What does it take to become a firefighter?

What does it take to become a firefighter? Age 18. You graduate high school. You tell people you want to be a firefighter. They smile and say, "That's brave." You don't fully understand what that means yet. Right now, the only fire you've handled is a pan on the stove. Salary $0. Age 20. Fire Academy and EMT School. Absolute physical torture. You're climbing endless stairs wearing 75 pounds of heavy gear, gasping for air in a pitch black smoke-filled room. Your instructor is yelling at you, but you're too exhausted to even cry. Salary $0. Age 23. The probi. Your first real call. Sirens screaming. You pull up to a house in gulfed in flames. People are outside crying, and that's the exact moment it hits you. This isn't training anymore. This is real. Salary $50,000. Age 30. Senior firefighter. You've seen things. House fires, car crashes, emergencies at 3am. You learn quickly that this job isn't just physical. It's mental. Some days you save lives. Some days you just cope using dark firehouse humor. Salary $75,000. Age 45. Fire captain. Now you run the entire crew. When a five alarm fire breaks out, you are the one making the split-second life or death decisions. Your knees sound like bubble wrap every time you stand up, but everyone respects you. Salary $130,000. After 25 years of ruined sleep schedules, saving lives and ungodly amounts of heavy lifting, you retire a literal hometown hero. Not bad for someone who once burned their first meal.