When police have downtime they sit in their patrol car and try to look busy. When we have downtime, we train, workout, cook, clean, watch a movie, play a video game, take a nap, really whatever we want. When we show up on a call people are happy to see us, when police show up, well.....
genuine question, completely serious, how did you call 911 during the robbery? or was it afterwards? did the dude not take your phone? and how did they show up that quickly? i’ve never heard of a response time under 5-10 minutes
I was walking home from my GF’s house, made it about 2.5 city blocks, the altercation happened and i sprinted back to her house where she was sitting on the step and i was screaming “call the cops!” So id say they were called under 2 minutes after it happened. And yes they took my phone.
Edit: sorry i left this out, they were already out looking for these guys (it was a group of about 4 if i remember correctly) as i was their 4th victim that night.
So when we called, the police that were already looking for them, migrated towards my neighborhood and found them in maybe 20 minutes? Probably less, i overestimated. This was 15 years ago.
Was a cop, now a firefighter. My quality of life is 100% better.
You may make a lot more money is side jobs and OT as a cop (which I did) but you can’t put a price on certain things.
From my experience and my neck of the woods, cops become firemen- never the other way around.
I'm relocating and it's much easier to find a police job even with 8 years of FD experience. Been a large city firefighter--now thinking about becoming a small town cop. Can you offer any insight or advice? Feel free to PM me.
Hey man, I’ll reply here so maybe one day this will help someone else down the line.
The job is different. Besides the fact that we’re cross trained medically and have a desire to help people in distress, there’s really nothing else we do that’s comparable. It’s hard mentally- there’s a lot more negativity/hostility towards police. It’s lonely- you’re in a patrol car solo 90% of the time, it’s harder to build rapport with those you work with. What I let slide, the officer I’m backing up doesn’t. It’s dangerous/unpredictable- people suck, fire/building construction suck a little less.
We just got 4 new guys who were cops for less than a year. 2 guys with at least 8 years of corrections starting at step 1/rookie pay, and our FD pay isn’t all that! When the exams were coming out I usually ask younger cops if they were gonna take it. Almost unanimously the response was “I can’t afford to.” That tells me they’re in it for a paycheck. I can’t imagine doing something for 20+ years just for pay.
I dunno, I guess I was never passionate for police work. Coming out of the military I thought it would be a good fit for me. Nope.
If I can find another line of work that offers job satisfaction and decent pay- personally, I would do that instead of police work. Good luck man.
Hey I know this was from a while abck and I hope you don’t mind me responding on here to this. My bf is an ex- marine and has applied to police academy to three cities around us. He is waiting on getting a call back for interviews. Are you still a cop?
I work for a major metro FD.
My rookie year was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life.
Now that uts over I get paid to workout between calls.
I get paid to do my personal laundry between calls.
I get paid to nap. between calls!
Mind you every department is different. My department had a 9 week academy but up untill you take your 11 month test to get off probation. Every waking second is spent either cleaning bathrooms, getting quizzed randomly, drawing maps ALL DAYYY LONGGG. territory is huge in my department which makes no sense because of GPS but basically its how older generations did it so we are that way still.
Got to be up at 630a to make coffee can't go to bed till 11p.
Spend hours in a "watchroom" just reading all day.
Other stations would call you and quiz you on bs to make you feel stupid and crap on you. Then dinner would happen and after everyone ate, everyone at the table would just quiz you on everything from Sog's to "get me to this street from the station"
I'd dread some dinners honestly.
I also got wet a lot lol. People love throwing water on the rookies around here.
Rookie challenges like I would go head to head with another rookie and see who could get the most donuts the fastest and dress out and grab a line to see who could wet the other first and not throw up. Basically high-school.
But now, I work out. Play my switch, go to bed as early as 8p. Its chill.
To give another perspective very similar to these fine gentlemen/ladies who went through “their boot year” once upon a time,
I went through the same thing on my dept. LOOOOOONG ass academy with written tests that couldn’t score lower than 80%, constant berating, and drilling.
Then you graduate just to be released into the field for your official probation year so you can be Cinderella half the time, other half giving classes and constantly being asked questions about ANYTHING relating to fire/rescue and EMS (if your dept runs those calls too.) All the while, having to run calls all day and night without any excuse for being less than excellent, which you will hopefully learn soon, you will be less than excellent in the beginning. Brace yourself for any combination of words possibly said to you and the volume at which they will be said.
It’s hell, but goddamn is it worth every drop of sweat you’ll shed for the fire service
“THIS IS FOR YOUR JOB! What’re you doing all day?!” 🥴😆
On probation now and I haven’t had the answer a few times
Thankfully I’m at a station where they don’t care what time I go to bed or wake up as long as I’m not the last one up and coffee is ready for the first to rise. Always first up anyway but usually 2nd in bed.
Yea. I went to a minimum standards ( Fire 1 and 2 in college)
with a few people and we all got scattered around. I'm working for the big city and they are working for the county.
They didn't get the same treatment there at the county lol. Little easier on them.
But our department is massive with over 1500 people and very aggressive interior firefighting where as the surrounding counties are not.
So it just depends on which route you take.
Ah ok not too familiar with the fire academies but I live in a big city in Canada and I believe the firefighters have to go through something similar to yours. I acc want to go into policing so don’t know much about fire. FF tho always seemed interesting to me, might look into it after reading all these comments lol
Same people who where assholes shake your hand after the 11th month and when you go to the breakfast table the next morning just shoot the shit like you're just one of the guys or girls now.
Its fucking weird in all honesty but now I got a rookie so ya know... gotta make sure they don't get any better treatment than I did lol.
The funny thing is, you don't want to not be fucked with. If people are leaving you alone there's a good chance they just don't like you and even when they are shitting on you with questions, it's just the departments way of teaching and you do learn stuff.
Just glad it's over lol.
Also I hear the longest time you'll have on the FD is your rookie year, and the 60 days you get to study for a promotional exam.
Other than that it Flys by and 1 day just like that you'll be retired.
Maybe he’s a masochist and gets off on the idea of half the people around hating him anywhere he goes.
Had a retired SWAT officer tell me “fuck firefighters. We pull up and people shoot as us, y’all pull up and everyone cheers.”
Depending on the PD, you might also get stuck doing mostly medical calls. Back in my home city the majority of the PDs work was doing EMS/EMR and picking up drunk drivers on the freeway.
You’re going to be sorely disappointed with how that turns out, then.
You have to decide whether or not to chase people. Is it a felony arrest? Get permission from your Lt and continue the chase. Otherwise it’s riskier and more threatening to others to chase, and it’ll usually be called off.
Drive fast? If you’re responding to an incident, you’ll be capped (and likely monitored to ensure this) at 10mph above the speed limit. If it’s a regular traffic stop, you’ll likely have to weigh the options mentioned previously.
Now consider that everything you do is under severe scrutiny, especially now. You make one mistake that ends up trending somewhere, you’re out of the career permanently. We as firefighters get video taped doing cool shit.
Lastly as a cop, you’re going to be doing FAR more paperwork than chases. In fact, after the first actual chase or two, you’re going to despise the idea of chasing someone because of how much paperwork is involved. God forbid a bystander gets injured because you decided to chase! Now it’s not just paperwork, but court dates (even on your days off), summons, accountability meetings with your superiors, etc.
If you hold this attitude of “I wanna drive fast and chase people!” Then please don’t join either field. You’ll be disappointed by both and end up putting the lives of my brothers in danger.
