hoisting.

In the US, firefighters also serve the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as urban search and rescue (USAR) team members.
The "tender and receive method" is a safe and effective method for hoisting equipment on the fireground. The "tender and receive method" is used to deploy tools between divisions of a structure where the distance between floors is 10 feet or less. It can only be used with hand tools (pike pole, trash hook, axe, halligan, etc) and the firefighter should hold the working end of the tool in his left hand and tender the handle end to the firefighter on the other division, confirming he has safely received the tool before letting go. When used correctly, this method is safer and faster than the use of utility rope or webbing.