Celebrating First Responders on Labor Day

Many of them won’t get the day off, but it’s a good time to celebrate them — our first responders. As described by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, first responders are often the primary line of defense for U.S. communities, responding to an evolving spectrum of natural and man-made threats.

Homeland Security published an infographic to show how, with the latest technology, their first responders detected 1.25 million threats at airports, 2,000+ state and local law enforcement officers were trained to detect radiation, and 488+ state and local bomb squads are using safer techniques. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security employs over 240,000 people in aviation, border security, emergency response, cybersecurity, chemical facility inspection and other positions that keep the nation safe.

That’s just one department. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in its latest report, estimates “there were approximately 1,056,200 firefighters in the US in 2017.

An estimated 373,600 (35%) of these were career firefighters and 682,600 (65%) were volunteer firefighters.
Most of the career firefighters (72%) worked in communities that protected 25,000 or more people.
Most of the volunteer firefighters (95%) were in departments that protected fewer than 25,000 people.
There are an estimated 29,819 fire departments in the US
- Of these, 2,785 departments were staffed by all career firefighters, 2,316 were mostly career, 5,405 were mostly volunteer and 19,313 were all volunteer.”

The National Association of Police Officers (NAPO) represents more than 1,000 police units and associations, and more than 241,000 sworn law enforcement officers who share a common dedication to vigorous and effective representation on behalf of our nation’s law enforcement officers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016) notes that employment of protective service occupations is projected to grow 5 percent from 2016 to 2026, about as fast as the average for all occupations, which will result in about 158,200 new jobs.In its report, it notes that there are currently (approximately):

468,000 jobs for correctional officers and bailiffs,
14,000 fire inspectors,
325,000 firefighters,
807,000 police officers and detectives,
15,000 ambulance drivers and attendants, and
248,000 EMTs and paramedics.

What do all these numbers mean? That there are a lot of hardworking people protecting our lives who deserve to be celebrated on Monday.

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and according to the US Dept. of Labor “is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

Happy Labor Day to all our first responders.

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