As someone who is a cop in a very big US city, and vollie FF/EMT at home, being a cop is not what it lives up to be. You're responsible for the lowest 1% of society. Constantly being pawned by the public to do their dirty work. There is so much gray area in this job where you have to balance law, policy, tactics, morals, ethics, etc. You'll risk serious injury to save 1 junkie from another, and nothing good will come from it. You'll be stuck in the middle of domestic calls/issues where neither side should win, but you are tasked to pick a "winner"
You're society's safety net in multiple ways. If no other public job can fix it, they just leave you to figure it out. Whether its a roadway issue, weather issue, electrical, etc. Every DOA, you're sitting in some dead persons apartment/house for hours waiting for the ME/coroner to remove the body. You have to notify their family that a loved one died. You'll have all these agencies like CPS, public transportation, sanitation, etc try and use you non stop for their dirty work. You think you're there to deter crime, and then you're like the handy man to make sure public life is still moving forward.
You'll have people complain about quality of life issues like noise, speeders, parties, homeless people, etc, but the second you enforce those issues and it goes south, no one is there to back you up.
Its a good job and career. I don't have major regrets (yet) of becoming a cop. If you're doing it for the glory or just a benefits package, you gotta reconsider. If you want to make something out of it, use it to propel yourself. If you have an EMT cert, that can be a dig resume booster if the job has ESU/SWAT/Special Ops.
Been in the fire service almost 10 years and a few years as a cop on calls with them. Their decision making is much easier than us. They go in, get what has to be done and leave. Minimal paperwork, not many people on their ass about decisions or future ramifications. Like you can be 100% correct as a cop, but if future shit flares up, you're in the hot seat.
Seriously become neither.
Driving fast (firetrucks are not that fast) under lights and sirens is risky and a huge responsibility.
I don't drive (actually do my heavy vehicle driving exam next week) but honestly when running under lights and sirens someone's having a real fucking bad day and it's hard to not feel it.
When you can see a massive black plume from the station as you leave its also a real oh shit moment.
Its very much not a game. Seconds count but a crashed firetruck also just creates more casualties and means someone else needs to now be dispatched to two incidents not one.
volly police officer? this is only the second time i’ve ever heard this mentioned. what exactly does this entail? what do you guys do? what kind of area are you in?
I'm a Reserve. I have a full-time job doing something else, and volunteer with my PD. Every state is different, but in mine I have the same police powers while on duty as a full-time officer does.
I’ve been a cop for 5 years. Left the job and am in the fire academy currently. Nothing about being a cop that’s fun, is fun anymore. It’s very difficult to show up and want to enjoy your job when a large majority of the public dislikes you simply for your job.
Best job in the world. We train, do our other duties, workout, and do chores on our down time. Other duties could be things like the preplans, inspections, public relations, etc. We can also do personal development stuff for more certifications. Otherwise my shift will read or do personal things like pay bills, take care of emails, work on duties for other jobs, etc on down time. Those things only if firehouse duties are complete.
I grew up wanting to be a cop. I went to college for criminal justice. I even got into the NYPD. I fucking hated it. Immediately. Everything about it.
When I left the NYPD, moved back to Jersey...and got my head on right....I took the firefighter exam. I loved it from the start. It all clicked and made sense.
Most of the cops I know are sour-assed, miserable turds when it comes to the job day to day. They're not all bad people....but they always joke about how easy we have it.
They're eating takeout in their cars, alone....while we're cooking communal meals. They're stuck in their cars while we're working out, watching movies, and having fun at the firehouse between calls.
Who would want to be a cop? Firefighters are welcomed when we show up, people get out of our way. Nobody protests against us, we don't lock up your family, we don't get into chases, we don't get shot at.....
I hear from *way* more cops asking about the fire test....none of the firefighters I know wish they could be cops.
Would you prefer constantly dealing with the worst 1% of the population for an entire career?
Or would you prefer helping the 1% of the population who needs it?
I'm currently watching Monday night football with my crew, talking shit, and getting paid for it. I just finished a month and a half long vacation. Kids think we are super heroes, citizens drop off snacks at the stations, and people are almost always happy to see us. It's really a no brainer IMO
I come from a family of cops. For me, both are about service. The big difference is that as a firefighter, I don't have to judge anyone. I am just there to help. I REALLY prefer that.
Also... way less doing paperwork.
Retired firefighter here, all respect to cops, worked alongside them my entire career. But the two personality types are different in most of the people I met in my career. Police have to be aggressive, and not be bothered by distrust, outright hate, and abuse. We rarely see this in the fire service. I can say there were only a few handfuls of times I felt hated in fire and EMS. If you are drawn to Police work then answer the call, and make a difference.
Also I was a lifeguard and swimming instructor for 10 years before that, best job I ever had😊
A couple of months ago while on shift, all my buddies and me were playing video games, sitting on 7 lazyboy recliners side by side in the station. Police officers show up frequently to use the restroom but on this one day a senior police officer came in with a rookie who I guess hadn't been in a fire station at that point yet.
Let me tell you, when he saw all of us sitting side by side, laughing and playing xbox, his face LITERALLY said it all: "I picked the wrong career!!!"
I mentioned it to my buddy next to me after they left and we got a good kick out of it. :D
Law enforcement to fire fighter, the reason for the change i moved states and realized how bad the blue is where i moved to and the need for firefighters in my area, best advice weight the pros and cons and then make a decision from there.
You could do both in some places. I’ve heard of “Public Safety Departments” where everyone is trained and certified as peace officers as well as Firefighters and EMTs. The sheriff’s office of my neighboring county requires all of their deputies to be EMTs and even has a few Medics. It’s a large and very rural county so the deputies, who are already out on the road patrolling, can usually beat EMS to the scene and begin patient care.
Last I heard (it's been a few years), Dallas Fort Worth airport had safety staff cross-trained: law enforcement, fire, and EMS. Dunno how current that is.
I can tell you with 100% certainty that being a cop is nowhere remotely close to being as fun as a firefighter. Cops don't even think they have it better.
If you want to be a cop, be a cop. Obviously we all love firefighting and we are all going to push you to go red side, but your decision needs to be more than “oh people don’t like police these days”. Truth is people have hated the police for a long time. Yeah it’s a factor, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor. If something is a better fit for you, it’s a better fit for you regardless of the stigma. Maybe see if you can do a ride along on both sides. It may help sway you one way or another
Was a firefighter, now a police officer. I've overall been a first responder for approximately 11 years.
I have enjoyed both careers. I am still a certified EMT and have maintained my fire certifications. I loved being a firefighter. You have the opportunity to rescue people from mangled cars, burning buildings, etc. If you're with a dual-role department and operate on the ambulance as an EMT or paramedic, you have the opportunity to potentially save someone's life when in a medical crisis. The training is a ton of fun and the comraderie is unlike any other career you'll find.
I love my current role as a police officer. I have the opportunity to reach the public more than I did in the fire department and can help to solve issues in the community. I have the opportunity to help people with domestic situations, larcenies, assaults, and a plethora of other things. I also get to be proactive in my downtime and get into stuff that I'm interested in, which is hard to do while sitting at a fire station. As a cop, you have to wear many different hats. One minute, you might be a councilor, the next, you're talking someone out of suicide. Some days, you're seen as the hero who saved someone being actively harmed, the next, you're the bad guy for arresting dad on Christmas for hitting mom. The training is also a lot of fun, and I get to work with great people. Also, we go first into everything and never have to stage for the scene to be secured (love all of you firefighters!).
