By GENEVIEVE LONG
Epoch Times
NEW YORK — San Francisco Firefighters Union Chief John Hanley and the firefighters he works alongside never stop moving. If they are not responding to a call for burning building, they are helping someone who is locked out of their car or assisting an elderly person who has fallen down and could be injured, among many other things.
“That socio-economic thing of everyone from the family living in the neighborhood and taking care of each other has really changed. Firefighters have to be there to fill that gap. Now we answer all kinds of calls,” says Hanley without a trace of resentment for varied challenges his job presents. This unassuming demeanor is a trait common to so many firefighters.
Hanley, a 26-year veteran in his profession, says that the many changing dimensions of the job of course still include the age-old task of fighting fires. But the conditions of firefighting have changed significantly with the advent of modern technology and the types of materials modern Americans have in the home. “The way homes are built now, they burn a lot with computers and plastics — that makes fires more dangerous,” says Hanley.
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