Firefighters face risks and stressful situations on a daily basis, but their profession has not been classified as hazardous, said Milad Nazari, a fire expert.
He appealed to officials to classify firefighting a hazardous job, so that firemen would be able to retire earlier, ISNA reported.
Most firefighters suffer health problems like respiratory diseases and injuries in their lower back due to lifting of heavy equipment, Nazari noted.
“Fitness screening should be conducted every six months for firefighters and those who are not up to the mark should be transferred to less strenuous jobs.” In addition to exposure to burning debris that can cause physical injuries, high level of job stress and witnessing unpleasant scenes, can affect their morale.
As the “useful life of a firefighter after retirement is approximately 5 to 10 years,” the Health Ministry should assess their mental and physical state regularly and issue health advisories and instructions to fire stations periodically, Nazari said.
Last year (ended March 20), there were 53,600 fire incidents in the country and the average time for firefighters to reach the scene of incident was only 4.24 minutes, he said, pointing to the efficiency of Iran’s fire services.
According to the law, individuals in stressful and hazardous jobs can retire after 20 consecutive years of service or 25 intermittent years of work.
At present, professions classified as most hazardous include guarding prisons, continuous work with harmful radiation, including radioactive material, and production of pesticides.