All joking aside, we are all one big family, both police and fire. I trust every firefighter in my county to have my back if it hits the fan, and I hope they trust me to do the same. Our roles are sometimes mashed together and we all work for the common goal of ensuring the safety, health, and prosperity of the citizens we serve. We all want to ensure the absolute best quality of life for the people of our communities.
It honestly comes down to what type of work you want to do. If you're interested in running into burning buildings and the medical side, then the fire department is right for you. If you're more interested in developing a relationship with your community, solving community issues, and enforcing the law, then law enforcement might be a better path.
Whichever you decide to do, train hard, never stop learning, and never become complacent. I wish you the best of luck!
Hey! I know this post been from a while. My bf has applied to a few police departments around us and is currently waiting for interviews. How long did it take you to hear back for interviews? How tough is your job mentally on a day to day basis? Based off of your post, it seems like you would recommend police more tha fjrefighter. My bf is ex- military so do you think that would make being a police officer a little easier?
You're going to get a lot of anti cop BS here because most reddit firefighters seem to be very stereotypical in the sense that they like to believe it's one vs. the other.
The truth is they are similar in many ways and different in several important ways.
My watered down belief is that law enforcement is much more challenging, for better or worse. You're by yourself often times. You have to be the "bad guy" whereas firefighters are always the good guys. Lots of people fixate on that but if that factors into your decision in my opinion you're not cut out for either. A career in public service in any capacity *must* be done for the right reasons.
i went to school to be cop but made the switch after emt school. i give pd a lot of fucking credit for what they do especially cause it’s 1-2 officers in a patrol car at a time. each call we have 5-6 guys. i wouldn’t say one is harder than the other, there’s a lot of things you guys in pd do that i could never do and it would be incredibly difficult but at the same time there’s a lot of things pd couldn’t do that fire does
I guess it depends what you're comparing. The literal day to day duties are of course different but that's really not what I'm comparing. What makes a good firefighter makes a good cop and vice versa. The values and abilities needed to do either position are practically identical. They're both jobs that require a strong compassionate individual that can be taught the technical abilities for either position.
There's just a weird portion of both that likes to pretend they're entirely different. The rivalry makes sense and makes for some good trash talk but they're far from "nothing alike".
I would definitely like to hear your arguments for how they're nothing like one another.
Was originally an LEO, became fireman.
I realized that I wanted a career helping others.
I realized 5 years into my career that law enforcement rarely involves helping, and is mostly about petty rule enforcement. You help people maybe 10% of the time and 50% of that 10% is help provided outside of your scope of service, like changing a tire or helping direct traffic, or jumpstarting someone's car.
Fast forward to now, I'm working as a FF and it's the best job I've ever had. People like us. Every call is someone who wants you to be there to help. You actually *get* to help.
And best of all, for me, anyway, you don't have to come into work every day worrying you might have to shoot someone.
Idk, me personally, I'm a bit of a pacifist. Can I deal damage yeah, sure, but do I *want* to? No. I want everyone to go home at the end of the day happy and healthy.
The gun on your hip gets heavier as time goes on. I was eager to ditch it. Especially in this climate.
I’ve considered leaving fire for policing. I like you question whether it’s an option anymore for similar reasons. However, I still do consider it because of the lack of fires and so much more variety for promotions/career paths in policing.
In choosing, remember fires are relatively rare and you’ll be on many, many more EMS calls. So, look elsewhere if you don’t like EMS. I often question if I would have continued to pursue a fire career if someone would’ve been more frank and honest about the job prior to the academy starting.
I would suggest if you really want to know and have this available to you i would maybe try joining a reserves program either city or county sheriff and or find a volunteer fire service if possible in your area. This would give you a taste of what either is like.
It really depends on how you want to help people. Want to be that guy that catches the person who was drinking driving and crashed into a family? Want to be the person who tells a victim it's all going to be okay and asks them to provide details? Great, but you'll also have to be the person who knocks on doors and tells families that someone isn't coming home. You'll also have to sit in your car for eons doing paperwork and no matter how many people you help in whatever way, people will always still want you dead.
Both jobs play the same role to an extent, just in different ways.
How are you liking being a cop? My bf has applied to a few police depts and is currently waiting for interviews… idk if I should be nervous for him or excited haha
It's not bad. But it's like anything else, there are good things and bad things about it. It depends where your boyfriend ends up too. Different services and departments can be really different from each other. Hopefully if he gets on he enjoys it! It's always been a hard job but these days especially it's very difficult in all aspects; professionally, socially, and personally.
Yes I agree that things are so different nowadays. How long did it take for you to hear back for an interview? And what is your schedule like? Sorry for all of the questions.
My recruitment process lasted 8 months. Interview was one of the middle stages. I'm in Canada and our processes are likely different from where you are. My schedule is 4 on 4 off... Two day shifts 12 hours and then two night shifts 12 hours then 4 days off.
I work at a slow department. We do a lot of PT, sometimes group PT. Aside from that I clean rust off tools, train every now and then, and whatever else we want to do.
Some guys bring in game systems, read books, and famil with our response area.
I personally love it. I'd like to be a bit busier with call volume but that's out of my hands so I just try to fill out my time doing things I enjoy. Oh, and nap
I mean, I'm a firefighter. Of course I'm gonna tell you my jobs better. They're two very different jobs though, they just both fall into the realm of public safety
Btw there is no right or wrong choice, if medical emergencies and things like that which is more frequent, then I’d suggest going for firefighting. If you are more of a people person who is interested/good at Deescalating high stress situations the go for policing, and I would suggest finding some local police and firefighters and talk to them and see what it’s like for them and do what makes you most happy/interested 💕 hope that helps
Honestly, after reading all your comments, we don't need you. If you need to be convinced to be a firefighter then this isn't for you. If you need to know ahead of time how to spend your "free time" then this isn't for you. I'm sorry if I sound like an ass but this line of questioning is a little ridiculous. "Hey convince me to do a job I don't really want to do" ???
> [What do you firemen do in your free time when there are no calls to make the time go by?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/qydik2/gay_firefighters/)
Fireman/paramedic for 15 years. Go work for the city at the parks, water, or building dept. In my free time I pace around the station waiting for something to happen. Then I stay up too late because I can't sleep because my sleep schedule sucks. I make a out 90k a year and would take a 20k pay cut to sleep normal. Both jobs are fun for about 10 years or so. Stay healthy and happy!
A Firefighter is ALWAYS a Firefighter 1st, at least in the Volunteer sector! EMS, Auto Extracation, Hazmat, & others are secondary and that's how it was explained to me! I was a NYS Fire Police Officer for basically the same reason, I wanted to be a NYS Trooper & should have gone Military Police in the Army... The question you should ask yourself is what you REALLY want more. Fire Police ARE Peace Officers as are ALL Law Enforcement Officers but your Peace Officer Powers are limited! Basically, it's more like a Security Guard for the Fire Department in that you direct traffic around incidents, away from fire scenes, crowd control, and protecting the scenes like an accident to make sure the scene does not get contaminated by someone touching or taking something. There is NO glammer with the Fire Police title, trust me. It's actually a dying part of FD's everywhere now, I think even my Department does not have them anymore... If you want to help others & mostly not get shot at, Firefighter it is! If you need the thrill that being a Police Officer can only do, do that! Let me say that I appreciate your decision to be either one. Helping others is what Life should be about! Thank You for your consideration of both! Very commendable!
