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Firefighters or Cops? You Tell Me!
Who has more stress on the job?
A firefighter or a cop?
Why?
What can you do about it?
You know that STRESS KILLS!
A firefighter or a cop?
Why?
What can you do about it?
You know that STRESS KILLS!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Cole on
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I like the post that states "see police are armed and we are not". The fact is police who armed still get shot and killed, regardless of what they are carrying. Let's face it, with both jobs (I include EMS in with fire, just to calrify) we never know what's around the corner. But that's how life is anyways. Nobody knows for sure if they are going to come home from work or not.
If we are takling physical stress, or the results of emotional stress, it's tough to call. Physically, during the performance of a firefighter's duties working a job, in the heat and humidity of a hot July day, given the enviornment we work in, the protective equipment we muct use, and the overall demands on the body, I think it'is pretty hard to find anything as physically punishing.
An officer may have to go all out and fight, alone, for as long as it takes for help to arrive, or to subdue the offender, or until he or she can no longer continue, and that is also pretty stressful. Especially when you know you are fighting for your life. Anyone who is a firefighter, and practices martial arts, and goes one-on-one knows the type of exhaustion I am speaking of.
The big difference is that far too many firefighters are not in the proper physical condition to actually expend everything they have, and be able to recover from it. Those who are in poor condition know they cannot really go 'all out" without the limitations slowing them down quickly. Yet it's something rarely admited, and hardly ever addressed.
I don't think you can predict what anyone will do at anytime.
That's the difference. Fire is a dynamic, ever-changing force. We can sometimes predict how it will react in certain given situations.
Human action can never be predicted.
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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"too many firefighters are not in the proper physical condition"
Jeff you should see some of the law enforcement officers in my area. They have to use large shoe horns just to get into their patrol car.
But as I follow the comments to this thread, I cannot help but wonder;
If stress/over-exertion are a cause of heart attack deaths, why is it that a percentage the 200,000+ service men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq are not suffering similar deaths? It would appear to me that being shot at by automatic weapons almost daily, IEDs and rocket explosions the norm, wearing ballistic vests and helmets plus carrying around all that equipment in the desert heat, could cause more stress and exertion, than what we could possibly be exposed to.
Now I realize this is nit picking, and there is probably a connection in some of these deaths. But when I talk to people who were over there, and listen to their experiences, I'm sorry. The only stress I have to deal with is playing Daddy Daycare, at the fire station romper room. This will probably make me go" postal" long before a heart attack gets me.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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If stress/over-exertion are a cause of heart attack deaths, why is it that a percentage the 200,000+ service men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq are not suffering similar deaths? It would appear to me that being shot at by automatic weapons almost daily, IEDs and rocket explosions the norm, wearing ballistic vests and helmets plus carrying around all that equipment in the desert heat, could cause more stress and exertion, than what we could possibly be exposed to.
The military also as SEMI-annual physical testing and standards to be met. 3 fails in a certain period is grounds for discharge, and they do happen. Secondly, part of being deployed is also acclamation to the desert conditions. You also don't hear of too many 60, 70, 80 year old servicemembers either.
Point is there are standards out there that many depts don't adhere to which also factors into such cardiac related deaths. I've stated my thoughts on this between cops and FF's, but while an officer may be alone for a bit with a suspect, they also have backup, they are not rushing into a hostage type of scene etc. Whereas FF's have to go from 0-100 in the middle of the night, from a dead sleep, pull lines, put on heat retaining gear (of which even the military doesn't even wear) go into a hot, burning structure blindly (for the most part), carry tools, possibly rescue someone, open walls, ceilings etc, maybe get some rehab, go back in, repeat, then clean up a scene. Yeah, somehow I don't see cops doing the same thing here.
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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Barry, most fireman go to the firehouse to get away from their nagging spouse... you don't think cops dealing with domestic arguments and violence is not stressful? It is not all bullets. Every traffic stop they are the bad guy, looking to write a ticket...
Art, why are we debating this? I thought the recent national study said fireman??? You know the one that study said it was the most stressful job in the world.
If you look at the data on FF stress and overexertion, nearly 30-35% of all the LODD's had pre-existing cardiac conditions, previous MI, stroke, or some form of cardiac disease. Of that, many fire departments knew about the underlying conditions and allow the brother to work and some had no pre-existing knowledge. With that said, our overall percentages would be much lower if we all had NFPA 1582 physicals within the service and actually denied people from working on this stressful job...
But hey with some departments, if you are still breathing, regardless of your age, you are fit to be a fireman.
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Art, why are we debating this? I thought the recent national study said fireman??? You know the one that study said it was the most stressful job in the world.
Good point FETC, I do believe police officer was several jobs down the list from firefighter.
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John, and I do believe my latter part of my post explains how we can reduce nearly 40% of the 300 total cardiac or overexertion LODD's but it would not be accepted as politically correct by many.
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And I completely agree with that too. I just responded to the study part because it was posted nationally and this was the first time it was brought up in this debate. I'm on the same page as you considering a difference between emotional stress and physical stress, which seems to be lost on many here.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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I believe cops do - they have more continuous stress, whereas firefighters are moreso stressed only during emergency calls themselves. Cops needs to be attentive their full-shift, whereas firefighters can relax, sleep, ect. when they're not doing anything.
However, they're both obviously stressful jobs.
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Glad you mentioned our Military. And I agree about the LEO's in poor physical condition also.
The Military, for example, may not be wearing all PPE we need to, but I couldn't even imagine the stress of doing what they are doing. Let's face it, they ARE mostly younger and DO have mandatory fitness standards. Something we probabaly will never have because it would sideline the ability of too many who feel entitiled to their firegihting duties with little personal accountability to their degree of fitness.
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Permalink Reply by Jake Roop on
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I read a statistic, based on autopsy reports across America that when the body of a 30+ yr old male Firefighter was opened up and compared to a "normal" 70 yr old male there insides looked relatively the same... I don't know how true that is but thats what it said. The job is stressful man but it's all about how you deal with it. And think about your wife and kids, and what they have to deal with while you are gone. Who's really stressed the most? I'd say wife! Hell, I have 3 jobs (Two part time fire and 1 Full time private EMS) and am going to Medic school right now.... Thankfully I have a wonderful wife at home to keep the house while im gone!
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Permalink Reply by Chief Dino on
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Jeff,
I read recently that the soldier on patrol in Iraq/Afghanistan has more gear to carry than a medieval knight, which is somewhere in the vicinity of 70-80 lbs (I believe, any former groundpounders out there feel free to correct me). In the Navy, the service I was in, firefighting ensembles are very similar to what is worn in the civilian service, similar kevlar/quilted outergarment, same helmet, gloves, flashood and boots. I think in terms of weight of equipment, the soldier/marine is carrying more.
Shawn
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Permalink Reply by Mike "Lapo" Lapotasky on
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The most respect I ever received from the boys in blue was from those who are also blue lighters...
As the son, cousin, brother-in-law, and friends of many...I respect what they do. Their stress is something I witnessed first hand growing up.
When I was an infant, some whiskey tango threw a brick through a window of my house. It landed in my crib. if hadn't been sleeping in my parents bed that night due to my restlessness, it may have killed me. Any firefighters have bricks thrown their windows? I think not. Some of you may be saying that he did something on the job to deserve that, but I can assure you that my father was not that brand of cop. He showed respect as a human being to even the most despicable of dirtbags.
We are thanked, maybe not enough, but people thank us. Conversely, some people hate cops just because they're cops. That my friends, is stress. Their job sucks and it is thankless.
This is not to say our jobs don't entail traumatic stress, but in LE it is a much bigger problem.
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