Righto so half way through a night shift and I think to myself why not get off my arse and finally post something on Steemit. To be honest I started this out of curiosity and having browsed through countless articles I'm not sure anyone is going to find anything I write interesting. I mean seriously if you're an ordinary bloke just getting on with life what do you write about!!!!!! well here goes time for a ramble.
Tonight I thought fck it I'll write about what really grips my shit in my profession, I started as a firefighter back in 92 in the UK prior to that i was in the military(Infantry) and I'm still in emergency response but now in an industrial setting . I'll be 50 this year and I have always kept myself in good nick, I can still manage a 10.4 on the beep test on a good day and I hit the gym most days. Don't get me wrong I'm no elite athlete but my job is demanding and I owe it to myself and my colleagues to stay fit for work. Being a firefighter is both physically and mentally demanding of that there is no doubt and those that chose this profession have my utmost respect. BUT and it's a huge one the growing number of firefighters I see that couldn't run the length of their own shadow seems to be more common.
Most organisations have a fitness standard that has to be achieved to be accepted but once in the job the actual compulsory requirement to maintain that level is non-existent.
The amount of lard arsed “firefighters” you see wandering around shops in these horrific T-shirts with slogans like “ feel safe sleep with a firefighter”, “firefighters because even policemen need heroes ” and many other vomit inducing titles.
Here’s an idea… do the job, be the best firefighter you can be and love the job but stop cutting about town wearing bloody t shirts desperately seeking attention.
As for your fitness, you are in a job where others rely on you to save them and their property. You do this in an extremely hostile environment, the stresses and strains on the body are incredible. When you are 140kg and you can barely get your CABA waist belt done up something is wrong. Put bluntly you are a danger to yourself and the blokes you are working with and one day will go facedown and endanger the blokes whose back you are supposed to have. You owe it to yourselves, your family, the public and the blokes you ride the trucks with to look after yourselves.
If you’re a firefighter and this offends you or you think I’m being harsh sit and think about the day your wife gets the visit that you lost your life at an incident due another team members piss poor physical state. I certainly don’t want to die after all these years because someone I work with is incapable of doing their job because they are too fat and unfit.
Other than that life is fcking awesome ;) it’s the best job in the world. Time for a bit of pride fellas and lay off the pies
