Deaf Firefighter?

prostock thats cool what made u become interested in deaf world ?? and also my brother was hard of hearing but he was in the US Navy for 13 years !!!!!! no im not kidding at all !
 
Originally posted by dojosky
prostock thats cool what made u become interested in deaf world ?? and also my brother was hard of hearing but he was in the US Navy for 13 years !!!!!! no im not kidding at all !
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That is awesome. Deaf can do anything but hear.
 
Originally posted by dojosky
prostock thats cool what made u become interested in deaf world ?? and also my brother was hard of hearing but he was in the US Navy for 13 years !!!!!! no im not kidding at all !
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cool, good for him way to go !!:D
 
Hi there,

My closest to the station 7 just a block away, the hearing female medic uses little asl and finger spelling for my health conditions. She's a driver of fire medic-engine truck.
 
Here i am..

prostock19 said:
Being hearing and a former volunteer, I had this discussion with Allisonjoy. My 1st thought is when an evacuation call is being sent out. Normally, all the fire trucks turn on their sirens and blow their horns. But, ofc that don't work with deaf. My idea was turn the water on and off, perhaps 3x in a row, and that would tell deaf firefighters to exit the building.
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:bump:

My name is Neil McDevitt. I'm a deaf firefighter from Montgomery Township, PA and I believe I'm the deaf FF that Kevbo talks about in his posting.

I'm fully certified and I handle interior firefighting meaning I suit up with breathing gear (SCBA) and go inside buildings that are on fire. Prostock, as you know, firefighters always do two-in, two-out so I always have a buddy with me. We have a system for communication in low-to-no visibility situations:
* soft boot/body taps = "I'm here..."
* 1 hard tap = "Stop"
* 2 hard taps = "Keep Going"
* 3 Hard Taps = "Evacuate Immediately"

So far, we've never had to use this system except for training because the building fires we've had thus far haven't been HUGE.

I've gone on a huge variety of calls. From lift assists for 800 lb people stuck on their toilet, to car fires, to hazardous materials incidents, to fires in large buildings to kids lighting up mailboxes.

-Neil
 
I'm a volunteer for the Kogan and Districts Rural Fire Bridage.
 
Deaf Fire fighting

I'm not a Deaf person, i'm a HArd of Hearing, but pretty darn close to deaf, i'm a Voluntary firefighter in NC, and only 18 yrs of age. usually you want to pick a station that is 100% supportive of their members...also i know the deal with dalmations...they like horses. i can explain later haha.
 
I once applied for a position as a seasonal wildland firefighter with the U.S. National Park Service. I clearly informed them that I am completely deaf on one side of my head, and that I have no ability whatsoever to localize sound. I asked them if this would preclude me from employment consideration, and they told me that it wouldn’t. Different agencies may have differing policies, but I would guess that deafness per se would not necessarily be an automatic bar against employment as a firefighter.
 
Deaf FF

I am a deaf Ext. Firefighter in NY. Yes, sadly, I am only "exterior-qualified" for this reason, but that reason clearly didn't stop me from having joined the department in the first place, haha. I just wish I had joined a lot sooner...

Deafness is a new challenge to the Firefighting industry, and for good reason. There are an abundance of safety issues, ranging from ability to hear calls tone out, to whether commands can be heard and understood in a working fire where there is zero visibility.

Even if one is not approved to be certified on a Firefighting 1 level, the department may look into having the individual as an exterior, as additional manpower support. There will always be support work needed at the scene, such as laying out lines, etc. If one's looking to be hero... that one probably shouldn't be firefighting at all, anyway.

By the way -- Dalamatians were used in the early days of the horse-drawn fire engines and were sent ahead of the horses to chase off any critters that may be in the way, so the horses wouldn't get spooked and such, tipping over the heavy equipment.
 
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"Deaf people can do anything except hear" is full of crap sometimes, hmm? With all the advancements in technology, you'd think the government or someone would invent something that would enable the Deaf to perform their dream jobs. What gives?
 
ChrisLS said:
I am a deaf Ext. Firefighter in NY. Yes, sadly, I am only "exterior-qualified" for this reason, but that reason clearly didn't stop me from having joined the department in the first place, haha. I just wish I had joined a lot sooner...

Deafness is a new challenge to the Firefighting industry, and for good reason. There are an abundance of safety issues, ranging from ability to hear calls tone out, to whether commands can be heard and understood in a working fire where there is zero visibility.

Even if one is not approved to be certified on a Firefighting 1 level, the department may look into having the individual as an exterior, as additional manpower support. There will always be support work needed at the scene, such as laying out lines, etc. If one's looking to be hero... that one probably shouldn't be firefighting at all, anyway.
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That's a pretty sweet gig. It seems to be a good environment if you work well with your partners.

I considered that career if college didn't work out. I did my research before, and I don't think there's a system like that here in CA. The Fire Chief at the local stations said to me that if I really wanted to be a firefighter, I would need to hear bells and whistles. Nothing about interior difficulties though. My body is way too torn up now to even remotely consider doing it.
 
As far as Deaf firefighters go, I am not sure in my county... If you are talking about doing it as a volunteer, there are certainly things you can do - exterior ops, absolutely. There is a young guy who is HoH (almost completely deaf, but wears HAs), and runs at one of our city stations (they are the biggest and busiest of course). There is no problem with him doing so. He drives the ambulance, and is a full interior/exterior firefighter. Completely deaf may be a little different, as we issue audible evac tones, and do radio "par checks" to make sure everyone is accounted for... So that is something I would have to look into, but it IS possible. We never turn away someone who is interested in giving their time for the community.
 
FFHavoK said:
As far as Deaf firefighters go, I am not sure in my county... If you are talking about doing it as a volunteer, there are certainly things you can do - exterior ops, absolutely. There is a young guy who is HoH (almost completely deaf, but wears HAs), and runs at one of our city stations (they are the biggest and busiest of course). There is no problem with him doing so. He drives the ambulance, and is a full interior/exterior firefighter. Completely deaf may be a little different, as we issue audible evac tones, and do radio "par checks" to make sure everyone is accounted for... So that is something I would have to look into, but it IS possible. We never turn away someone who is interested in giving their time for the community.
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Thank you for giving someone who want to be a Firefighter or EMT the confidence to help other people out when need in crisis. That count as you and the fire department believe in anyone like Deaf people, even if Hard of Hearing are capable of handling the very difficult job when there is danger.

That is their whole dream and no deaf person does not like to have his or her dream crash down when they are not getting accepted to get the job they want. You are good. :applause: :cool2:
 
Thank you very much for the kind words :ty:

I aim to reach out to any and all people that I can in life. I would be more than happy to get information for anyone who would like to join a fire department or get trained. Everybody has dreams in life - I don't believe that not being able to hear, or hear well, should get in the way of that.
 
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