Yup and it depends some shifts like 24 hr shifts u will not catch a break then others u will be at the station all day maybe a couple calls here and there
I was in Rite Aid today and a cashier looks at me and says, “Just getting off, you look tired!”. It was the start of my day and I was heading in for a 48. Lol true words here. Working as a Volunteer Firefighter/EMT sleep deprivation is real.
@@thecourier12 I was a resident volunteer, so I worked a 48/96. I’m now an out of district volunteer for that dept, working paid full time with a larger dept.
“Working” as a “volley”? That’s what we call an oxymoron. It’s one or the other. It’s not both. And if you’re truly VOLUNTEERING, don’t stay and lose sleep for 48 hrs…
I’m glad we are starting to see less and less volunteer stations . Asking members of the community to sacrifice their lives and donate their time away from family for no money is absolutely ridiculous
Yup me too. I start April 3rd and I’m nervous I’m still overweight. I’m currently 265 went down from 320. Ik I got a long way but I just need to put in the work to better myself.
@@bandit1001 it’s been great so far but I haven’t done any fire training so far. I’m required to be crossed trained as an emt first before I even fight any fires.
Firefighting is rough no matter what country you live in believe me it takes a toll on the body and it's a sacrifice. So far I've got five years experience
I'm an EMT. Been doing 2 on, 1 off, 1 on, two off for a bit now. Just trying to make ends meet for the three little ones right now. It gets to the point where I have a chronic pressing pain behind my eyes and forehead. It ain't good. Lack of good sleep heightens blood pressure despite good diet. Couple weeks ago I was running 181/96 after a two day shift so I had to take a few days off. My brother here speaks the truth, it's the most difficult part of the job by far. Can legit be just as dangerous as anything else we deal with especially because it sneaks up.
Been doing 5 graveyards and 2 evening shifts a week for the past 4 months....it has taken a massive toll...find a job with a better schedule and you will find a new kind of happiness. Good luck!
This is why 12 hour shifts should be against the law. 10 hour max. Companies need to be regulated to 3 8-hour shifts when the businesses is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I am a volunteer fire fighter and corrections officer. I work 12s 4 to 5 times a week
It’s no joke brother, the lack of real rem cycles, the increased risk of cardiac disease, the constant wear and tear unless you’re at a slow station, the increased cancer risk. Still, it’s best job in the world.
And the thing is, at least here in my county, fire is almost always responding to the medic calls. Person having chest pain and diff breathing? Fires gonna be there. Seizure? Fire is there. Fall? Fire will probably be there too. Regardless of the time.
Being a firefighter isn’t for the faint of heart: not only does it take a toll on yourself, but it takes just as much a toll on your family. - sincerely, the son of a firefighter
The hardest part about being a firefighter is definitely the shift, but not because of the toll that it takes on your body. Its the mental toll of being surrounded by the same people for so long without enough personal space. That's the absolute worst.
That is why I question those people who say they don’t like their slow station… they don’t know until they get ran through all night and get asked to stay an extra 2 days of Ot. With 0 sleep and caffeine to even walk.
I think it’s about checking yourself. I work the 24-48 schedule which generates about 100-120 hours a pay period depending on the calendar. I also work 56-70 scheduled ems (sometimes more, sometimes less) hours every pay period on the side. So I’m working 85-95 hours every week and have been for the last year. Sleep deprivation is a thing, but it comes in waves. Some days you run 10-15 calls and you just aren’t sleeping +, you have a 12 hour shift the next day. Yet, some days you run 1 call and can technically get the full 8… if your crew doesn’t keep you up talking. You have to know when too much is too much. You have to realize that it’s time to take some you time. You also have to realize that every cpr doesn’t lead to ptsd and every night of 2 hours of sleep doesn’t lead to Alzheimer’s. Over exaggerating your circumstances doesn’t make you a hero… it makes you an asshole. Walking the fine line is what it’s all about. You must check yourself so you understand when to calm the hell down and take it easy. But it’s not Rescue Me either. Kudos to this guy for shining light on us.
See idk about that schedule. But the schedule the departments around me have are 24 on 48 off which imo is the best schedule out there. Especially when you’re young you can get a bad night of sleep and make up for it that next night and be fine. 48 on would be a bit tougher though
Been retired for a year and a half now and towards the end the hardest thing for me was to function the next day after getting only a few hours sleep! And the older you get, the harder that is!
