Day in the Life of a Japanese Firefighter

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?

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