Other traditions in the fire service happen on a larger scale. Some of these include sending department representatives to the funeral of a firefighter lost in the line of duty in a neighboring community, in the next state, or clear across the country.

It doesn't’t matter whether we personally knew the person or not, its just tradition that we show our respects towards our fellow brother or sister in the fire service. These heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice of dying in the line of duty. We remember these individuals, we memorialize their lives, and thank them for their service.

Outdated Traditions

There are some things from the past that many old-timers recall fondly but for one reason or another (many due to safety) have been discontinued. These include:

• Rubber pull-up boots
• No air packs
• 15-minute air packs (there was nothing like knowing you had about 8-10 minutes inside)
• Breathing off the nozzle
• Beacon rays
• Bells (this are starting to reappear)
• Plectrons
• House sirens
• Navy nozzles
• Foam powder
• Protein foam (made from ground up animal matter and really stinks, but would stick anywhere it was sprayed)
• Riding the roof of the cab
• Riding the hose bed
• Riding the tailboard and the sides of the rig

  *This section excerpted from Firehouse.com