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Comment by Dylan Blake Zachary on May 5, 2009 at 12:07am

hey thanks for yalls input. It really helps to have someones input who understand everything. when i turn 18 i will be taking emt classes along with firefighter 1 and 2. then when i graduate high school im going to enter the bfit program. I understand that youre saying about how it would weed people out. I honestly believe if youre commmited to it then you should take the time to have classes to do your job to the best of your abilities. Ive heard of many people wanting to be firefighters to get girls or have everyone think oh your a hero, but requiring that would make many of those people say hey maybe this isnt for me.

Comment by Dustin J. Millis on May 4, 2009 at 1:57am

Not only should all career ff's be EMTs, they should be paramedics. The fact is that the "fire-service" is turning into the "ems-service." Sure, we will always have fires to put out but a considerable fewer amount then ten or twenty years ago. Why? well... for alot of reasons.

Also... a private ambulance service is a very hard business to run. Its a tough field to really make money in. Thats why more and more cities and hospitals are turning all of their EMS over to local fire departments.

One more thing... requiring that all career firefighters be paramedics "weeds" out alot of the guys who really dont have a passion for the job. If someone spends enought time to go through emt and paramedic school to be a firefighter, you can bet they are dedicated.

Comment by Charles McElroy Jr on May 4, 2009 at 1:44am

All on shift should be emt. Never know when ems will be needed and those three or four maybe tied upon something else. If you go your thought process then not all FF's on shift should be CPR certified, only the three or four.