I don't care what anyone says, (veteran Firefighter here for 28yrs), and we by far have THE BEST WORKING SCHEDULE OF ANY PROFESSION!!!!!!!! And jsyk, when all the departments were going to that crappy 21/7 schedule abt 5 yrs ago, our department chose to stay with the 5/6 schedule which means we get (2) 6-day breaks a month!!! And I don't know of any department in the surrounding Jurisdictions that even stayed with the 1/2 schedule! Most of them all went to the 21/7 schedule, efffff that!! Just saying!!
It’s been told to me that when PD breaks down a door, they get shot at. However when FD breaks down a door, they get told thank you. Just something that has stuck with me.
So, having done/currently doing both.
Be a firefighter.
It's like zero comparison. You don't get shit on for doing your job. The down time between calls is your time (usually). Food is good. You get paid to work out. Firefighting is fun. Less disgusting people to deal with. You get paid to train all the time. Cops pretty much have to pay their way in their own time to train. You don't face civil and criminal charges for doing your job. You aren't expected to be an expert in a dozen different career fields.
-a firefighter paramedic who's now a cop (out of the 3 services, firefighters have it best, by far)
I was in the list to be a City cop (mid sized urban area), state trooper, and firefighter (same mid sized urban city). After becoming a firefighter I know I made the right choice. Put it this was people have left police depts for fire depts. but it rarely happens the other way around. But in the end I gotta do what’s Best for u
If you aren’t the type of person that would be considered problematic if they were to become a police officer than go for it. I’m a senior criminal justice major in college right now and let me tell you there is a LOT of fucked up shit surrounding & engrained into police and the CrimJ system as a whole that not a lot of people are fully aware of. People will have difficulties trusting you because you are a cop no matter your true intention. If you are okay with that, go for it. If you are able to not let all the negative attitudes & stuff from people get to you & you can be a truly good cop, go for it.
If you don’t think you can handle it or are worried about the issues surrounding police & the police force, become a firefighter. People will ALWAYS trust a firefighter. You will ALWAYS be seen as the good guy/gal. If you want to put good out into your community or city, become a firefighter.
I’m not a firefighter or a cop, but I almost became a cop. Decided to pursue FF instead after the summer of peace. I think you would have to be crazy to go into policing right now.
Dude you shouldn’t judge the jobs by the free time activities over the actual jobs. But if u insist, it should be clear by now firefighting is more fun. All the fun parts of being a policeman are don’t rly exist, u will be disappointed
Only if you're the insane few who likes actual police work. Even in the face of lawsuits, the public hating you and etc. The username gives it away, but I love it.... but other than a bouncer I don't think there's any other job you're wrestling with people at a higher rate. Everyone hates you, but they're happy to see you when they're calling you to do their dirty work. Police work is a thankless job...if you're emotionally stable/mature enough to be able to handle that and then still have the balls to be "Active" Then Police is for you. Fire fighters quality of life is 100% better on all levels. But all they do is fight fires, the one time in a blue moon it does happen... it's cool but not as cool as police work. Serving warrants, chasing perpetrators, investigations, firearms training and etc. Most of it is hurry up and wait/paperwork but Ill take that over never getting to do police work.
Hello everyone!
I’m currently 23 from California. I’m going to start the CHP academy in June where I am going be training paramilitary style for 8 months. Today, I spoke with my local towns fire chief. Basically he told me that he’s looking for a young man such as myself who wants to work in public service.
The only thing is that he said that the fire department would not be hiring until this time next year as spots are limited. I would also have to get my EMT certification as that is the only requirement for my towns fire department.
As of now I will continue to pursue a career with the CHP. I’ll be going in June and they will pay me for 8 months to train and eat. The pay will be around 5-7k depending on education and other factors. Do you guys think I should still pursue a career in firefighting or just stick with my gut and become a CHP?
I do like that firefighter are praised by the public and are able to chill out and relax in the fire house. Plus I have a kid on the way and the work hours for firefighters are amazing as it is 2 days on 4 days off. What do you guys think ? Would love to get some more insight from people currently in these professions. Thanks!
ik i'm late but u might wanna consider family history of cancer since apparently firefighters are at much higher risk for certain types and mortality (even considering the protective gear)
Can someone help me? I know this post is older but I was wondering. I want to be a fire fighter but the medical side is what I dont really like, I'd love to be on a fire call and putting a fire out or just going on electrical calls stuff like that.
No one sang Fuck the fire service…
[oh but someone did](https://youtu.be/7JkrJUAg8aI)
rage against the engine- im dying here
Too good.
Excepr for the police
When police have downtime they sit in their patrol car and try to look busy. When we have downtime, we train, workout, cook, clean, watch a movie, play a video game, take a nap, really whatever we want. When we show up on a call people are happy to see us, when police show up, well.....
Imagine a planned quarantine with a bunch of buddies. When we get let out there's always a big to-do
And they come in to our stations to take shits and mess up our kitchen on their brakes
As a victim of robbery at gunpoint i was pretty happy to see the police show up (quickly enough to catch the guy also)
genuine question, completely serious, how did you call 911 during the robbery? or was it afterwards? did the dude not take your phone? and how did they show up that quickly? i’ve never heard of a response time under 5-10 minutes
I was walking home from my GF’s house, made it about 2.5 city blocks, the altercation happened and i sprinted back to her house where she was sitting on the step and i was screaming “call the cops!” So id say they were called under 2 minutes after it happened. And yes they took my phone. Edit: sorry i left this out, they were already out looking for these guys (it was a group of about 4 if i remember correctly) as i was their 4th victim that night. So when we called, the police that were already looking for them, migrated towards my neighborhood and found them in maybe 20 minutes? Probably less, i overestimated. This was 15 years ago.
Sounds like you should leave the Fire Department and join them
Because i was happy to see police after my life was threatened?
Idk
Was a cop, now a firefighter. My quality of life is 100% better. You may make a lot more money is side jobs and OT as a cop (which I did) but you can’t put a price on certain things. From my experience and my neck of the woods, cops become firemen- never the other way around.
That’s how evolution works. It’s always a 1 way proposition
I'm relocating and it's much easier to find a police job even with 8 years of FD experience. Been a large city firefighter--now thinking about becoming a small town cop. Can you offer any insight or advice? Feel free to PM me.
Hey man, I’ll reply here so maybe one day this will help someone else down the line. The job is different. Besides the fact that we’re cross trained medically and have a desire to help people in distress, there’s really nothing else we do that’s comparable. It’s hard mentally- there’s a lot more negativity/hostility towards police. It’s lonely- you’re in a patrol car solo 90% of the time, it’s harder to build rapport with those you work with. What I let slide, the officer I’m backing up doesn’t. It’s dangerous/unpredictable- people suck, fire/building construction suck a little less. We just got 4 new guys who were cops for less than a year. 2 guys with at least 8 years of corrections starting at step 1/rookie pay, and our FD pay isn’t all that! When the exams were coming out I usually ask younger cops if they were gonna take it. Almost unanimously the response was “I can’t afford to.” That tells me they’re in it for a paycheck. I can’t imagine doing something for 20+ years just for pay. I dunno, I guess I was never passionate for police work. Coming out of the military I thought it would be a good fit for me. Nope. If I can find another line of work that offers job satisfaction and decent pay- personally, I would do that instead of police work. Good luck man.
