This is a day in the life of a Japanese firefighter
This is Soushi
a 22 year old firefighter in Tokyo
and he's just waking up to start his day
This may look like a regular Japanese apartment
but it's known as
'Tanshin Taikishukusa' in Japanese
which directly translated means
"A single waiting dormitory"
as it's provided by the fire department
In an emergency situation,
such as a large natural disaster,
it makes it easy for the firefighters living here
to quickly gather and help with any efforts
Do all firefighters live in this type of facility?
Soushi usually eats breakfast at home
making sure he fuels up before his shift
I guess that chocolate spread on his toast
gets him up for the day ahead
Like most Japanese salarymen
he also wears a suit to work,
even though his office commute
is only a 10 minute walk away
Soushi is in his fourth year as a shoboshi,
in English a firefighter
After high school in Hiroshima
he studied for the firefighter exam
for one year while working at a yakitori restaurant
After passing, he relocated to Tokyo
I am back with another "Day in the Life"
This one is going to be special
because we're doing a full 24 hours
Soushi should be coming around the corner right now
let's see how he's doing this morning
Good morning.
Did you sleep well last night?
And this is Soushi's office,
the Joto Fire Station, Tokyo Sunamachi branch
In Tokyo there are a total of 303 fire stations coving the entire area
with about 18,600 firefighters at the ready
Although the fire station has an elevator
it's fairly standard for Japanese firefighters
to use the stairs throughout the day
Soushi, what's that?
In Japan, firefighters have 10 different ranks
Badges have different numbers of stars & stripes
All firefighters like Soushi start at the 1st rank,
one star and one stripe
To earn a promotion to the next rank, the department will review
Soushi's performance and test results after around four years
So he's almost there!
And to become a firefighter in Tokyo
applicants must pass an exhaustive
fire department recruitment examination
that's held only once a year
Which includes both a written and physical exam
Each year there are only a limited number of positions
so becoming a Japanese firefighter
is highly competitive
Last year only 1 out of 14 applicants,
about seven percent,
were able to pass the full exam
Soushi, what are you doing now?
Apparently every day headquarters
sends documents to all the firefighters,
so one of his first tasks in the morning is to read through all of the material
What are you doing now?
In Japan, the firefighters work a 24-hour shift
and it officially commences at a large meeting called 'daikotai'
The previous day's shift lines up on one side
while the incoming shift lines up on another
During the meeting, the previous team will inform
the incoming shift all of the details
for any incidents during their shift
Such as locations,
how many times they were sent out, and any other important matters
This is one of the most critical points of the day
as all of the information must be transferred accurately
In case there's an event or disaster
the firefighters must always act quickly and safely
based on the information they have
Right now they're doing all of their morning checks
They have to do this to make sure all the equipment is working
as well as making sure
all of the vehicles are working properly
Oh! Soushi's putting on his bokai
AKA bunker gear
As part of his own morning inspection,
Soushi must fully try on his gear
to ensure that every piece is working properly
Literally, his life depends on it
After verifying his equipment,
the team must work together to inspect the fire truck
Everything is checked, from the lights
all the way down to each door compartment opening smoothly
Because in an emergency situation, every second counts
Next the team inspects their firefighting equipment
to ensure that it's also in working order
The check for each individual piece of equipment
is methodical and the entire process
must be committed to the firefighter's memory
It looks like they're finishing up right now
That was a pretty comprehensive check
Let's see what's next
And now it looks like they're doing their morning stretches
They're all doing it all in one motion,
which is pretty cool
Oh look, it's Soushi leading the group
After stretches they quickly gear back up
This time inspecting each other's gear
After this,
the team continues on with their daily firefighting training
What are you doing right now?
Rolling removes all the air bubbles
and folding it as such is just the most efficient way to start
before it gets extended during the live drill
Apparently the Kanji character on the hose identifies the fire station
Useful in real life fire situations
as there could be more than 10 fire trucks involved
That's a lot of hose!
Oh it looks like they're just about to start
Japanese firefighters are trying
to get ready in under 60 seconds
Full gear plus verifying
the incident destination and route on a map
That's so fast!
In today's drill,
Soushi and his team are simulating the rescue
of a person on the second floor of a burning building
Every day the firefighters must drill different sitations
in order to be prepared for
whatever future incident or disaster may happen
In Soushi's first call as a firefighter
he had to help rescue a person who fell down from a high location
But being his first time
his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't perform
Luckily with the support and encouragement from his team,
in addition to hard work on these type of training drills,
he was able to overcome
the nervousness he had on his first outing
He now operates with confidence
In an actual fire,
the entire room is usually engulfed with black smoke
and likely visibility close to zero
So firefighters are trained
to kick their legs out to check their surrounding
Oh, they found him!
Once the person is evacuated from inside
the team must get the person down to the ground level
If they are unable to make it down on their own
the team is trained to secure them via ropes
and lower them down safely
Wow that was intense
I could only imagine what a real fire would be like
That looks heavy
How much does all of your gear weigh?
Although Soushi just completed an exhausting fire drill
he and his team must be diligent
and ready their gear right after the training
Again, in case they're called out to a real fire
In Japan, firefighters not only
fight fires and go out on emergency calls,
but they also assist local residents with permits
and safety fire related matters
This resident is here to register for a fire safety seminar
Soushi helps the resident complete the forms
but he's still relatively new and learning the ropes
So when he's unsure about something
he checks with his superiors on proper procedures
Do firefighters have a specific job in the office?
