Firemen

Firefighter

A Naval Forces Japan firefighter douses a fire during a training drill in July 2008. He is equipped with a fire hose with fog nozzle, breathing apparatus, helmet and full structural firefighting kit.
Occupation
Activity sectors	Rescue, fire protection, civil service, public service, public safety,

A firefighter (also fireman and firewoman) is a rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, or the environment.

The complexity of modern industrialized life with a greater prominence of hazards has created an increase in the skills needed in firefighting technology and a broadening of the firefighter's remit. The fire service, also known in some countries as the fire brigade or fire department, is one of the three main emergency services. Firefighting and firefighters have become ubiquitous around the world, from wildlands to urban areas, and aboard ships.

The goals of firefighting are (in order of priority):

As such, the skills required for safe operations are regularly practiced during training evaluations throughout a firefighter's career. In the United States, the preeminent fire training and standards organization is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Often initial firefighting skills are taught during a local, regional, or state approved fire academy. Depending on the requirements of a department, additional skills and certifications such as technical rescue and pre-hospital medicine may also be taught at this time.

Firefighters work closely with other emergency response agencies, most particularly the police and emergency medical service, and their role may overlap with both. Fire investigators or fire marshals usually work for a fire department to investigate the cause of a fire. If the fire was caused by arson or negligence, this means that their work will overlap with law enforcement. In fact, some fire marshals in the United States have powers of arrest. Firefighters also frequently provide some degree of emergency medical service, in addition to working with full-time paramedics.