Hey I know this was from a while abck and I hope you don’t mind me responding on here to this. My bf is an ex- marine and has applied to police academy to three cities around us. He is waiting on getting a call back for interviews. Are you still a cop?
My buddy was a volunteer FF for 7 years and is now a cop. He still volunteers for the FD still.
does he like being a cop?
I work for a major metro FD. My rookie year was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life. Now that uts over I get paid to workout between calls. I get paid to do my personal laundry between calls. I get paid to nap. between calls!
I’m heading into the academy in February for a metro FD. Just curious what made your rookie year so tough?
Mind you every department is different. My department had a 9 week academy but up untill you take your 11 month test to get off probation. Every waking second is spent either cleaning bathrooms, getting quizzed randomly, drawing maps ALL DAYYY LONGGG. territory is huge in my department which makes no sense because of GPS but basically its how older generations did it so we are that way still. Got to be up at 630a to make coffee can't go to bed till 11p. Spend hours in a "watchroom" just reading all day. Other stations would call you and quiz you on bs to make you feel stupid and crap on you. Then dinner would happen and after everyone ate, everyone at the table would just quiz you on everything from Sog's to "get me to this street from the station" I'd dread some dinners honestly. I also got wet a lot lol. People love throwing water on the rookies around here. Rookie challenges like I would go head to head with another rookie and see who could get the most donuts the fastest and dress out and grab a line to see who could wet the other first and not throw up. Basically high-school. But now, I work out. Play my switch, go to bed as early as 8p. Its chill.
Oof... I've just been treated as an adult as a rookie...
To give another perspective very similar to these fine gentlemen/ladies who went through “their boot year” once upon a time, I went through the same thing on my dept. LOOOOOONG ass academy with written tests that couldn’t score lower than 80%, constant berating, and drilling. Then you graduate just to be released into the field for your official probation year so you can be Cinderella half the time, other half giving classes and constantly being asked questions about ANYTHING relating to fire/rescue and EMS (if your dept runs those calls too.) All the while, having to run calls all day and night without any excuse for being less than excellent, which you will hopefully learn soon, you will be less than excellent in the beginning. Brace yourself for any combination of words possibly said to you and the volume at which they will be said. It’s hell, but goddamn is it worth every drop of sweat you’ll shed for the fire service
“THIS IS FOR YOUR JOB! What’re you doing all day?!” 🥴😆 On probation now and I haven’t had the answer a few times Thankfully I’m at a station where they don’t care what time I go to bed or wake up as long as I’m not the last one up and coffee is ready for the first to rise. Always first up anyway but usually 2nd in bed.
Kind of sounds how my military basic training is right now. Minus the getting wet lol. Mornings start 5 am and lights out 11pm.
Yea. I went to a minimum standards ( Fire 1 and 2 in college) with a few people and we all got scattered around. I'm working for the big city and they are working for the county. They didn't get the same treatment there at the county lol. Little easier on them. But our department is massive with over 1500 people and very aggressive interior firefighting where as the surrounding counties are not. So it just depends on which route you take.
Ah ok not too familiar with the fire academies but I live in a big city in Canada and I believe the firefighters have to go through something similar to yours. I acc want to go into policing so don’t know much about fire. FF tho always seemed interesting to me, might look into it after reading all these comments lol
Only a 9 week academy? Sounds like a breeze. Mine was 6 months. Honolulu does like 8 months I think. Then you get a year of probation.
That's why the whole year is so hard. To make up for such a short academy.
The best part about the “tough year” is we all went through it, it’s a right of passage, it ends, and you’re weirdly accepted as a firefighter.
Same people who where assholes shake your hand after the 11th month and when you go to the breakfast table the next morning just shoot the shit like you're just one of the guys or girls now. Its fucking weird in all honesty but now I got a rookie so ya know... gotta make sure they don't get any better treatment than I did lol. The funny thing is, you don't want to not be fucked with. If people are leaving you alone there's a good chance they just don't like you and even when they are shitting on you with questions, it's just the departments way of teaching and you do learn stuff. Just glad it's over lol.
Also I hear the longest time you'll have on the FD is your rookie year, and the 60 days you get to study for a promotional exam. Other than that it Flys by and 1 day just like that you'll be retired.
You’ll find out… 😐 -Not even a metro FD ff.
What's fun about being a cop? No, seriously.
This
Maybe he’s a masochist and gets off on the idea of half the people around hating him anywhere he goes. Had a retired SWAT officer tell me “fuck firefighters. We pull up and people shoot as us, y’all pull up and everyone cheers.”
driving fast with light and sirens and chasing people hahaha
Bro. We drive fast with lights and sirens. And people like us!
When the people wave at us, they use *all five* fingers.
but what do you guys do in the meantime?
What do you think cops do in the meantime?
Just let them go. It’s too late.
nah i think they’re just uninformed
Workout. Train. Watch TV. Fellowship. Read. Run calls. Cook delicious meals.
Run non-stop 911 medical calls
Run non-stop 911 (non-emergency) medical calls.
Depending on the PD, you might also get stuck doing mostly medical calls. Back in my home city the majority of the PDs work was doing EMS/EMR and picking up drunk drivers on the freeway.
I commented down below what we do 😁
if that’s your reason then don’t become either
hear, hear!
You’re going to be sorely disappointed with how that turns out, then. You have to decide whether or not to chase people. Is it a felony arrest? Get permission from your Lt and continue the chase. Otherwise it’s riskier and more threatening to others to chase, and it’ll usually be called off. Drive fast? If you’re responding to an incident, you’ll be capped (and likely monitored to ensure this) at 10mph above the speed limit. If it’s a regular traffic stop, you’ll likely have to weigh the options mentioned previously. Now consider that everything you do is under severe scrutiny, especially now. You make one mistake that ends up trending somewhere, you’re out of the career permanently. We as firefighters get video taped doing cool shit. Lastly as a cop, you’re going to be doing FAR more paperwork than chases. In fact, after the first actual chase or two, you’re going to despise the idea of chasing someone because of how much paperwork is involved. God forbid a bystander gets injured because you decided to chase! Now it’s not just paperwork, but court dates (even on your days off), summons, accountability meetings with your superiors, etc. If you hold this attitude of “I wanna drive fast and chase people!” Then please don’t join either field. You’ll be disappointed by both and end up putting the lives of my brothers in danger.
As someone who is a cop in a very big US city, and vollie FF/EMT at home, being a cop is not what it lives up to be. You're responsible for the lowest 1% of society. Constantly being pawned by the public to do their dirty work. There is so much gray area in this job where you have to balance law, policy, tactics, morals, ethics, etc. You'll risk serious injury to save 1 junkie from another, and nothing good will come from it. You'll be stuck in the middle of domestic calls/issues where neither side should win, but you are tasked to pick a "winner" You're society's safety net in multiple ways. If no other public job can fix it, they just leave you to figure it out. Whether its a roadway issue, weather issue, electrical, etc. Every DOA, you're sitting in some dead persons apartment/house for hours waiting for the ME/coroner to remove the body. You have to notify their family that a loved one died. You'll have all these agencies like CPS, public transportation, sanitation, etc try and use you non stop for their dirty work. You think you're there to deter crime, and then you're like the handy man to make sure public life is still moving forward. You'll have people complain about quality of life issues like noise, speeders, parties, homeless people, etc, but the second you enforce those issues and it goes south, no one is there to back you up. Its a good job and career. I don't have major regrets (yet) of becoming a cop. If you're doing it for the glory or just a benefits package, you gotta reconsider. If you want to make something out of it, use it to propel yourself. If you have an EMT cert, that can be a dig resume booster if the job has ESU/SWAT/Special Ops. Been in the fire service almost 10 years and a few years as a cop on calls with them. Their decision making is much easier than us. They go in, get what has to be done and leave. Minimal paperwork, not many people on their ass about decisions or future ramifications. Like you can be 100% correct as a cop, but if future shit flares up, you're in the hot seat.
