What personal qualifications, skills, and abilities are necessary to be a Firefighter?
Firefighters need to have excellent health, physical ability, strength, stamina, manual dexterity, and eye-hand-foot coordination. They need the ability to climb, stoop, and reach; have normal color discrimination; and the ability to lift at least 50 pounds. Firefighters need mechanical abilities to operate equipment. They also need the ability to perform well under stress and have a willingness to risk death or injury. They need to demonstrate emotional stability and self-confidence as well as the ability to work with different types of people under situations of extreme duress. Firefighters also need to have excellent communication skills. High school or college level coursework in math, English, health, geography, chemistry, physical education, computers, and mechanical trades would be very helpful.