It looks like Soushi's going to be tied up for a bit
So while he's doing that
let's go explore this place
Just behind me, it looks like their training room
They have some weights, they have a bench,
they have a pull-up bar, a dip bar,
and it looks like they have a squatting rack as well
Hmm the fire truck looks a little bit lonely
I've always been curious to see what's behind
those compartment doors
All right, first let's see what's in this one
Oh wow, can you see that?
That's the searchlight system Soushi was inspecting earlier,
used in smoky blacked out conditions
Not so interesting here.
Nice more hose
Plus ropes and an AED
A fire hydrant pipe attachment used
when the fire truck can't enter a place
Extra boots
Ok, that's this side
Let's see the other side
Cool, a foam sprayer when water isn't enough
or I guess if they're throwing a party
Some extra tanks
Oh, what are those orange plates?
Nice, I see what they did here
Damn, seems pretty organized to me
Oh look behind me it says 'emergency equipment storage'
Let's check what's inside
Wow I didn't expect them to have all this cool stuff in here
Looks like they have spare oxygen tanks,
a whole bunch of ropes, a stretcher
Oh wow even a hydraulic powered cutter
to cut through metal
Looks like there's a real fire going on right now
So we had to stop
All right, so they just got back
Apparently there was no actual fire
Let's see what happened
Soushi, what happened?
Interestingly the number one cause
of fires in Japan is smoking
and the second, arson
So what now?
Yay, finally lunch time!
It looks like he's having
yourinji fried chicken, fried rice, chicken soup, and yogurt
Soushi, do you always buy lunch at the konbini?
He used to be able to have lunch with his colleagues,
but because of COVID,
everyone needs to sit apart from each other during meals
After lunch,
he has a meeting to go over the afternoon tasks
and discuss other important matters
Oh, that's the head of the fire station
It's typical in a traditional Japanese office
for the most senior person to sit at the head of the office like this
With their desk slightly separated from the main island of desks
Nice, time to take a ride
Soushi is an official driver
for one of the two types of fire trucks at the station,
the Sosuisha fire truck
There are several types in Japan even larger,
but because many roads in Tokyo are narrow
these trucks are sized to maneuver safely and quickly
through Tokyo streets
The Sosuisha truck usually arrives second on the scene
parking next to the fire hydrant
and pumping water to the Sankosa truck arriving first
and parked closest to the fire
What are you doing right now?
In Japanese it's called 'suiri chosa'
The firefighters inspect fire hydrants in the area
2-3 times a month to ensure it's working properly
Also, the manhole covers sometimes get stuck
due to constant car and people traffic
So the inspection confirms that
it's easily accessible during an emergency
Is this one working okay?
Oh they're back now
Soushi, what are you doing now?
Firefighters must also be well-versed
in life-saving techniques during an emergency
Today Soushi and his teammates
are drilling CPR and AED procedures
It really seems like Japanese firefighters
don't waste a minute of their day
Why are you using that phone?
They even have an official YouTube channel
with useful videos for first aid and fire prevention
Oh he's working out now
During quieter times of the day firefighters can use the time
to rest or work on strength and conditioning
Despite all the activities today
Soushi and his teammates still have enough energy to train
Amazing!
So what now?
So what's on today's menu?
In a Japanese fire station,
dinner and breakfast is usually prepared by the team
So everyone can share the same meal together
Family style!
And considering that the team live and work
24-hour shifts so closely together,
it's not a stretch for them to see each other
more than just a team, but like an actual family
After dinner Soushi and the other firefighters
perform another fire truck inspection
focusing on all of the lights as it's easier to do this in the evening
The fire department generally rotates
between three groups for the 24 hour shifts
Each group has about 12 members
firefighters and paramedics included
Depending on the size of the incident,
the entire group may be called to the scene
Afterwards all the firefighters
get together for another meeting
What are you doing now?
Although Soushi is on-call during the entire shift
between now and when he takes his rest at night
he has several hours of downtime
In addition to studying,
he also does regular chores
like washing and hanging laundry
Does everyone do laundry here?
Soushi also makes use of his time
by asking more seasoned teammates
about specific firefighting and life-saving techniques
It's all part of the Senpai Kohai relationship in Japan
The evenings really allow Soushi
to take in all the things he learned throughout the day
As well as focus and hone specific firefighting skills
So what was it like to become a firefighter?
Soushi takes a quick shower
just before he takes his rest at night
Well the day isn't done yet,
but hopefully he can get a few hours of rest
Good morning y'all!
It's another early morning, but Soushi should be waking up soon
Let's go check on him now
Good morning! How was last night?
First thing in the morning
all the firefighters clean the fire station
and it's Soushi's responsibility
to clean the bathroom today
In Japan, it's also common
for traditional Japanese companies to have their employees clean the office
instead of hiring an outside cleaning service
There are many reasons for this,
but building team cooperation and encouraging employees
to respect the workplace are some of my favorites
Do you clean the truck every day?
Nice, the breakfast this morning is udon
Soushi's 24 hour shift is almost over
and he seems a little bit more relaxed
Right before the daikotai
he has a meeting with the team
to review what information they need to share with the next shift
All right, so that's it
Soushi is switching shifts right now
and that is a day in the life of a Japanese firefighter
What do you guys think?
Let me know in the comments
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