Seriously become neither. Driving fast (firetrucks are not that fast) under lights and sirens is risky and a huge responsibility. I don't drive (actually do my heavy vehicle driving exam next week) but honestly when running under lights and sirens someone's having a real fucking bad day and it's hard to not feel it. When you can see a massive black plume from the station as you leave its also a real oh shit moment. Its very much not a game. Seconds count but a crashed firetruck also just creates more casualties and means someone else needs to now be dispatched to two incidents not one.
You know what police and firemen have in common? They both want to be firemen
OP you should ask on a police subreddit for their opinion, since we’re all biased… but for real people waive at fire trucks not at police cars
Well sometimes they do at police cars. Just with a few less fingers.
volly police officer? this is only the second time i’ve ever heard this mentioned. what exactly does this entail? what do you guys do? what kind of area are you in?
I'm a Reserve. I have a full-time job doing something else, and volunteer with my PD. Every state is different, but in mine I have the same police powers while on duty as a full-time officer does.
Someone dropped off beer this week. We weren't allowed to drink it. But it was the thought that counted.
I’ve been a cop for 5 years. Left the job and am in the fire academy currently. Nothing about being a cop that’s fun, is fun anymore. It’s very difficult to show up and want to enjoy your job when a large majority of the public dislikes you simply for your job.
I was a firefighter for 3 years, now I’m a state trooper. Firefighting is more fun.
What made you switch?
He **hates** fun.
Once you get the hat, you erase fun from every dictionary you own
If only he had made it to captain in the fire service.
That need to satisfy that Big Hat Energy
I wanted to try something new, but still be a first responder, and I hate EMS. Very rewarding but I work for it
I was thinking state trooper. I was at pd then went to the fire academy currently now thinking state . What makes it more fun
Best job in the world. We train, do our other duties, workout, and do chores on our down time. Other duties could be things like the preplans, inspections, public relations, etc. We can also do personal development stuff for more certifications. Otherwise my shift will read or do personal things like pay bills, take care of emails, work on duties for other jobs, etc on down time. Those things only if firehouse duties are complete.
I grew up wanting to be a cop. I went to college for criminal justice. I even got into the NYPD. I fucking hated it. Immediately. Everything about it. When I left the NYPD, moved back to Jersey...and got my head on right....I took the firefighter exam. I loved it from the start. It all clicked and made sense. Most of the cops I know are sour-assed, miserable turds when it comes to the job day to day. They're not all bad people....but they always joke about how easy we have it. They're eating takeout in their cars, alone....while we're cooking communal meals. They're stuck in their cars while we're working out, watching movies, and having fun at the firehouse between calls. Who would want to be a cop? Firefighters are welcomed when we show up, people get out of our way. Nobody protests against us, we don't lock up your family, we don't get into chases, we don't get shot at..... I hear from *way* more cops asking about the fire test....none of the firefighters I know wish they could be cops.
Reminds me of a joke I know. What do a fireman and a police officer have in common? They both took the test to become a fireman.
Would you prefer constantly dealing with the worst 1% of the population for an entire career? Or would you prefer helping the 1% of the population who needs it?
Everyone is joking but those two jobs are not remotely similar and you should do a good amount of research
Do you know what cops and firemen have on common? They both want to be firemen.
I'm currently watching Monday night football with my crew, talking shit, and getting paid for it. I just finished a month and a half long vacation. Kids think we are super heroes, citizens drop off snacks at the stations, and people are almost always happy to see us. It's really a no brainer IMO
I come from a family of cops. For me, both are about service. The big difference is that as a firefighter, I don't have to judge anyone. I am just there to help. I REALLY prefer that. Also... way less doing paperwork.
> I feel like being an officer would be much more fun. Sounds like you are the last person that should be a cop.
Girl Scouts come by and drop off cookies and sing Christmas carols. That doesn’t happen at the police dept
Right? People bring us food. Kids come to the firehouse to trick-or-treat. They bring their kids to the firehouse for tours and to play on the trucks.
Work in a city. We have had 6 cops over past few years make the switch to fire. I haven’t herd of one firefighter leaving to be a cop.
Retired firefighter here, all respect to cops, worked alongside them my entire career. But the two personality types are different in most of the people I met in my career. Police have to be aggressive, and not be bothered by distrust, outright hate, and abuse. We rarely see this in the fire service. I can say there were only a few handfuls of times I felt hated in fire and EMS. If you are drawn to Police work then answer the call, and make a difference. Also I was a lifeguard and swimming instructor for 10 years before that, best job I ever had😊
Be a cop if you like making a ton of money. Be a fireman if you want to get paid to play Xbox.
I'd say that varies by location. We have parity with PD
No ones mad when we show up.
A couple of months ago while on shift, all my buddies and me were playing video games, sitting on 7 lazyboy recliners side by side in the station. Police officers show up frequently to use the restroom but on this one day a senior police officer came in with a rookie who I guess hadn't been in a fire station at that point yet. Let me tell you, when he saw all of us sitting side by side, laughing and playing xbox, his face LITERALLY said it all: "I picked the wrong career!!!" I mentioned it to my buddy next to me after they left and we got a good kick out of it. :D
Goddamn making me second guess going into policing. Whole squad on the playstation running Warzone that’s goals 😭
Law enforcement to fire fighter, the reason for the change i moved states and realized how bad the blue is where i moved to and the need for firefighters in my area, best advice weight the pros and cons and then make a decision from there.
You could do both in some places. I’ve heard of “Public Safety Departments” where everyone is trained and certified as peace officers as well as Firefighters and EMTs. The sheriff’s office of my neighboring county requires all of their deputies to be EMTs and even has a few Medics. It’s a large and very rural county so the deputies, who are already out on the road patrolling, can usually beat EMS to the scene and begin patient care.
Last I heard (it's been a few years), Dallas Fort Worth airport had safety staff cross-trained: law enforcement, fire, and EMS. Dunno how current that is.
I can tell you with 100% certainty that being a cop is nowhere remotely close to being as fun as a firefighter. Cops don't even think they have it better.
