the article listed all the calls the phoenix fire department had in2005 and only 7 percent of them were for fires. the other 93 percent of the calls were for medical emergencies and such. looks like the fire department buerocracy has turned into a emergency medical aid funcion as its main purpose with fires as a minor reason for having fire departments.
the republic article said there were 149,494 emergency calls in 2005 but in the excell spread sheet i wrote the number of incidents was 249,845 so i suspect many of the calls had two or more reasons.
these are the numbers from the republic. i caculated the percents and the grand total which doesnt match the 149,494 calls given in the republic article.
fires 16,487 7% emergency medical 124,291 50% car accidents 15,139 6% chest pains 82,238 33% assaults 4,589 2% heart problems 2,855 1% pedestrian car crashs 1,360 1% stabbings 1,288 1% gunshot wounds 863 0% heart related 735 0%
total 249,845 100%
so i guess the bottom line is governments always tend to expand to get as much money as possible.
plus the firemen have pretty cushy job hours. they work one 24 day which they get to sleep in and then take two days off. i assume even though they work one day of 24 hours it counts as 3 eight hour days for pay purposes.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0502vvfirefighter0502.html
A firefighter
Judi Villa The Arizona Republic May. 2, 2006 12:00 AM
The job title "firefighter" may actually be a bit of a misnomer these days.
Sure, there are still fires to fight: about 606 a month in Phoenix, ranging from burning houses to burning cars, burning fields and burning stoves. But for years now, firefighters have spent the vast majority of their time responding to anything but fires.
Firefighters now are far more likely to be connecting people to social service agencies than saving their houses. They have been known to cook breakfast for a diabetic who hasn't eaten, and last month, they drove a bride and groom to their wedding reception after the happy couple's limousine caught fire. advertisement
They install smoke detectors, check pools to determine if the fencing is safe and delicately remove a young child's head when it somehow ends up stuck between crib bars.
Today, Phoenix Fire Engineer Dana Kelsen tells us 10 things we didn't know about being a firefighter.
1 Our work schedule is different than most in that we work 24 hours and then have 48 hours off. We arrive at 8 a.m. and get off the following morning at the same time.
2 We pay for our own meals. When we get to the station in the morning, we drop approximately $10 per person. We go shopping as a crew and cook as a crew. Cooks get to choose the meal.
3 Many people think that when we're out and about we're not able to run calls. Whether we're training, shopping or going to Circle K for a soda, we always go as a crew and have a radio that we monitor to make sure we don't miss any calls in our area.
4 One of my favorite parts of the job is not knowing what the next call is going to involve. When most people go to work, their activities are routine, and they usually know what lies ahead of them for the day. We never know. It could be a slow shift of minor incidents, or it could be a shift full of significant emergencies.
5 At night, when we're done eating and all of our station chores are done, we spend our time (when not running calls) watching TV, playing cards, pingpong, catching up on e-mails or just fellowshipping with other crew members. I like to spend some time in the gym and I always take time to call home and say good night to the family.
6 The Phoenix Fire Department has two categories of medical personnel. All firefighters must be certified as EMTs (emergency medical technicians). EMTs must take a one-semester community college course and a refresher class every three years. Firefighters volunteer to become paramedics. Paramedic school is about eight months and is very advanced training.
7 Our days are very full. When we are not responding to emergency calls, we keep busy with lots of other things. We take care of and maintain the fire station and grounds, our personal protective equipment and all of the equipment on the trucks. We also do a lot of training and familiarize ourselves with buildings, neighborhoods, apartments and other structures in our response area. We also test fire hydrants, check hazards, survey local brush conditions and try to interact with the public.
8 People don't realize the amount of training we must have to be prepared for whatever the next emergency might require. We have to stay up on our firefighting skills. We must constantly participate in emergency medical training in order to maintain our certifications. We have to be trained for hazardous material emergencies, possible terrorism attacks and virtually any other type of emergency you can think of and train for it.
9 I've had people say, "You're so lucky. You get paid to sleep." It's true that with our 24-hour schedule, we hope to get a good night's rest at the station. However, sleeping all night rarely happens. Most crews run multiple calls while the rest of the city sleeps. That's OK with us; we knew that was part of the job when we signed up, but it still takes a toll on a person when you try to live a normal life on your days off. Even simple tasks required of an average mom or dad aren't always easy to accomplish with three to four hours of sleep. My kids get all excited when I show up on a weekend morning and they find out I got a good night's sleep. Translation: Dad won't be grumpy today!
10 Being away from my family for 24 hours at a time is tough. I often miss activities that my children are involved in due to the work schedule. Fortunately, my family does their best to adjust to my schedule, but it still gives me an uneasy feeling to miss my kid's ball game.