r/Firefighting • u/Launch_Rockface • Jul 10 '25

General Discussion Unpopular Opinions In the Fire Service

I am curious what other peoples unpopular opinions of the fire service are? I know there are alot of things we are doing or trying to do to improve the fire service as far as training and wellness, but I also know alot of it is just not that great in my opinion.

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u/Strict-Canary-4175 Jul 11 '25

I don’t like fucking with the new kids that much. I expect them to do most of the work, let them take a nap and eat first.

I believe in being good at EMS. Yeah I don’t like it either, definitely not my first choice. But it’s so much of our job and there’s really not an excuse to be shitty at it.

I don’t believe in wearing fire gear for things besides drill and fire runs. I will never force my guys to wear bunker pants on EMS runs because they have shorts or sweats on because they were working out or sleeping. The gear is killing us and people don’t want that dirty shit in their house anyway.

This job can’t be your whole life, and personality. Leave your whacker t shirts at home and get a hobby that doesn’t have anything to do with the job.

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u/Direct-Training9217 Jul 11 '25

I agree with everything you say (your job is to train the rookie, his job is to work hard), except....

My unpopular opinion is that PFAS in gear is overblown. There aren't a ton of studies on it and the big ones study PFAS in drinking water. Those aren't super conclusive and obviously drinking water is way more direct and way more frequent exposure. Honestly sleep deprivation and being out of shape probably cause more cancer than the PFAS. Obviously don't wear your gear 24/7 but putting on bunker pants for an EMS call or working out in gear is not as big a deal (imo) as people make it. I workout in gear once a tour, because I think that being comfortable and cardiovascularly prepared is worth the trade off

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u/evanka5281 Jul 11 '25

This right here. I make eggs on a non-stick pan every morning that’s coated in PFAS. My raincoat has PFAS. This whole thing seems to me like something Edzo pushed to force out Schaitberger. It’s been years since he took over as president of the international and he still makes this claim of “the companies knew and were paying Harold to keep quiet” at every major conference. He paid Mark Ruffalo to star in a short film about it. It just wreaks of propaganda.