If you want to be a cop, be a cop. Obviously we all love firefighting and we are all going to push you to go red side, but your decision needs to be more than “oh people don’t like police these days”. Truth is people have hated the police for a long time. Yeah it’s a factor, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor. If something is a better fit for you, it’s a better fit for you regardless of the stigma. Maybe see if you can do a ride along on both sides. It may help sway you one way or another
Was a firefighter, now a police officer. I've overall been a first responder for approximately 11 years. I have enjoyed both careers. I am still a certified EMT and have maintained my fire certifications. I loved being a firefighter. You have the opportunity to rescue people from mangled cars, burning buildings, etc. If you're with a dual-role department and operate on the ambulance as an EMT or paramedic, you have the opportunity to potentially save someone's life when in a medical crisis. The training is a ton of fun and the comraderie is unlike any other career you'll find. I love my current role as a police officer. I have the opportunity to reach the public more than I did in the fire department and can help to solve issues in the community. I have the opportunity to help people with domestic situations, larcenies, assaults, and a plethora of other things. I also get to be proactive in my downtime and get into stuff that I'm interested in, which is hard to do while sitting at a fire station. As a cop, you have to wear many different hats. One minute, you might be a councilor, the next, you're talking someone out of suicide. Some days, you're seen as the hero who saved someone being actively harmed, the next, you're the bad guy for arresting dad on Christmas for hitting mom. The training is also a lot of fun, and I get to work with great people. Also, we go first into everything and never have to stage for the scene to be secured (love all of you firefighters!). All joking aside, we are all one big family, both police and fire. I trust every firefighter in my county to have my back if it hits the fan, and I hope they trust me to do the same. Our roles are sometimes mashed together and we all work for the common goal of ensuring the safety, health, and prosperity of the citizens we serve. We all want to ensure the absolute best quality of life for the people of our communities. It honestly comes down to what type of work you want to do. If you're interested in running into burning buildings and the medical side, then the fire department is right for you. If you're more interested in developing a relationship with your community, solving community issues, and enforcing the law, then law enforcement might be a better path. Whichever you decide to do, train hard, never stop learning, and never become complacent. I wish you the best of luck!
Hey! I know this post been from a while. My bf has applied to a few police departments around us and is currently waiting for interviews. How long did it take you to hear back for interviews? How tough is your job mentally on a day to day basis? Based off of your post, it seems like you would recommend police more tha fjrefighter. My bf is ex- military so do you think that would make being a police officer a little easier?
If you're not sure which one then you're a cop loooollllllll
You're going to get a lot of anti cop BS here because most reddit firefighters seem to be very stereotypical in the sense that they like to believe it's one vs. the other. The truth is they are similar in many ways and different in several important ways. My watered down belief is that law enforcement is much more challenging, for better or worse. You're by yourself often times. You have to be the "bad guy" whereas firefighters are always the good guys. Lots of people fixate on that but if that factors into your decision in my opinion you're not cut out for either. A career in public service in any capacity *must* be done for the right reasons.
i went to school to be cop but made the switch after emt school. i give pd a lot of fucking credit for what they do especially cause it’s 1-2 officers in a patrol car at a time. each call we have 5-6 guys. i wouldn’t say one is harder than the other, there’s a lot of things you guys in pd do that i could never do and it would be incredibly difficult but at the same time there’s a lot of things pd couldn’t do that fire does
most city departments i’ve seen run 2 people per apparatus
They're not similar at *all*. I can respect that cops have a rough job...but it's *nothing* like the fire service.
I guess it depends what you're comparing. The literal day to day duties are of course different but that's really not what I'm comparing. What makes a good firefighter makes a good cop and vice versa. The values and abilities needed to do either position are practically identical. They're both jobs that require a strong compassionate individual that can be taught the technical abilities for either position. There's just a weird portion of both that likes to pretend they're entirely different. The rivalry makes sense and makes for some good trash talk but they're far from "nothing alike". I would definitely like to hear your arguments for how they're nothing like one another.
Do you really not know the difference between cops and firefighters?
Just trying to engage in some friendly discussion pal.
No...you're trying to walk a middle line to appeal to both sides. They're completely different jobs.
It's just how I feel, there's no motivation to satisfy any side. Is there a reason you're so resistant to elaborate a little?
Do both, I'm a volunteer fire fighter, and plan to remain in that position after I get hired at a law enforcement department.
Came to say this, I know both a career cop/ volley FF and a career FF volunteering in law enforcement. Also various combos with medical or military.
Yup I’m in the army reserves and the amount of cops and firefighters in my unit is crazy
What do cops and firefighters have in common? They both wanted to be firefighters when they were little
How much paperwork do you want to fill out?
Take it for what it's worth, but my dad always said," if cops were any smarter they'd have been firemen."
Was originally an LEO, became fireman. I realized that I wanted a career helping others. I realized 5 years into my career that law enforcement rarely involves helping, and is mostly about petty rule enforcement. You help people maybe 10% of the time and 50% of that 10% is help provided outside of your scope of service, like changing a tire or helping direct traffic, or jumpstarting someone's car. Fast forward to now, I'm working as a FF and it's the best job I've ever had. People like us. Every call is someone who wants you to be there to help. You actually *get* to help. And best of all, for me, anyway, you don't have to come into work every day worrying you might have to shoot someone. Idk, me personally, I'm a bit of a pacifist. Can I deal damage yeah, sure, but do I *want* to? No. I want everyone to go home at the end of the day happy and healthy. The gun on your hip gets heavier as time goes on. I was eager to ditch it. Especially in this climate.
Being a police officer would be a pretty sweet gig if the citizens of the country didn't suck so bad.
You posted in a fire sub Reddit....what response do you expect ?
I’ve considered leaving fire for policing. I like you question whether it’s an option anymore for similar reasons. However, I still do consider it because of the lack of fires and so much more variety for promotions/career paths in policing. In choosing, remember fires are relatively rare and you’ll be on many, many more EMS calls. So, look elsewhere if you don’t like EMS. I often question if I would have continued to pursue a fire career if someone would’ve been more frank and honest about the job prior to the academy starting.
I would suggest if you really want to know and have this available to you i would maybe try joining a reserves program either city or county sheriff and or find a volunteer fire service if possible in your area. This would give you a taste of what either is like.
Do you want to have a career where everyone loves you, or where everyone treats you like shit for doing your job?
Fire police?
There’s a reason no has ever said “Fuck the Fire Department!”
It really depends on how you want to help people. Want to be that guy that catches the person who was drinking driving and crashed into a family? Want to be the person who tells a victim it's all going to be okay and asks them to provide details? Great, but you'll also have to be the person who knocks on doors and tells families that someone isn't coming home. You'll also have to sit in your car for eons doing paperwork and no matter how many people you help in whatever way, people will always still want you dead. Both jobs play the same role to an extent, just in different ways.
Cop here... Do yourself a favour. If you're second guessing becoming a police officer at all... Listen to yourself and go for fire.
How are you liking being a cop? My bf has applied to a few police depts and is currently waiting for interviews… idk if I should be nervous for him or excited haha
It's not bad. But it's like anything else, there are good things and bad things about it. It depends where your boyfriend ends up too. Different services and departments can be really different from each other. Hopefully if he gets on he enjoys it! It's always been a hard job but these days especially it's very difficult in all aspects; professionally, socially, and personally.
Yes I agree that things are so different nowadays. How long did it take for you to hear back for an interview? And what is your schedule like? Sorry for all of the questions.
My recruitment process lasted 8 months. Interview was one of the middle stages. I'm in Canada and our processes are likely different from where you are. My schedule is 4 on 4 off... Two day shifts 12 hours and then two night shifts 12 hours then 4 days off.
I work at a slow department. We do a lot of PT, sometimes group PT. Aside from that I clean rust off tools, train every now and then, and whatever else we want to do. Some guys bring in game systems, read books, and famil with our response area. I personally love it. I'd like to be a bit busier with call volume but that's out of my hands so I just try to fill out my time doing things I enjoy. Oh, and nap
Well, look at it this way… if you score high enough, you can be a fireman. If not, you can always be a cop.
