Editing Firefighter (section)

==Firefighting around the world==
{{Further|Firefighting worldwide|Fire department ranks by country}}
[[File:BSPP section Bastille Day 2008.jpg|thumb|The [[Paris Fire Brigade]] is a [[French Army]] unit which serves as the fire service for [[Paris]] and certain sites of national strategic importance.]]
[[File:mtlfirechiefs.jpg|thumb|Firefighters tackling a blaze in [[Montreal, Canada]]]]
[[File:Indonesian fire fighters during a traffic accident.jpg|thumb|[[Indonesia]]n fire fighters handling a [[traffic accident]] in [[Jakarta]]]]
A key difference between many countries' fire services is what the balance is between full-time and volunteer (or on-call) firefighters. In the [[United States]] and [[United Kingdom]], large metropolitan fire departments are almost entirely made up of full-time firefighters. On the other hand, in [[Germany]] and [[Austria]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bundesfeuerwehrverband.at/oebfv/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228111522/http://www.bundesfeuerwehrverband.at/oebfv/index.php?id=154|url-status=dead|title=Organisation – ÖBFV|archive-date=December 28, 2008}}</ref> volunteers play a substantial role even in the largest fire departments, including Berlin's, which serves a population of 3.6 million. Regardless of how this balance works, a common feature is that smaller urban areas have a mix of full-time and volunteer/on-call firefighters. This is known in the United States as a [[combination fire department]]. In [[Chile]] and [[Peru]], all firefighters are volunteers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-27186801|title=Chile's firefighters in spotlight after Valparaiso blaze |date=2014-04-29|access-date=2019-07-17|work=BBC News}}</ref>

Another point of variation is how the fire services are organized. Some countries like the [[Czech Republic]], [[Israel]] and [[New Zealand]] have a single national fire service. Others like Australia, the United Kingdom and France organize fire services based on regions or sub-national states. In the United States, Austria, Germany and [[Canada]], fire departments are run at a municipal level.

[[Singapore]] and many parts of [[Switzerland]] have [[Compulsory Fire Service|fire service conscription]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.swissfire.ch/fileadmin/swissfire/Der%20SFV/Factsheet_Feuerwehr_2015_d.pdf |title=Die Schweizer Feuerwehren |access-date=2016-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128134257/http://www.swissfire.ch/fileadmin/swissfire/Der%20SFV/Factsheet_Feuerwehr_2015_d.pdf |archive-date=2018-01-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.scdf.gov.sg/content/scdf_internet/en/general/about-us.html |title=SCDF Website - General: About Us |access-date=2018-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228102845/http://www.scdf.gov.sg/content/scdf_internet/en/general/about-us.html |archive-date=2016-12-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Germany, conscription can also be used if a village does not have a functioning fire service. Other unusual arrangements are seen in [[Denmark]], where most fire services are run by private companies,<ref name="fe-2008"/> and in France, where two of the country's fire services (the [[Paris Fire Brigade]] and the [[Marseille Naval Fire Battalion]]) are part of the armed forces; similarly, the national fire service of Monaco is part of the [[Military of Monaco]] and maintains an armoury of [[Sidearm (weapon)|sidearms]] for use by firefighters during civil defence operations.

Another way in which a firefighter's work varies around the world is the nature of firefighting equipment and tactics. For example, American fire departments make heavier use of [[Fire engine#Aerial apparatus|aerial appliances]], and are often split between engine and ladder companies. In Europe, where the size and usefulness of aerial appliances are often limited by narrow streets, they are only used for rescues, and firefighters can rotate between working on an engine and an aerial appliance.
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/articles/print/volume-21/issue-6/features/fire-apparatus-united-states-vs-europe.html|title=United States vs. Europe|publisher=Fire Apparatus|date=2016-06-07|access-date=2019-07-17}}</ref><ref name="fe-2008">{{cite web|url=https://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2008/06/fire-commentary-european-firefighting-operations.html|title=Fire Commentary: European Firefighting Operations|publisher=Fire Engineering|date=2008-06-12|access-date=2019-07-17}}</ref> A final point in variation is how involved firefighters are in [[emergency medical services]].