In Romania the sistem is different and its like 24hrs with 72hrs, and you have a during night a period when you can rest, but if the alarm sounds you need to be ready asap.
That's what we signed up for, you think it's rough now, wait till you become a dad while being a firefighter. You can function on 3 to 4 hours of sleep a day 😂
Idk if I'm a shoe in or it's a bad thing but I was told to try to battle my insomnia issues now in order to avoid never resting. I start training soon for the Fire Department in my city so I'm kind of nervous considering I barely rest anyway
Man, this is nothing to me. I’ve done trade school, and worked 16 hour days Monday - Friday and 8 hours on the weekends because no school just to pay for my welding school. Doing only one thing at once would be amazing
For many years I worked 24 hrs at the FD then 24HRS on an ambulance, I had about 23 hours to recover and do it all again.. it is horrable for your health...
If you work a regular 9-5 that’s 40 hours a week for 4 weeks that’s 160 hours a month. 10x24 is 240. So they are working 10 days but 80 hours more a month than a regular job.
Im a firefighter for Toronto fd i get 2 off and 5 days on everyday i just get weaker everyday its pretty crazy im also pretty sad i barely get to see my wife or my 2 kids hands hurt everyday becuse you know we've got halligans axes saws and debris to move in calls its just the sleep Toronto is a massive city almost every night we get calls mostly when we are sleeping i run captain on ladder 8 our ladder doesn't have a driver engineer so we had someone else to train to drive the truck so i control the ladder and its rushing for me i costs energy
Knock it off Jeffrey, you aren’t walking carrying 90lbs of gear through inclined terrain. Settle down and don’t compare your lazy self to these hard workers. Your job may be tough but it’s not wildland tough 😂
Yes it’s 48 hour shifts, so all day and night. It doesn’t sound bad until you realize yes it’s all night - so you’re taking calls while running off a couple hours of sleep, sometimes no sleep, and consistently getting sleep deprived
I think i would prefer it to the alternative of splitting and doing nights. Feel likes its a choice these fire fighters make. Cause they could easily work a few more days and do 12 hour shifts instead. It is harder than a regular job for sure thought.
I see your point! We actually cover it more in depth in the full episode - why they have the 48 hour shifts instead of 8-12. It seems like most do a minimum of 24 hour shifts.
This could all be avoided if Firefighters didn't have to show up for every basic emergency situation. Ambulance services could handle 90% of emergency situations. There are not that many fire incidents compared to emergency hospitalizations.
Is it worth tho? Im 17 and really thinking about going into fire and emt school when i can and idk i guess i just want to know if this path is worth the toll
Hey! You should check out our full episode in this channel where Alex shares his journey of going into firefighting “the 10 year journey to becoming a firefighter.” He’ll share a lot more than I can
I hopefully get accepted for school in January I’m very excited. I don’t sleep well anyway I wake up like 6 times a night. I’ve heard horror stories from my emt friends about some of the things I’ll see but I think I’m good I saw a lot of stuff on best gore growing up. I’m a small dude also so I’m hoping to gain some muscle and fat to bulk up.
Some people can survive with little sleep or at least recover quickly. This guy is clearly affected by it to a larger extent, and doesn’t seem like a right fit for the job or shift work in general.
We talked about health a bit. Alex, who I interviewed here, takes health seriously and watches diet exercise, etc. he also had a Whoop watch and monitors heart rate closely. Not all firefighters do, though.
I worked 1/2 with breaks in admin positions. Most people thought firefighters were stealing from the taxpayers. I would explain to those who actually had jobs, and not being paid to sit home in their HUD apartments that they worked 40 hour week or 4 weeks a month/160 hours. On shift, I worked depending if it was a 10 or 11 shift month that it worked out to be either 240-264 hour month or 6 weeks a month or a 18 month year in hours. I retired from a large and busy metro agency in Florida with an average of 16 runs per shift. Most honest persons would then realize we were woefully underpaid and overworked. Sleep was a luxury and I've got the widowmaker/CABG to show for it.
Wow. Yes definitely under-appreciated, not many people really know what goes into it all which is why it’s great to hear from folks like you! Thanks for sharing.
This is bull shit lol unless you in New York, Chicago , Memphis etc you getting sleep in 90% of U.S departments. This coming from a guy that working in rural, town and memphis
