Career:Firefighters
【明報專訊】We all know that firefighters are responsible for handling fire-related incidents, but their duties are not limited to this. In Hong Kong, they deal with special services calls, such as traffic and industrial accidents, gas leakages, landslides, flooding and house collapses.
BESIDES emergency services, they conduct fire safety inspections and hold educational events as well. Have you seen them giving a talk in your school?
◆In times of the pandemic - how can firefighters help?
THE frontline personnel of the Fire Services Department offered pre-hospital care to patients and assisted in conveying them. In 2020, they handled a total of 7557 calls of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
◆What are the personal qualities required?
GENERALLY, you ought to pass the physical ability test, since firefighting gear and apparatus are mostly difficult to lift. You should acquire basic communication skills, because being a firefighter inevitably involves communications with colleagues and citizens.
■Glossary
leakage (n) 泄漏
landslide (n) 山泥傾瀉
apparatus(n) 設備
inevitably (n) 不可避免地
[Smarties' Power English 第309期]