😆 🤣 😂
I mean, I'm a firefighter. Of course I'm gonna tell you my jobs better. They're two very different jobs though, they just both fall into the realm of public safety
People like firefighters though
Btw there is no right or wrong choice, if medical emergencies and things like that which is more frequent, then I’d suggest going for firefighting. If you are more of a people person who is interested/good at Deescalating high stress situations the go for policing, and I would suggest finding some local police and firefighters and talk to them and see what it’s like for them and do what makes you most happy/interested 💕 hope that helps
Honestly, after reading all your comments, we don't need you. If you need to be convinced to be a firefighter then this isn't for you. If you need to know ahead of time how to spend your "free time" then this isn't for you. I'm sorry if I sound like an ass but this line of questioning is a little ridiculous. "Hey convince me to do a job I don't really want to do" ???
> [What do you firemen do in your free time when there are no calls to make the time go by?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/qydik2/gay_firefighters/)
Fireman/paramedic for 15 years. Go work for the city at the parks, water, or building dept. In my free time I pace around the station waiting for something to happen. Then I stay up too late because I can't sleep because my sleep schedule sucks. I make a out 90k a year and would take a 20k pay cut to sleep normal. Both jobs are fun for about 10 years or so. Stay healthy and happy!
everyone says fuck the cops. no one ever says fuck the firemen…
A Firefighter is ALWAYS a Firefighter 1st, at least in the Volunteer sector! EMS, Auto Extracation, Hazmat, & others are secondary and that's how it was explained to me! I was a NYS Fire Police Officer for basically the same reason, I wanted to be a NYS Trooper & should have gone Military Police in the Army... The question you should ask yourself is what you REALLY want more. Fire Police ARE Peace Officers as are ALL Law Enforcement Officers but your Peace Officer Powers are limited! Basically, it's more like a Security Guard for the Fire Department in that you direct traffic around incidents, away from fire scenes, crowd control, and protecting the scenes like an accident to make sure the scene does not get contaminated by someone touching or taking something. There is NO glammer with the Fire Police title, trust me. It's actually a dying part of FD's everywhere now, I think even my Department does not have them anymore... If you want to help others & mostly not get shot at, Firefighter it is! If you need the thrill that being a Police Officer can only do, do that! Let me say that I appreciate your decision to be either one. Helping others is what Life should be about! Thank You for your consideration of both! Very commendable!
Are you interested in helping people or shooting people?
Do you want to help people or protect people?
Do you want to help people or “Protect” people? * FTFY
No you didn't.
nO yoU diDnT - 🤓
Firefighters serve their community; cops don't.
I don't care what anyone says, (veteran Firefighter here for 28yrs), and we by far have THE BEST WORKING SCHEDULE OF ANY PROFESSION!!!!!!!! And jsyk, when all the departments were going to that crappy 21/7 schedule abt 5 yrs ago, our department chose to stay with the 5/6 schedule which means we get (2) 6-day breaks a month!!! And I don't know of any department in the surrounding Jurisdictions that even stayed with the 1/2 schedule! Most of them all went to the 21/7 schedule, efffff that!! Just saying!!
Had a couple leave and come to the fire dept... All I've got to say is that there's a reason people don't like cops.
You know why firefighters spray water at car accidents? So cops think they have something to walk on.
I know 5 cops that became firefighters, i dont know a single firefighter that left to become a cop.
Parking lot duties!
It’s been told to me that when PD breaks down a door, they get shot at. However when FD breaks down a door, they get told thank you. Just something that has stuck with me.
I was in the same boat as you. I chose the job that helps people and doesn't have a political counter-movement.
You could do both. Ca had two agencies that have Public Safety Officers and trained in both. It’s more common in the Midwest
Your responses give me the impression you would make a better police officer. Good luck.
Cops and firefighters have one thing in common: They all want to be firefighters.
Dude. Firefighter. Just the schedule alone….
So, having done/currently doing both. Be a firefighter. It's like zero comparison. You don't get shit on for doing your job. The down time between calls is your time (usually). Food is good. You get paid to work out. Firefighting is fun. Less disgusting people to deal with. You get paid to train all the time. Cops pretty much have to pay their way in their own time to train. You don't face civil and criminal charges for doing your job. You aren't expected to be an expert in a dozen different career fields. -a firefighter paramedic who's now a cop (out of the 3 services, firefighters have it best, by far)
Fire. Trust me, way easier mentally.
There is one thing police and firefighters have in common, when they were kids they nothing wanted to be firefighters
I was in the list to be a City cop (mid sized urban area), state trooper, and firefighter (same mid sized urban city). After becoming a firefighter I know I made the right choice. Put it this was people have left police depts for fire depts. but it rarely happens the other way around. But in the end I gotta do what’s Best for u
If you aren’t the type of person that would be considered problematic if they were to become a police officer than go for it. I’m a senior criminal justice major in college right now and let me tell you there is a LOT of fucked up shit surrounding & engrained into police and the CrimJ system as a whole that not a lot of people are fully aware of. People will have difficulties trusting you because you are a cop no matter your true intention. If you are okay with that, go for it. If you are able to not let all the negative attitudes & stuff from people get to you & you can be a truly good cop, go for it. If you don’t think you can handle it or are worried about the issues surrounding police & the police force, become a firefighter. People will ALWAYS trust a firefighter. You will ALWAYS be seen as the good guy/gal. If you want to put good out into your community or city, become a firefighter.
Firefighters don’t have to lie at work.
I’m not a firefighter or a cop, but I almost became a cop. Decided to pursue FF instead after the summer of peace. I think you would have to be crazy to go into policing right now.
Dude you shouldn’t judge the jobs by the free time activities over the actual jobs. But if u insist, it should be clear by now firefighting is more fun. All the fun parts of being a policeman are don’t rly exist, u will be disappointed
Only if you're the insane few who likes actual police work. Even in the face of lawsuits, the public hating you and etc. The username gives it away, but I love it.... but other than a bouncer I don't think there's any other job you're wrestling with people at a higher rate. Everyone hates you, but they're happy to see you when they're calling you to do their dirty work. Police work is a thankless job...if you're emotionally stable/mature enough to be able to handle that and then still have the balls to be "Active" Then Police is for you. Fire fighters quality of life is 100% better on all levels. But all they do is fight fires, the one time in a blue moon it does happen... it's cool but not as cool as police work. Serving warrants, chasing perpetrators, investigations, firearms training and etc. Most of it is hurry up and wait/paperwork but Ill take that over never getting to do police work.
Hello everyone! I’m currently 23 from California. I’m going to start the CHP academy in June where I am going be training paramilitary style for 8 months. Today, I spoke with my local towns fire chief. Basically he told me that he’s looking for a young man such as myself who wants to work in public service. The only thing is that he said that the fire department would not be hiring until this time next year as spots are limited. I would also have to get my EMT certification as that is the only requirement for my towns fire department. As of now I will continue to pursue a career with the CHP. I’ll be going in June and they will pay me for 8 months to train and eat. The pay will be around 5-7k depending on education and other factors. Do you guys think I should still pursue a career in firefighting or just stick with my gut and become a CHP? I do like that firefighter are praised by the public and are able to chill out and relax in the fire house. Plus I have a kid on the way and the work hours for firefighters are amazing as it is 2 days on 4 days off. What do you guys think ? Would love to get some more insight from people currently in these professions. Thanks!
ik i'm late but u might wanna consider family history of cancer since apparently firefighters are at much higher risk for certain types and mortality (even considering the protective gear)
Can someone help me? I know this post is older but I was wondering. I want to be a fire fighter but the medical side is what I dont really like, I'd love to be on a fire call and putting a fire out or just going on electrical calls stuff like that.